Black Lives Matter protesters march through downtown Manhattan. Photo: Ryland West: ALM

New York legislative leaders on Monday pledged to pass a slate of police reforms after widespread protests over police brutality gripped the nation's attention.

The package of bills includes a measure that would repeal a contentious state law used to keep police disciplinary records secret. Advocates say the law, known as 50-a for its spot in New York's Civil Rights Law, prevents officers with past misconduct from being held accountable by shielding information from the public.

Police groups oppose repealing the state law, but the idea has enjoyed wide support from civil rights groups, criminal defense lawyers and the state's Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus.

The measures before the Legislature touch on a host of policing reforms, such as a ban on choke holds. Momentum for the legislation comes following outrage and nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and the killing of black Americans by police.

Those protests, some punctuated by violent responses from police against protesters, have since sparked a larger national conversation on systemic racism and the intersection of race and policing. The breadth of the protests has been staggering, with demonstrations popping up in large metropolises and small towns alike.

Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, the chamber's majority leader, said black people and other people of color are not anti-police, but are anti-bad police.

"For generations, we have been hunted, abused—mentally and physically—by bad police," said Peoples-Stokes, who is black.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins issued a statement saying the bills poised to pass "will help stop bad actors and send a clear message that brutality, racism, and unjustified killings will not be tolerated."

The current 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. The records can also be released through a court order.

Those protections extend to correction officers and firefighters under the law.

One bill would repeal the law, but stipulates carve-outs that would prevent the release of officers' medical history, their home addresses and cellphone numbers. Under the bill, that information would be redacted.

The Legal Aid Society has backed the bill, saying lawmakers have "zero excuse" not to green-light the measure and send it to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk for approval.

"While this legislation will never fully right the abuses our clients have and continue to endure at the hands of the NYPD, enacting this bill into law at once is a critical step forward towards transparency and accountability for one of America's largest and most brutal police forces," the organization said in a statement.

Cuomo has said he will approve any legislation that reforms or repeals the 50-a statute.

Repeal legislation has faced sharp opposition from police organizations. They argue the protections keep officers safe.

Here are other state reform measures:

Low-Level Offenses