Bill Text: NY S01924 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "New York religious freedom act".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S01924 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S01924-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1924
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 17, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. KRUEGER, BAILEY, BRESLIN, RIVERA, SERRANO, STAVISKY
          -- 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  enacting  the  New
          York religious freedom act
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known, and may be cited,  as
     2  the "New York religious freedom act".
     3    § 2. Legislative intent. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
     4  following:
     5    (a) In New York, we celebrate the rich cultural heritage and diversity
     6  of our residents.
     7    (b)  Freedom  of religion and protection from persecution are founding
     8  ideals of our nation.
     9    (c) New York must uphold the protection of religious freedom enshrined
    10  in the United States Constitution for all of its people, and  the  state
    11  has  a  moral  obligation  to protect its citizens from religious perse-
    12  cution.
    13    (d) Section 3 of Article I of the New York state Constitution  guaran-
    14  tees  the free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination
    15  or preference.
    16    § 3. The civil rights law is amended by adding a  new  section  16  to
    17  read as follows:
    18    §  16.  New  York  religious freedom act. 1. Notwithstanding any other
    19  law, a state or local agency or public employee acting  under  color  of
    20  law shall not:
    21    (a)  Provide  or disclose to federal government authorities personally
    22  identifiable information regarding the religious beliefs, practices,  or
    23  affiliation  of  any  individual  for  the  purpose of compiling a list,
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02044-01-9
        S. 1924                             2
     1  registry, or database of individuals  based  on  religious  affiliation,
     2  national origin, or ethnicity.
     3    (b) Use agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to
     4  assist  in  creation,  implementation,  or enforcement of any government
     5  program compiling a list, registry, or database of personally  identifi-
     6  able  information about individuals based on religious belief, practice,
     7  or affiliation, or national origin or ethnicity, for law enforcement  or
     8  immigration purposes.
     9    (c)  Make  personally  identifiable  information from agency databases
    10  available,  including  any  databases  maintained  by  private   vendors
    11  contracting  with the agency, to anyone or any entity for the purpose of
    12  investigation or enforcement under any government  program  compiling  a
    13  list,  registry,  or  database of individuals based on religious belief,
    14  practice, or affiliation,  or  national  origin  or  ethnicity  for  law
    15  enforcement or immigration purposes.
    16    2.  Notwithstanding  any  other  law,  state and local law enforcement
    17  agencies shall not:
    18    (a) Collect information on the religious belief, practice,  or  affil-
    19  iation of any individual except: (1) as part of a targeted investigation
    20  of  an individual based on reasonable suspicion to believe that individ-
    21  ual has engaged in criminal activity, and when there is  a  clear  nexus
    22  between  the  criminal  activity  and the specific information collected
    23  about religious belief, practice, or affiliation; or (2) where necessary
    24  to provide religious accommodations.
    25    (b) Use agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to
    26  investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or  enforcement  of
    27  any  criminal,  civil,  or  administrative  violation,  or warrant for a
    28  violation, of any requirement that individuals register with the federal
    29  government or any federal agency based on religion, national origin,  or
    30  ethnicity.
    31    3.  Any  agreements in existence on the effective date of this section
    32  that make any agency or department information or database available  in
    33  conflict  with  the terms of this section are terminated on that date to
    34  the extent of the conflict.
    35    4. Nothing in this section prohibits any state or  local  agency  from
    36  sending  to,  or  receiving  from,  any local, state, or federal agency,
    37  information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status.
    38  "Information  regarding  an  individual's  citizenship  or   immigration
    39  status,  lawful  or  unlawful"  for  purposes  of this section, shall be
    40  interpreted consistent with Sections 1373 and 1644 of  Title  8  of  the
    41  United States Code.
    42    5.  Nothing  in this section is intended to prevent any state or local
    43  agency from compiling aggregate non-personally identifiable  information
    44  about  religious  belief,  practice,  or affiliation, national origin or
    45  ethnicity or from exchanging it with  other  local,  state,  or  federal
    46  agencies.
    47    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.