The Senate and Assembly approved two bills that look to provide more oversight to law enforcement. 

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the first woman and the first black woman to hold this position, recognized that these bills are the first step in a long process. 

“We know what we did is not a cure, it is a first step,” Leader Stewart-Cousins said on the floor of the Senate. “It acknowledges that laws alone are important, but they can’t fix racism in America.”

The first bill will create an Office of Special Investigation within the attorney general’s office. This agency will investigate any incident where a person died either after an encounter with a police officer or while in custody. It will also give this agency the ability to prosecute if an officer is found to be at fault. 

The second bill will establish the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office. This agency will review, study, audit and make recommendations regarding policies and practices of local police departments. 

“It begins to root out injustice and to bring justice to our justice system,” Stewart-Cousins explained. “It is a step and a path to equality.”

However, many Republican leaders have voiced that some of these bills passed this week were rushed. 

Assemblyman Robert Smullen says that while he supports reforming aspects of policing, he also sees many issues arising in the future with some of these bills. 

“We saw it in bail reform, and I think we’ll see it next year when we have to do some chapter amendments to some of these bills,” Smullen explained. “We pointed out some obvious discrepancies in them, but they did pass and they will be signed into law. And we will have to adjust going forward with those.”

These two bills wraps up the police reform agenda lawmakers returned to Albany to vote on. Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign these bills potentially as soon as this week.