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A04879 Summary:

A04879 Actions:

A04879 Committee Votes:

Committee:CODES   Chair:Lentol      
DATE:02/07/2017AYE/NAY:13/7  Action: Favorable         
Lentol
Aye
Graf
Nay
Schimminger
Nay
Giglio
Nay
Weinstein
Excused
McKevitt
Nay
Pretlow
Aye
Montesano
Nay
Cook
Aye
Ra
Nay
Cymbrowitz
Aye
Morinello
Nay
Titus
Aye
O'Donnell
Aye
Lavine
Aye
Perry
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Abinanti
Aye
Weprin
Aye
Mosley
Aye
Hevesi
Excused
Fahy
Aye

A04879 Floor Votes:

A04879 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4879
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 3, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. BICHOTTE, GANTT, MOSLEY, GOTTFRIED, BLAKE, WALK-
          ER, COOK, PERRY, PRETLOW,  ORTIZ,  DINOWITZ,  LIFTON,  PEOPLES-STOKES,
          HEVESI,  ROSENTHAL,  CRESPO,  WEPRIN,  MOYA,  RODRIGUEZ,  QUART,  KIM,
          SEPULVEDA, DAVILA,  PICHARDO,  SIMON,  BARRON,  SEAWRIGHT,  JOYNER  --
          Multi-Sponsored  by  -- M.  of A. CARROLL -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Codes
 
        AN ACT to amend the executive law,  in  relation  to  ethnic  or  racial
          profiling
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section  837-t
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  837-t.  Ethnic  and  racial  profiling. 1. For the purposes of this
     4  section:
     5    (a) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency established by the  state
     6  or  a  unit of local government engaged in the prevention, detection, or
     7  investigation of violations of criminal law.
     8    (b) "Law enforcement officer" means a police officer or peace officer,
     9  as defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section  1.20
    10  of the criminal procedure law, employed by a law enforcement agency.
    11    (c)  "Racial or ethnic profiling" means the practice of a law enforce-
    12  ment agent or agency, relying, to any degree,  on  actual  or  perceived
    13  race,  color,  ethnicity, national origin or religion in selecting which
    14  individual or location to subject to routine or spontaneous investigato-
    15  ry activities or in  deciding  upon  the  scope  and  substance  of  law
    16  enforcement  activity  following  the  initial  investigatory procedure,
    17  except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to  the  locality
    18  and  timeframe,  that links a specific person or location with a partic-
    19  ular characteristic described in this paragraph to an identified  crimi-
    20  nal incident or scheme.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09603-03-7
        A. 4879                             2
 
     1    (d)  "Routine  or  spontaneous  investigatory  activities"  means  the
     2  following activities by a law enforcement agent:
     3    (i) Interviews;
     4    (ii) Traffic stops;
     5    (iii) Pedestrian stops;
     6    (iv) Frisks and other types of body searches;
     7    (v)  Consensual  or  nonconsensual  searches  of  persons, property or
     8  possessions (including vehicles) of individuals;
     9    (vi) Data collection and analysis, assessments and investigations; and
    10    (vii) Inspections and interviews.
    11    2. Every law enforcement agency  and  every  law  enforcement  officer
    12  shall be prohibited from engaging in racial or ethnic profiling.
    13    3.  Every  law enforcement agency shall promulgate and adopt a written
    14  policy which prohibits racial or ethnic  profiling.  In  addition,  each
    15  such agency shall promulgate and adopt procedures for the review and the
    16  taking  of  corrective  action with respect to complaints by individuals
    17  who allege that they have been the subject of racial or  ethnic  profil-
    18  ing. A copy of each such complaint received pursuant to this section and
    19  written  notification  of  the  review and disposition of such complaint
    20  shall be promptly provided by such agency to the division.
    21    4.  Each law enforcement agency shall, using a form to  be  determined
    22  by  the  division,  record  and  retain  the  following information with
    23  respect to law enforcement officers employed by such agency:
    24    (a) the number of persons stopped as a result of a motor vehicle  stop
    25  for  traffic violations and the number of persons stopped as a result of
    26  a routine or spontaneous law enforcement activity  as  defined  in  this
    27  section;
    28    (b)  the characteristics of race, color, ethnicity, national origin or
    29  religion of each such person, provided the identification of such  char-
    30  acteristics  shall  be  based  on  the observation and perception of the
    31  officer responsible for reporting the stop and the information shall not
    32  be required to be provided by the person stopped;
    33    (c) if a vehicle was stopped, the number of individuals in the stopped
    34  motor vehicle;
    35    (d) the nature of the alleged violation that resulted in the  stop  or
    36  the basis for the conduct that resulted in the individual being stopped;
    37    (e)  whether  a pat down or frisk was conducted and, if so, the result
    38  of the pat down or frisk;
    39    (f) whether a search was conducted and,  if  so,  the  result  of  the
    40  search;
    41    (g)  if  a search was conducted, whether the search was of a person, a
    42  person's property, and/or a person's vehicle, and whether the search was
    43  conducted pursuant to consent and if not, the basis for  conducting  the
    44  search  including  any  alleged  criminal  behavior  that  justified the
    45  search;
    46    (h) whether an inventory search of such person's impounded vehicle was
    47  conducted;
    48    (i) whether a warning or citation was issued;
    49    (j) whether an arrest was made and for what charge or charges;
    50    (k) the approximate duration of the stop; and
    51    (l) the time and location of the stop.
    52    5. Every law enforcement agency  shall  compile  the  information  set
    53  forth  in  subdivision four of this section for the calendar year into a
    54  report to the division. The format of such report shall be determined by
    55  the division. The report shall be submitted to  the  division  no  later
    56  than March first of the following calendar year.
        A. 4879                             3
 
     1    6.    The  division,  in consultation with the attorney general, shall
     2  develop and promulgate:
     3    (a)  A  form  in both printed and electronic format, to be used by law
     4  enforcement officers to record the  information  listed  in  subdivision
     5  four of this section; and
     6    (b)  A  form  to  be used to report complaints pursuant to subdivision
     7  three of  this  section  by  individuals  who  believe  they  have  been
     8  subjected to racial or ethnic profiling.
     9    7.  Every  law enforcement agency shall promptly make available to the
    10  attorney general, upon demand and notice, the documents required  to  be
    11  produced  and  promulgated pursuant to subdivisions three, four and five
    12  of this section.
    13    8. Every law enforcement agency  shall  furnish  all  data/information
    14  collected  pursuant to subdivision four of this section to the division.
    15  The division shall develop and implement a plan for a computerized  data
    16  system  for  public  viewing  of  such  data and shall publish an annual
    17  report on data collected for the  governor,  the  legislature,  and  the
    18  public  on  law enforcement stops. Information released shall not reveal
    19  the identity of any individual.
    20    9. The attorney general may bring an action on behalf  of  the  people
    21  for  injunctive  relief  and/or damages against a law enforcement agency
    22  that is engaging in or has engaged in an act or acts of racial profiling
    23  in a court having jurisdiction to issue such relief. The court may award
    24  costs and reasonable attorney fees to the attorney general who  prevails
    25  in such an action.
    26    10.  In  addition to a cause of action brought pursuant to subdivision
    27  nine of this section, an individual who has been the subject of  an  act
    28  or  acts  of  racial profiling may bring an action for injunctive relief
    29  and/or damages against a law enforcement agency that is  engaged  in  or
    30  has  engaged in an act or acts of racial profiling.  The court may award
    31  costs and reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff who prevails  in  such
    32  an action.
    33    11. Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing or abro-
    34  gating  any right, remedy or cause of action which an individual who has
    35  been subject to racial or ethnic profiling  may  have  pursuant  to  any
    36  other provision of law.
    37    § 2.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided that:
    38    1.  the  provisions of subdivision 4 of section 837-t of the executive
    39  law as added by section one of this act shall take effect on the nineti-
    40  eth day after it shall have become a law; and
    41    2. the provisions of subdivision 6 of section 837-t of  the  executive
    42  law  as added by section one of this act shall take effect on the sixti-
    43  eth day after it shall have become a law.