A woman leading a protest for Black Lives Matter and the death of George Floyd shouts chants into a bullhorn as they march down Wall Street in Manhattan, New York. Photo: Ryland West/ALM

Even with a legislative session largely upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, criminal justice reform measures are in the limelight for New York's Legislature as public unrest continues over the death of George Floyd.

A host of reform bills found little momentum this session, particularly with New York's landmark bail law dominating conversations about criminal justice at the Capitol.

But now, with the backdrop of Floyd's death and the sprawling nationwide protests that followed, there has been a wave of calls for criminal justice reform legislation from state lawmakers and legal organizations.

Among the measures gaining the most attention is a bill that would repeal a state law used to keep police disciplinary records secret. The law is known as 50-a for its spot in New York's Civil Rights Law and is utilized to shield those records from the public, something advocates say prevents officers from being held accountable.

Dozens of state lawmakers have backed the repeal legislation. 

Legislative leaders say they will be developing a package of legislation and they intend to act next week. Earlier this week, the leaders issued a joint statement saying there were "majority conferences to discuss the issues occurring in our communities that have caused so much unrest over the last several days."

It remains unclear what bills will make it into the legislative package.

Days of outrage and protests, sparked by Floyd's death, have once again turned the nation's attention to the killing of African Americans by police. Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned a knee on his neck as the man laid face down on the pavement.

In New York, the reform push comes at the tail end of a legislative session in which major reform bills had been shelved. One bill would mandate further restrictions on how the state uses solitary confinement against inmates. Another bill would require parole hearings for inmates who have served at least 15 years in prison and are over 55 years old, even if the prisoner has not finished their minimum sentence. 

The bill to repeal 50-a appeared to be stalled as well this legislative session. The 50-a law says "all personnel records used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion" should be considered "confidential and not subject to inspection or review," without written consent.

Cuomo over the weekend said he would sign a bill that "reforms" the law. He clarified that position on Tuesday.

"I will sign any 50-a reform bill they send me — repeal, reform. Whatever they send me I will sign," he said. "Because I think what's preeminent now is to say to the community, we saw the George Floyd killing. We are also outraged and we are going to do something about it."

Patrick Lynch, president of the New York City police benevolent association, issued a statement on Saturday saying it was "inconceivable" that Cuomo would want to arm "extremists with confidential police personnel records, so that they bring their weapons to our front doors."

"We cannot protect New York if politicians won't even provide the bare minimum protections for us and our families," he said in the statement.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has elevated criminal justice reform issues as of late, decrying Floyd's death and saying there should be independent investigations when it comes to police abuse.

Yet, those comments haven't shielded the third-term governor from criticism that he's taken too long to act.

"He talks a really good game about caring about communities of color, about low-income communities. But for the past decade, he has not cared at all," said state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi earlier this week.

Biaggi criticized Cuomo's actions on criminal justice reform and said he has under-invested in education.

"He is the one who has been in charge. He is the one who has had the power. And he has had a dereliction of duties because he has not cared about anybody in any of these communities of color," she said. "And only when the time is popular, or when it seems to be right, then he'll come out and talk about helping communities of color."

READ MORE:

Cuomo Taps NY AG James to Review Protests Over Death of George Floyd

Pointing to George Floyd Death, NY Defense Lawyers' Group Calls for 'Structural Work' in Legal System

Prosecutors Brace for Sweeping Change as NY Criminal Justice Reforms Take Effect