Prohibits municipalities from transferring primary investigating authority of vehicle collisions that result in serious injury or death from the police to a non-law enforcement agency.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3145
SPONSOR: Reilly TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to prohibiting
municipalities from transferring primary investigating authority of
vehicle collisions that result in serious injury or death to a non-law
enforcement agency
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 603a
of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 489 of the laws of
2017, to restrict municipalities from transferring primary investigating
authority to a non-law enforcement agency. Section 2 provides the effec-
tive date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation was introduced in response to a proposal by the New
York City Council which would transfer primary authority over crash
investigations, including those that are criminal, from the New York
City Police Department (NYPD) to the New York City Department of Trans-
portation (NYC DOT). In 2020, 244 people died in traffic crashes
throughout New York City, some of which saw criminal charges pursued by
prosecutors. The City Council's legislation stems from a misguided anti-
police agenda, and any attempt to remove the investigation of crashes,
criminal or otherwise, from the purview of our city's primary law
enforcement agency to a non-law enforcement agency would be negligent.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
03/10/21 referred to transportation
01/05/22 referred to transportation
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Unknown.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
