What's happening
This bill allows town boards to suspend police officers without pay pending disciplinary charges, aligning with civil service law procedures.
Why it matters
Aligns discipline procedures for town police officers with broader civil service standards. , ensuring that suspensions without pay follow the same protocols used for other public employees under state law.
May increase accountability and consistency in handling police misconduct. by clarifying that town boards have clear authority to suspend officers without pay during disciplinary proceedings, potentially deterring problematic behavior.
Provides explicit protections for officers who are cleared of charges. , guaranteeing full back pay if not convicted, which helps balance departmental authority with individual employee rights.
Could reduce legal ambiguity and litigation risk for towns. by referencing established civil service law, making disciplinary processes more predictable and legally defensible.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Suspend Police Without Pay
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Substituted by A5821A
- Ordered to third reading cal.1767
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Print number 4083a
- Amend and recommit to local government
- Referred to local government
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Suspend Police Without Pay
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Peter Abbate
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4083--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 27, 2019
Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to the employer's ability to suspend a police officer without pay pending disciplinary charges
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The second undesignated paragraph of section 155 of the town law, as amended by chapter 310 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
Any member of such department found guilty upon charges, after five days' notice and an opportunity to be heard in his defense, of neglect or dereliction in the performance of official duty, or of violation of rules or regulations or disobedience, or of incompetency to perform official duty, or of an act of delinquency seriously affecting his general character or fitness for office, may be punished by the town board having jurisdiction, by reprimand, by forfeiture and withholding of salary or compensation for a specified time not exceeding twenty days, by extra tours or hours of duty during a specified period not exceeding twenty days, by suspension from duty for a specified time not exceeding twenty days and the withholding of salary or compensation during such suspension, or by dismissal from the department. [Such] Notwithstanding chapters one hundred four and five hundred twenty-four of the laws of nineteen hundred thirty-six, such board shall have the power to suspend, without pay, pending the trial of charges, any member of such police department in accordance with subdivision three of section seventy-five of the civil service law. If any member of such police department so suspended shall not be convicted of the charges so preferred, he shall be entitled to full pay from the date of suspension. The conviction of a member of such police department by the town board
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09792-03-9
S. 4083--A 2
shall be subject to review by the supreme court in the judicial district in which such town is located in the manner provided by article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules, provided that the proceeding is commenced within thirty days from the determination of such conviction by the town board.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the town law, in relation to the employer's ability to suspend a police officer without pay pending disciplinary charges
Purpose or general idea of bill
An act to amend the town law, in relation to the employer's ability to suspend a police officer without pay pending disciplinary charges
Summary of provisions
Section one of this bill amends section 155 of the Town Law, to require that a town board shall have the power to suspend, without pay, pending the trial of charges, any member of such police department in accordance with section 75 of the Civil Service Law.
Section 2 of this bill provides that this act shall take effect imme- diately.
Existing law
Section 75 of the Civil Service Law is the default provision governing the prosecution of disciplinary charges against the majority public employees in New York State, including police officers. Many police collective bargaining agreements contain provisions replacing § 75 with alternative disciplinary procedures agreed to by the employer and the representative employee organization. Police officers discipline not covered by collective bargaining agreements can fall under different procedures depending upon the statute that covers where they are employed.
Justification
Unfortunately, the disciplinary procedures set forth in these statutes differ significantly. One of the ways in which they differ is the time period for which an officer may be suspended without pay prior to the hearing on the charges against the officer.
*Civil Service Law § 75 allows for suspension without pay for a period not to exceed 30 days.
*Village law § 8-804 limits prehearing suspension without pay to 30 days.
*Town Law § 155 allows for suspension without pay pending the trial of charges for an indefinite period of time.
Police officers employed by Towns face indeterminate suspension without pay pending disciplinary hearings, which other similarly situated public employees do not face.
The 30-day limitation provided for by Civil Service Law § 75 provides for more consistent public policy without unduly hampering an employer's authority in disciplinary proceedings. Under all the aforementioned disciplinary procedures, the administration of disciplinary charges is totally within the control of the municipality (employer), including who the hearing officer is, when the disciplinary hearing is to be conducted, when the transcript is prepared, when and by whom the tran- script is review on behalf of the municipality and when the municipality makes its final determination based on the hearing officer's recommenda- tion.
By providing a 30-day limitation on pre-hearing suspension without pay, the municipality realizes that it will resume paying the officer's sala- ry after 30 days thus providing the municipality the impetus to keep the process moving in a timely manner. Under Town Law § 155, there is no such impetus and has the potential for abuse. There are good and valid reasons why suspension without pay is limited to 30 days under various provisions of law and therefore should be extended to police officers covered by Town Law.
Prior legislative history
2014: S4824 - Vetoed, Memo 490
Fiscal implications
TBD
Effective date
Immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.