Requires state employees and the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, and members of the legislature attend annual implicit bias training provided by the legislative ethics commission.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7304--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the labor law and the legislative law, in relation to
requiring state employees and certain public officials attend annual
implicit bias training
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 27-f to
2 read as follows:
3 § 27-f. Annual implicit bias training. 1. Definitions. For the
4 purposes of this section:
5 a. "Employer" means: (1) the state; (2) a political subdivision of the
6 state; (3) a public authority, a public benefit corporation, or any
7 other governmental agency or instrumentality thereof; (4) an authorized
8 agency as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision ten of section three
9 hundred seventy-one of the social services law that accepts children
10 adjudicated delinquent under article three of the family court act; and
11 (5) members of the legislature.
12 b. "Employee" means a public employee or elected official working for
13 an employer.
14 c. "Implicit bias training" means a training program designed to help
15 individuals become aware of their implicit biases and equip them with
16 tools and strategies to act objectively, limiting the influence of their
17 implicit biases.
18 2. Employee information and training. Every employer, in cooperation
19 with the legislative ethics commission, shall provide annual implicit
20 bias training to its employees. Such training shall be in accordance
21 with the annual implicit bias training program which is conducted by the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05360-04-5
S. 7304--A 2
1 legislative ethics commission under paragraph m of subdivision seven of
2 section eighty of the legislative law.
3 § 2. Paragraphs i, k and l of subdivision 7 of section 80 of the
4 legislative law, paragraph i as amended by chapter 841 of the laws of
5 2022 and paragraphs k and l as amended by section 4 of part QQ of chap-
6 ter 56 of the laws of 2022, are amended and a new paragraph m is added
7 to read as follows:
8 i. Upon written request from any person who is subject to the juris-
9 diction of the commission and the requirements of sections seventy-
10 three, seventy-three-a and seventy-four of the public officers law, and
11 section five-b of this chapter render formal advisory opinions on the
12 requirements of said provisions. A formal written opinion rendered by
13 the commission, until and unless amended or revoked, shall be binding on
14 the legislative ethics commission in any subsequent proceeding concern-
15 ing the person who requested the opinion and who acted in good faith,
16 unless material facts were omitted or misstated by the person in the
17 request for an opinion. Such opinion may also be relied upon by such
18 person, and may be introduced and shall be a defense in any criminal or
19 civil action. The commission on ethics and lobbying in government shall
20 not investigate an individual for potential violations of law based upon
21 conduct approved and covered in its entirety by such an opinion, except
22 that such opinion shall not prevent or preclude an investigation of and
23 report to the legislative ethics commission concerning the conduct of
24 the person who obtained it by the commission on ethics and lobbying in
25 government for violations of section seventy-three, seventy-three-a or
26 seventy-four of the public officers law and section [5-b] five-b of this
27 chapter to determine whether the person accurately and fully represented
28 to the legislative ethics commission the facts relevant to the formal
29 advisory opinion and whether the person's conduct conformed to those
30 factual representations. The commission on ethics and lobbying in
31 government shall be authorized and shall have jurisdiction to investi-
32 gate potential violations of the law arising from conduct outside of the
33 scope of the terms of the advisory opinion; [and]
34 k. Develop educational materials and training with regard to legisla-
35 tive ethics for members of the legislature and legislative employees
36 including an online ethics orientation course for newly-hired employees
37 and, as requested by the senate or the assembly, materials and training
38 in relation to a comprehensive ethics training program; [and]
39 l. Prepare an annual report to the governor and legislature summariz-
40 ing the activities of the commission during the previous year and recom-
41 mending any changes in the laws governing the conduct of persons subject
42 to the jurisdiction of the commission, or the rules, regulations and
43 procedures governing the commission's conduct. Such report shall
44 include: (i) a listing by assigned number of each complaint and report
45 received from the commission on ethics and lobbying in government which
46 alleged a possible violation within its jurisdiction, including the
47 current status of each complaint, and (ii) where a matter has been
48 resolved, the date and nature of the disposition and any sanction
49 imposed, subject to the confidentiality requirements of this section.
50 Such annual report shall not contain any information for which disclo-
51 sure is not permitted pursuant to subdivision twelve of this section[.];
52 and
53 m. Create an annual implicit bias training program and provide manda-
54 tory annual implicit bias training for the governor, lieutenant gover-
55 nor, attorney general, comptroller, members of the state legislature,
56 and legislative employees which shall include, but not be limited to,
S. 7304--A 3
1 helping individuals become aware of their implicit biases and equip them
2 with tools and strategies to act objectively, limiting the influence of
3 their implicit biases. Such program shall also be provided to any
4 employees of such elected officials, executive employees, and any other
5 employee of the state under section twenty-seven-f of the labor law.
6 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
7 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
8 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
9 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
10 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
