STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3978 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 8, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN, PEOPLES-STOKES, AUBRY, WALKER, COOK, PRETLOW, DINOWITZ, HEVESI, L. ROSENTHAL, REYES, ZEBROWSKI, BARRETT, SIMON, DICKENS, ROZIC, EPSTEIN, COLTON, HUNTER, SEAWRIGHT, GLICK, WILLIAMS, TAYLOR, VANEL, OTIS, BRONSON, CARROLL, CRUZ, HYNDMAN, JACOBSON, RAMOS, STECK, THIELE, KIM, ZINERMAN, JACKSON, GONZALEZ-RO- JAS, LAVINE -- 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-x 2 to read as follows: 3 § 837-x. 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. LBD07238-01-3A. 3978 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. 3978 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-x 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-x 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.