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A01322 Summary:

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A01322 Committee Votes:

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A01322 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1322
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     January 9, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. LAVINE, WEINSTEIN, WEPRIN, ROSENTHAL, MOSLEY,
          BRONSON, PEOPLES-STOKES -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  LUPINACCI,
          PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
 
        AN  ACT  to amend the civil rights law, in relation to the right to call
          for police and emergency assistance and providing victim protections
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Article 9 and sections 90 and 91 of the civil rights law,
     2  as renumbered by chapter 310 of the laws of 1962, are renumbered article
     3  10 and sections 100 and 101, and a new article 9 is  added  to  read  as
     4  follows:
     5                                  ARTICLE 9
     6                     RIGHT TO CALL POLICE AND EMERGENCY
     7                        ASSISTANCE/VICTIM PROTECTIONS
     8  Section 90. Legislative findings.
     9          91. Right  to  call  for police and emergency assistance; victim
    10                protections.
    11          92. Protections not applicable to  breaches  of  lease,  illicit
    12                activities or other violations of law.
    13          93. Right  of property owners to be free of penalty for respect-
    14                ing the rights of an occupant to request police  or  emer-
    15                gency assistance.
    16          94. Limitation  on  right to request police or emergency assist-
    17                ance prohibited.
    18          95. Defenses.
    19          96. Removal  of  the  perpetrator  of  violence  while  assuring
    20                continued occupancy by victim.
    21          97. Remedies.
    22          98. Guidance authorized.
    23    §  90.  Legislative findings. No victim of domestic violence, or other
    24  person threatened with violence or in jeopardy of harm, should  fail  to
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03311-01-5
        A. 1322                             2
 
     1  access  police  or  emergency assistance when needed because of the fear
     2  that doing so may result in losing their  housing  through  eviction  or
     3  other actions to remove them from the property. Some local laws or poli-
     4  cies  have  the effect of treating such requests for police or emergency
     5  aid as a disturbance  constituting  a  "public  nuisance"  or  otherwise
     6  treating  the  individual faced with the violence and in need of assist-
     7  ance as an undesirable tenant or undesirable influence on the  neighbor-
     8  hood  based upon a call for help to their home. Legislation is needed to
     9  assure that victims of violence or threats of harm or violence  are  not
    10  penalized  in  relation to any law enforcement activity and intervention
    11  necessary to address offender accountability and victim safety.
    12    Municipalities throughout the state have increasingly begun  to  adopt
    13  local  laws  and  ordinances to address public nuisances or other intru-
    14  sions on the quiet enjoyment of their residents and communities. Despite
    15  their intent to aid communities, overly broad  ordinances  have  instead
    16  had  a  harmful  chilling effect deterring victims of violence and crime
    17  from accessing police assistance and  have  jeopardized  public  safety.
    18  Given  the negative impact that certain provisions have on the community
    19  at large, and to victims of crime in particular, remedial legislation is
    20  necessary that will both protect the rights  of  domestic  violence  and
    21  crime victims to access essential police assistance, as well as preserve
    22  the  locality's right to address conduct that may undermine the communi-
    23  ty's safety or integrity.
    24    The legislature therefore finds that it is desirable  to  clarify  the
    25  law  in this area in order to protect women and others from violence and
    26  crime.
    27    The legislature further finds that there is  a  need  to  assure  that
    28  victims of violence, including persons threatened with harm or violence,
    29  have  a  clear  right to access assistance to protect personal or public
    30  safety.
    31    The legislature finally finds that clarification  in  this  area  will
    32  advance  the  state's interest in stopping crime and further the aims of
    33  penal laws that depend on citizens to report incidents of crime  to  law
    34  enforcement.
    35    With  this  remedial  legislation the legislature specifically intends
    36  that the coverage of this article includes, but is not limited to,  laws
    37  or  ordinances  that  use  any  form  of cumulative point system for the
    38  purpose of identifying any persons or properties who or which  would  be
    39  subject to municipal enforcement action.
    40    §  91.  Right  to  call  for  police  and emergency assistance; victim
    41  protections. 1.  Any person who is a victim  of  domestic  violence,  as
    42  defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law,
    43  or  who  otherwise  believes he or she is in need of police or emergency
    44  assistance has the right to request such assistance and to  be  free  of
    45  any  direct or indirect penalty or reprisal for accessing assistance, or
    46  because he or she resides at a property where domestic violence or other
    47  law enforcement activity occurred. Other than  as  provided  in  section
    48  ninety-two  of this article, no victim of conduct which has been used as
    49  the grounds for the application of a local law or ordinance  established
    50  for  the purpose of regulating nuisances shall be directly or indirectly
    51  penalized, or otherwise subject to reprisal by application of such local
    52  law, including by termination or  refusal  to  renew  a  tenancy  or  by
    53  eviction.
    54    2.  No  residential  occupant  shall  be required, either orally or in
    55  writing, to waive rights under this article, and any such  waiver  shall
    56  be void and unenforceable.
        A. 1322                             3
 
     1    §  92. Protections not applicable to breaches of lease, illicit activ-
     2  ities or other violations of law. The protections of this article  shall
     3  not  be deemed to prohibit a municipality from enforcing an ordinance or
     4  local law, nor restrict a landlord from terminating, evicting or  refus-
     5  ing  to renew a tenancy, when such action is premised upon grounds other
     6  than access of police or emergency assistance or is  otherwise  premised
     7  on conduct unrelated to the residential occupant's status as a target or
     8  victim of violence or harm.
     9    §  93.  Right  of property owners to be free of penalty for respecting
    10  the rights of an occupant to request police or emergency assistance.  No
    11  landlord or other property owner shall be subject to fines  or  loss  of
    12  permits  or  licenses  by  a  municipality  for failing to take steps to
    13  remove an occupant who has exercised rights under this article.
    14    § 94. Limitation on right to request police  or  emergency  assistance
    15  prohibited.    A municipality, municipal authority, landlord or property
    16  owner shall not prohibit, restrict, penalize or in any other way direct-
    17  ly or indirectly limit any person's exercise of rights under this  arti-
    18  cle. The protections of this prohibition shall extend to any residential
    19  occupant  upon whose behalf a third party has called for police or emer-
    20  gency assistance.
    21    § 95. Defenses. 1.  It is a defense to any judicial or  administrative
    22  action  or  proceeding  taken by any municipality or municipal authority
    23  enforcing any local law or ordinance that the enforcement action direct-
    24  ly or indirectly penalizes a residential occupant or property owner  for
    25  the  exercise  of  rights under this article. Prior to initiation of any
    26  such enforcement action or proceeding all parties  and  any  residential
    27  occupant  that  may  be so impacted shall be given written notice by the
    28  municipality of the protections of this article and shall have the right
    29  to be heard in the action or proceeding to advance the defenses provided
    30  by this article.
    31    2. It is a defense in any action or proceeding by a landlord or  other
    32  owner  of  real  property to regain possession of that property that the
    33  action or proceeding directly  or  indirectly  penalizes  a  residential
    34  occupant for the exercise of rights under this article.  Any residential
    35  occupant  whose  right  to  continued  occupancy  may be impacted by the
    36  outcome shall be given notice of the action or proceeding by  the  party
    37  initiating  the  action or proceeding and shall have the right to appear
    38  as a necessary party in accordance with  the  provisions  of  the  civil
    39  practice law and rules and the real property actions and proceedings law
    40  in order to advance the defenses provided by this article.
    41    §  96. Removal of the perpetrator of violence while assuring continued
    42  occupancy by victim.  Actions including termination, eviction or refusal
    43  to renew a leasehold interest or termination of any other form of lawful
    44  occupancy through a judicial proceeding may be carried out  against  the
    45  perpetrator  of  such violence or harm.  Notwithstanding the terms of an
    46  existing lease, written or oral, or other form of  occupancy  agreement,
    47  any  person  with rights described in section ninety-one of this article
    48  shall have the right to continue in occupancy,  and  the  court  may  so
    49  order,  for  a  term  equivalent to the balance of the original term and
    50  under the same terms and conditions as provided in the original lease or
    51  occupancy agreement.
    52    § 97. Remedies.  Any person or entity aggrieved by a violation of  the
    53  protections  created  by  this  article shall have the right to bring an
    54  action or special proceeding in a court of appropriate  jurisdiction  to
    55  seek  damages  and/or  declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to
        A. 1322                             4
 
     1  such violation. A prevailing plaintiff may be entitled to  an  award  of
     2  costs and attorney's fees.
     3    §  98.  Guidance  authorized.    The  New  York  state  office for the
     4  prevention of domestic violence and the  division  of  criminal  justice
     5  services,  upon  consultation  with the other, are jointly authorized to
     6  provide guidance with respect to drafting of local  nuisance  ordinances
     7  and  evaluation  of  their  impact  on  access  to  police and emergency
     8  services.
     9    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
    10  pending actions and proceedings.