Sponsor · State Senator, District 26 · Democratic
Senate bill · S5862 (2025-26)
Relates to the storage of evidence by law enforcement agencies
Summary
Requires law enforcement agencies to store physical or other evidence it maintains within fireproof containers or within a fireproof storage area; requires law enforcement agencies to document and photograph evidence before it is stored in a fireproof container or storage area; requires that such documents and photographs be stored in a different location.
Your position on this bill
Not chosen yet
Where it stands
Out of committee and scheduled for a vote by the full chamber.
- Introduced
- In committee
- Up for a vote
- Passed one chamber
- Passed
- Enacted
New York State Senate
Same as A1809, the matching bill in the Assembly.
Amends the Executive Law.
Committee
Codes · New York State Assembly
Also referred to Codes · New York State Senate, Ways and Means · New York State Assembly.
Purpose, from the sponsor's memo
To enhance security of evidence storage and ensure such evidence has been properly documented.
Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)
Cosponsors
Emily Gallagher, Jo Anne Simon and 1 more on Agora
- Democratic3
The sponsor's argument
Why Andrew Gounardes says this is needed
In December 2022, a fire broke out at the Erie Basin Auto Pound in Brooklyn, destroying more than 30 years of evidence that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had collected and stored there. This facility is one of two auto pounds that the NYPD uses to store a variety of evidence, including vehicles and motorbikes that have been seized during investigations and DNA and other biological evidence from unsolved burglaries and shootings. With the loss of this evidence, many ongoing cases will have been upended, potentially preventing innocent people from being cleared of wrongdoing. This tragic event highlights the urgency for changes to law enforce- ment's evidence storage practices. This bill will require all evidence to be kept within fireproof storage containers and require evidence to be properly documented and stored separately. While fires and other disasters cannot always be avoided, new procedures for the storage of biological and physical evidence will help to ensure such a significant loss does not happen again.
This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.
Full history
- Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO CODES
NY Senate
- Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
NY Assembly
- Mar 3, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO CODES
NY Senate
- Jan 28, 2025
Reported out of committee
REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
NY Assembly
- Jan 14, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO CODES
NY Assembly
About this record
- Summary
The summary comes from NY Open Legislation, the New York State Senate's public record. For more, see How we handle summaries.
- Cosponsors
The list shows the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.
- Party colors
Parties are shown in the same neutral colors.
- Source
From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Nov 2, 2026. About our data
Read the record
- Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab) The official record on nysenate.gov.