STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6738 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government AN ACT to amend chapter 104 of the laws of 1936 relating to providing for the establishment, organization and operation of police depart- ments in the towns of Westchester county and chapter 891 of the laws of 1972 relating to continuing special provisions relating to police departments of certain villages, in relation to suspension of an offi- cer pending a trial of disciplinary charges The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 7 of chapter 104 of the laws of 1936 relating to 2 providing for the establishment, organization and operation of police 3 departments in the towns of Westchester county, as amended by chapter 4 812 of the laws of 1941, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 7. Discipline and charges. Except as otherwise provided by law, a 6 member of such police department shall continue in office unless 7 suspended or dismissed. The town board or board of police commissioners 8 shall have power and is authorized to adopt and make rules and regu- 9 lations for the examination, hearing, investigation and determination of 10 charges, made or preferred against any member or members of such police 11 department, but no member or members of such police department shall be 12 fined, reprimanded, removed or dismissed until written charges shall 13 have been investigated, examined, heard and determined by such town 14 board or board of police commissioners in such manner, procedure, prac- 15 tice, examination and investigation as such board may, by such rules and 16 regulations from time to time prescribe, except that the trial of such 17 charges shall not be delegated and must be heard before the full town 18 board or full board of police commissioners or a majority of the members 19 of either of such boards, and the affirmative vote of a majority of such 20 members shall be necessary for a conviction on any such charges. Such 21 charges shall not be brought more than ninety days after the time when EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04748-01-5
S. 6738 2 1 the facts upon which such charges are based are known to such town board 2 or board of police commissioners. Any member of such police department 3 at the time of the hearing or trial of such charges before such town 4 board or board of police commissioners shall have the right to a public 5 hearing and trial and to be represented by counsel at any such hearing 6 or trial and any person who shall have preferred such charges or any 7 part of the same shall not sit as a member of such town board or board 8 of police commissioners upon such hearing or trial and any and all 9 witnesses produced upon the trial shall testify under oath. 10 Any member of such department found guilty upon charges after five 11 days' written notice and an opportunity to be heard in [his] their 12 defense, of neglect or dereliction in the performance of official duty, 13 or violation of rules or regulations or disobedience, or incompetency to 14 perform official duty, or an act of delinquency seriously affecting 15 [his] such member's general character or fitness for office, may be 16 punished by such town board or board of police commissioners before 17 which such charges are tried, by reprimand, forfeiture and the withhold- 18 ing of salary or compensation for a specified time not exceeding twenty 19 days, by suspension from duty for a specified time not exceeding twenty 20 days and the withholding of salary or compensation during such suspen- 21 sion, or by dismissal from the department. Such town board or board of 22 police commissioners shall have the power to suspend, without pay, pend- 23 ing the trial of charges, any member of such police department for a 24 period not exceeding thirty days. If any member of such police depart- 25 ment so suspended shall not be convicted by such board of the charges so 26 preferred, or if on review [his] such member's conviction shall be 27 reversed, then, notwithstanding such charges and suspension, [he] such 28 member shall be entitled to full pay from the date of suspension to the 29 date of reinstatement less the amount of compensation, if any, received 30 by [him] such member from any other employment or occupation during the 31 period beginning with such date of suspension to the date of [his] such 32 member's reinstatement and [he] such member shall be entitled to an 33 order as provided in article seventy-eight of the civil practice [act] 34 law and rules to enforce such payment. 35 § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 18 of section 2 of chapter 891 of the 36 laws of 1972 relating to continuing special provisions relating to 37 police departments of certain villages is amended to read as follows: 38 9. Discipline and charges. Except as otherwise provided by law, a 39 member of such police force shall continue in office unless suspended or 40 dismissed. The board of trustees or municipal board shall have power and 41 is authorized to adopt and make rules and regulations for the examina- 42 tion, hearing, investigation and determination of charges, made or 43 preferred against any member or members of such police force, but no 44 member or members of such police force shall be fined, reprimanded, 45 removed or dismissed until written charges shall have been made and 46 preferred against [him] such member or them, nor until such charges have 47 been investigated, examined, heard and determined by such board of trus- 48 tees or municipal board in such manner, procedure, practice, examination 49 and investigation as such board may by such rules and regulations from 50 time to time prescribe, except that the trial of such charges shall not 51 be delegated and must be heard before the full board of trustees or full 52 municipal board, or a majority of the members of either of such boards, 53 and the affirmative vote of a majority of such members shall be neces- 54 sary to a conviction on any such charges. Such charges shall not be 55 brought more than ninety days after the time when the facts upon which 56 such charges are based are known to such board of trustees or municipal
S. 6738 3 1 board. Any member of such police force at the time of the hearing or 2 trial of such charges before such board of trustees or municipal board 3 shall have the right to a public hearing and trial and to be represented 4 by counsel at any such hearing or trial, and any person who shall have 5 preferred such charges or any part of the same shall not sit as a member 6 of such board of trustees or municipal board upon such hearing or trial. 7 Any and all witnesses produced upon the trial shall testify under oath. 8 Any member of such force found guilty upon charges, after five days' 9 written notice and an opportunity to be heard in [his] such member's 10 defense, of neglect or dereliction in the performance of official duty, 11 or violation of rules and regulations, or disobedience, or incompetency 12 to perform official duty, or an act of delinquency seriously affecting 13 [his] such member's general character or fitness for office, may be 14 punished by such board of trustees or municipal board before which such 15 charges are tried, by reprimand, forfeiture and the withholding of sala- 16 ry or compensation for a specified time not exceeding twenty days and 17 the withholding of salary or compensation during such suspension, or by 18 dismissal from the department. Such board of trustees or municipal board 19 shall have the power to suspend without pay, pending the trial of charg- 20 es, any member of such police force for a period not to exceed thirty 21 days. If any member of such police force so suspended shall not be 22 convicted by such board of the charges so preferred, or if on review 23 [his] such member's conviction shall be reversed, then, notwithstanding 24 such charges and suspension, [he] such member shall be entitled to 25 receive full pay from the date of suspension to the date of [reimburse- 26 ment] reinstatement less the amount of compensation, if any, received by 27 [him] such member from any other employment or occupation during the 28 period beginning with such date of suspension to the date of [his] such 29 member's reinstatement and [he] such member shall be entitled to an 30 order as provided in article seventy-eight of the civil practice [act] 31 law and rules to enforce the payment thereof. 32 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.