What's happening
This bill creates a fund to retrofit all New York police and state police patrol vehicles with bullet-proof glass, financed partly by taxpayer donations.
Why it matters
The bill mandates that all NYPD and state police patrol vehicles be retrofitted with bullet-proof glass within five years. , signaling a significant investment in officer safety and potentially setting a new standard for police vehicle requirements in New York.
It creates a dedicated “police officer protection fund” for this purpose, which will collect money from multiple sources. , including state appropriations, grants, gifts, and voluntary taxpayer donations, emphasizing a blend of public and private funding for law enforcement protection.
A new option on state income tax returns will allow individuals to voluntarily contribute to this fund. , without reducing their tax owed, inviting public participation and potentially broadening the funding base beyond traditional government sources.
The legislation could influence future debates about police funding, public safety measures, and the role of citizen contributions in financing law enforcement initiatives. , potentially shaping public discourse on how such protective measures are prioritized and paid for.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Add Bulletproof Glass to Patrol Cars
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to finance
- Referred to finance
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.
Add Bulletproof Glass to Patrol Cars
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Felix Ortiz
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
664
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. BOYLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the tax law, in relation to establishing the police officer protection fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The commissioner of the division of criminal justice services shall establish and implement a program to retrofit all patrol vehicles of the New York police department, and thereafter all patrol vehicles of the New York state police, with bullet-proof glass within five years of the effective date of this act. Funding for such program shall be drawn from the police officer protection fund established pursuant to section 99-ff of the state finance law.
§ 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ff to read as follows:
§ 99-ff. Police officer protection fund. 1. A special fund to be known as the "police officer protection fund" is hereby established in the custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance.
2. The fund shall consist of all monies transferred to such fund pursuant to law, all monies required by any provision of law to be paid into or credited to the fund, all monies from gifts pursuant to section six hundred thirty-g of the tax law and any interest earnings which may accrue from the investment of monies in the fund. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section and depositing them into the fund according to law.
3. Monies of the fund, when allocated, shall be available to the division of criminal justice services for the purpose of establishing and implementing a program to retrofit all patrol vehicles of the New York
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04557-01-9
S. 664 2
police department, and thereafter all patrol vehicles of the New York state police, with bullet-proof glass.
4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner of criminal justice services.
§ 3. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 630-g to read as follows:
§ 630-g. Gift for the police officer protection fund. Effective for any tax year commencing on or after January first, two thousand twenty, an individual in any taxable year may elect to contribute to the police officer protection fund. Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar amount and shall not reduce the amount of state tax owed by such individual. The commissioner shall include space on the personal income tax return to enable a taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwithstanding any other provision of law all revenues collected pursuant to this section shall be credited to police officer protection fund and used only for those purposes enumerated in section ninety-nine-ff of the state finance law.
§ 4. 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 state finance law and the tax law, in relation to establishing the police officer protection fund
Summary of specific provisions
This bill adds a new a new section 99-w to the state Finance Law and will provide the following provisions:
1. A special fund to be known as the "police officer protection fund" is hereby established in the custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance.
2. The fund shall consist of all monies transferred to such fund Pursu- ant to law, all monies required by any provision of law to be paid Into or credited to the fund, all monies from gifts pursuant to section Six hundred thirty-d of the tax law and any interest earnings which may Accrue from the investment of monies in the fund. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section and depositing them into the fund according to law.
3. Monies of the fund, when allocated, shall be available to the divi- sion of criminal justice services for the purpose of establishing and implementing a program to retrofit all patrol vehicles of the New York Police Department, and thereafter all patrol vehicles of the New York State police, with bulletproof glass.
4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of The comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner Addi- tionally, this bill adds a new a new section 630-d to the state Tax Law which will enable an individual in any taxable year to contribute to the police Officer protection fund via a voluntary contribution on their New York State form.
Justification
In December of 2014, a gunman mercilessly assassinated two NYPD officers (Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu) through the front passenger window of their patrol car as the police officers were sitting in the parked vehi- cle keeping watch over a neighborhood in Brooklyn. The windows in this vehicle and others in the Department's fleet are not equipped to with- stand gunfire, hence compromising the safety and well-being of our law enforcement officials.
This life-saving reinforcement does exist in the vehicles of high-rank- ing government officials and dignitaries. If it is good enough for high- ranking government officials and dignitaries to ride around in cars with bullet-proof glass, then it should be for our cops who put their lives on the line and are being tracked down and murdered like prey.
We provide police offers with bullet proof vests to protect them when they are on the streets patrolling. We should give them equal protection when they are in their patrol cars. This bill accomplishes that goal.
Bulletproof windows are one common sense and appropriate step in ensur- ing our police officers have the protection they need and deserve as they risk their lives to serve and protect the citizens of our state.
Prior legislative history
S.1710 (2015-16) 2017-18 Referred to Rules (2017); Referred to Finance (2018)
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.