Bill Text: NY S05035 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the "Malcom X unsolved civil rights crime act"; requires the assistant attorney of the civil rights bureau to investigate violations of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later than December thirty-first, nineteen seventy-nine, and resulted in a death.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S05035 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S05035-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5035 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 22, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, BRISPORT, MYRIE, RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the "Malcolm X unsolved civil rights crime act of 2023"; making an appro- priation therefor; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof 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 "Malcolm X unsolved civil rights crime act of 2023". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and purpose. The legislature finds that all 4 authorities with jurisdiction, including the department of law and the 5 division of state police, should (i) expeditiously investigate unsolved 6 civil rights murders, due to the amount of time that has passed since 7 the murders and the age of potential witnesses; and (ii) provide all the 8 resources necessary to ensure timely and thorough investigations in the 9 cases involved with such. 10 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 68 to read 11 as follows: 12 § 68. Civil rights investigations. 1. The assistant attorney general 13 of the civil rights bureau shall be responsible for investigating 14 violations of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later 15 than December thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine, and resulted 16 in a death. 17 2. When investigating such complaints, the assistant attorney general 18 may coordinate the investigative activities with state and local law 19 enforcement officials. 20 3. The attorney general shall annually conduct a study of the cases 21 under the jurisdiction of the assistant attorney general of the civil 22 rights bureau. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06202-01-3S. 5035 2 1 (a) Such study shall include: 2 (i) the number of open investigations within the department of law for 3 violations of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later 4 than December thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine; 5 (ii) the number of new cases opened pursuant to this section since the 6 previous year's study; 7 (iii) the number of unsealed federal, state and local cases charged 8 within the study period, including the case names, the jurisdiction in 9 which the charges were brought, and the date the charges were filed; 10 (iv) the number of cases referred by the department of law to a state 11 or local law enforcement agency or prosecutor within the study period, 12 the number of such cases that resulted in state charges being filed, the 13 jurisdiction in which such charges were filed, the date such charges 14 were filed, and whether or not a jurisdiction declined to prosecute or 15 participate in an investigation of a case so referred; 16 (v) the number of cases within the study period that were closed with- 17 out federal, state, or local prosecution, the case names of unsealed 18 federal, state and local cases, the dates such cases were closed, and 19 the relevant federal, state and local statutes; 20 (vi) the number of attorneys who worked, in whole or in part, on any 21 case that qualifies under subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph; and 22 (vii) the number of requests by state and local law enforcement for 23 additional funds to investigate matters under this section in accordance 24 with subdivision four of this section, the amount of such requests, if 25 such requests were fulfilled and the purposes for which such requested 26 money was expended. 27 (b) No later than six months after the effective date of this section 28 and every year thereafter, the attorney general shall prepare a report 29 with the information collected under paragraph (a) of this subdivision 30 of this section and submit such report to the governor, the temporary 31 president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. 32 4. Out of monies appropriated to investigate and prosecute violations 33 of criminal civil rights statutes under this section, up to one million 34 dollars may be allocated to state and local law enforcement agencies for 35 expenses associated with such investigations. 36 5. For the purposes of this section, criminal civil rights statutes 37 shall include: 38 (a) section 241 of title 18 of the United States Code, relating to 39 conspiracy against rights; 40 (b) section 242 of title 18 of the United States Code, relating to 41 deprivation of rights under color of law; 42 (c) section 245 of title 18 of the United States Code, relating to 43 federally protected activities; 44 (d) sections 1581 and 1584 of title 18 of the United States Code, 45 relating to involuntary servitude and peonage; 46 (e) section 901 (42 U.S.C. 3631) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 47 1988; and 48 (f) any other federal law that (i) was in effect on or before December 49 thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine; and (ii) the criminal 50 section of the civil rights division of the department of justice 51 enforced, before the effective date of this section. 52 § 4. The sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000), or so much thereof 53 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated every fiscal year to the 54 department of law out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general 55 fund to the credit of the civil rights bureau, not otherwise appropri- 56 ated, and made immediately available, for the purpose of carrying outS. 5035 3 1 the provisions of this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit 2 and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved. 3 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 4 deemed repealed twelve years after such date.
