Bill Text: NY S00413 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Limits who may bring a private right of action for identifying a victim of a sex offense; only brought by the victim where the information has not otherwise been publicly disclosed.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S00413 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S00413-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           413
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to  limiting  who  may
          bring  a  private  right  of  action for identifying a victim of a sex
          offense
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision 1 of section 50-b of the civil rights law, as
     2  amended by chapter 320 of the laws  of  2006,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    1.  The identity of any victim of a sex offense, as defined in article
     5  one hundred thirty or section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law,
     6  or of an offense involving the alleged transmission of the human immuno-
     7  deficiency virus, shall be  confidential.  No  portion  of  any  report,
     8  paper, picture, photograph, court file or other documents, in the custo-
     9  dy  or  possession  of  any public officer or employee, which identifies
    10  such a victim shall be made available for  public  inspection.  No  such
    11  public  officer  or  employee  shall  disclose any portion of any police
    12  report, court file, or other document, which tends to  identify  such  a
    13  victim except as provided in subdivision two of this section.
    14    §  2.  Section 50-c of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 643
    15  of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
    16    § 50-c. Private right of action. If the identity of the victim  of  an
    17  offense defined in subdivision one of section fifty-b of this article is
    18  disclosed  in  violation  of  such  section, [any person injured by such
    19  disclosure] and has not otherwise been publicly disclosed,  such  victim
    20  may bring an action to recover damages suffered by reason of such wrong-
    21  ful  disclosure. In any action brought under this section, the court may
    22  award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
    23    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04312-01-9