STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1650
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- 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 requiring places of
          public accommodation, resort or  amusement  that  operate  televisions
          during  regular  hours  of  operation  to provide closed captioning on
          certain televisions upon request
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The  civil  rights law is amended by adding a new section
     2  79-o to read as follows:
     3    § 79-o. Closed captioning in places of public accommodation, resort or
     4  amusement. 1. A place of public accommodation, resort or  amusement,  as
     5  defined  in  subdivision  nine  of section two hundred ninety-two of the
     6  executive law, shall upon request be required to have closed  captioning
     7  enabled  on  all televisions that are located in the public area of such
     8  establishment during regular hours of business.  The  regular  hours  of
     9  business of the place of public accommodation, resort or amusement shall
    10  be the hours of operation as posted in such establishment.
    11    2. The provisions of this section shall not apply if:
    12    (a)  no televisions in the public area of the place of public accommo-
    13  dation, resort or amusement are capable of providing closed  captioning;
    14  or
    15    (b)  in the event that two televisions in the public area of the place
    16  of public accommodation, resort or amusement    have  the  same  channel
    17  being  broadcast,  only  one of the televisions shall be subject to this
    18  section.
    19    3. As used in this section:
    20    (a) "closed captioning" shall mean a feature on a television that when
    21  activated will visually display a transcription of the audio portion  of
    22  video programming; and
    23    (b) "public area" shall mean the section of a place of public accommo-
    24  dation, resort or amusement that is open to the general public.
    25    § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01560-01-9