Requires law enforcement agents and peace officers to record information in their memo books pertaining to the race of persons with whom they have meaningful interactions.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5334
SPONSOR: Ramos (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring law enforce-
ment agents and peace officers to record certain information to their
memo books
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To amend the existing executive law by requiring law enforcement agents
and peace officers to record information pertaining to the race of
persons they have meaningful interactions within their memo books in the
course of their official duties.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends the executive law by adding section 837y to
have every law enforcement agent or peace officer record in his or her
memo book the race of every person the agent or officer has a meaningful
interaction with during the course of performing his or her official
duties.
Section 2 provides for an effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently law enforcement agents or peace officers do not need to record
the race of a person in their memo books. This bill will require law
enforcement to record a person's race in their memo books with whom they
have had meaningful interactions within the course of their official
duties. The recording of such can be useful if any allegations are made
against a police officer - it can potentially exonerate the officer or
be used in the course of an official investigation.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.4841 of 2023-24 referred to governmental operations
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5334
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RAMOS, EPSTEIN, WALKER, GIBBS -- Multi-Sponsored
by -- M. of A. LEVENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring law enforce-
ment agents and peace officers to record certain information to their
memo books
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-y
2 to read as follows:
3 § 837-y. Records in memo books. Every law enforcement agent or peace
4 officer shall make a record in their memo book of the race of every
5 person the agent or officer has a meaningful interaction with during the
6 course of performing their official duties. For the purpose of this
7 section, "meaningful interaction" shall include, but not be limited to
8 conversations entered into pursuant to traffic stops. "Meaningful
9 interaction" shall not include casual conversations the agent or officer
10 engages in which are not germane to or in furtherance of performing
11 their investigatory duties as a law enforcement agent or peace officer.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05081-01-5
