BILL NUMBER: S5455
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to creating the criminal
justice infrastructure investment grant program; and making an appropri-
ation therefor
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to create the Criminal Justice Infrastruc-
ture Grant Program which appropriates $500 million to support much need-
ed technological improvements for impacted entities.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill would add a new section to the Executive Law and
creates the criminal justice infrastructure grant program. This section
creates this program within DCJS to award grants to provide hardware and
software to be used to assist with discovery, speedy trials and bail;
including but not limited to computers, laptops, high speed printers,
optical scanners, modems, routers, high speed fiber optic cable, cloud
storage and electronic monitors.
Eligibility is open to any municipal department having responsibility
for enforcing the criminal laws, any court in the unified court system,
sheriffs' offices, and district attorney's offices, with no minimum
grant amount. The commissioner shall establish the form and manner in
which applications shall be submitted, as well as establish guidelines.
The Department shall review each application for compliance and may
approve, reject, or return for modifications each application. The Divi-
sion shall post on its website the following information for each
approved application: name of entity, amount of grant, description of
the project.
Section 2 of this bill would appropriate five hundred million dollars
for this program.
Section 3 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect immediately..
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Since the enactment of bail reform and criminal justice reform measures
intended to protect every New Yorker's right to a fair and speedy trial,
there have been heightened demands placed on the criminal justice
system, including law enforcement organizations, District Attorneys'
offices, and the courts, in order to facilitate implementation of the
reforms and to deliver on their intended goals.
While there has been some State funding allocated towards pretrial
support services recently, it has not approached the levels needed to
help municipalities fully and properly implement the enacted reforms.
In a recent hearing on proposed funding levels for pretrial support
services, the State's Acting Commissioner for the Department of Criminal
Justice Services aptly noted that the changes to the state's bail laws
were "implemented without dedicated resources from the State," a fact
that has been highlighted by numerous stakeholders around the State in
the time since criminal justice reforms were enacted.
The new demands placed on technological infrastructure within the crimi-
nal justice system have revealed significant deficiencies and ineffi-
ciencies that have resulted in higher costs to local taxpayers,
increased overtime demands, delays in court proceedings, and insuffi-
cient access to trial materials that must be made accessible to defend-
ants.
Ultimately, the lack of modern technological infrastructure is prevent-
ing the speedy and efficient administration of justice in the State of
New York. There is simply no reason a defendant in the State of New York
should be delayed in preparing for trial because the local District
Attorney's office lacks access to high speed scanners, printers, or
cloud storage space. Similarly, no law enforcement agency should be
denied access to vital records about an individual's criminal history
because the original records exist on tape, film, or paper copy, rather
than a portable digital format that can be easily accessed and trans-
ferred.
The Criminal Justice Infrastructure Grant Program seeks to improve the
technological infrastructure that is responsible for the efficient
administration of justice in the State of New York, by providing grants
to law enforcement organizations across the State specifically to
upgrade and improve their technological infrastructure. Examples of
infrastructure that would qualify for grant funding under the program
include computers, laptops, high speed printers and scanners, cloud
storage for body-worn cameras, and electronic ankle monitors. By
improving and modernizing these systems across the State, we can make
our criminal justice system more efficient, make our communities safer
by giving law enforcement the tools they need to do so, save local
taxpayers money in the form of lower overtime expenses, and ensure the
right to a fair and speedy trial is protected for all defendants.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: S4062 (Mannion)- referred to finance.
2021-22: S.8222 (Kaplan) - Referred to Finance.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
$500 million.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.