Bill Text: NY S00176 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Provides a civil action for deprivation of rights which is caused by any person or public entity.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S00176 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00176-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           176

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. JACKSON, SALAZAR, BAILEY, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE,
          COMRIE,  COONEY,   FERNANDEZ,   GIANARIS,   GONZALEZ,   HOYLMAN-SIGAL,
          KAVANAGH, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, MYRIE, RAMOS, RIVERA, SANDERS, SEPULVEDA,
          SERRANO  --  read  twice  and  ordered printed, and when printed to be
          committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations

        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to providing  a  civil
          action for deprivation of rights

          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-r to read as follows:
     3    §  79-r.  Civil  action for deprivation of rights.  1. (a) A person or
     4  public entity acting under color of law that subjects or  causes  to  be
     5  subjected any other person to the deprivation of any rights, privileges,
     6  or  immunities  secured by the federal or state Constitution or laws, is
     7  liable to the injured party for legal or equitable relief or  any  other
     8  appropriate  relief.   For the purposes of this section, a public entity
     9  subjects, or causes to be subjected, any person to  the  deprivation  of
    10  any  rights,  privileges,  or immunities secured by the federal or state
    11  Constitution or laws, by employing any person who violates this section.
    12    (b) Notwithstanding any other law  to  the  contrary,  in  any  action
    13  brought  pursuant  to  this  section or the New York human rights law, a
    14  court shall award reasonable attorney fees and  costs  to  a  prevailing
    15  plaintiff.  For  the  purposes  of  this  section, the term "prevailing"
    16  includes a plaintiff whose commencement of litigation  has  acted  as  a
    17  catalyst  to  effect  change  in  the defendant's conduct, regardless of
    18  whether that change has been implemented as a result of  a  judgment  in
    19  such plaintiff's favor. When a judgment is entered in favor of a defend-
    20  ant,  the  court  may  award  reasonable  costs and attorney fees to the
    21  defendant only for defending any claims the court finds frivolous.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00968-01-5
        S. 176                              2

     1    2. (a) If a person or public entity acting under  color  of  law  that
     2  subjects  or  causes to be subjected any other person to the deprivation
     3  of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the federal or state
     4  Constitution or laws, the attorney general may bring a civil action  for
     5  legal  or  equitable  relief  or  other proper redress. The civil action
     6  shall be brought in the name of the state and may be brought  on  behalf
     7  of  the  injured  party.  A civil action brought by the attorney general
     8  shall not foreclose an injured  party  from  bringing  their  own  civil
     9  action  for  legal  or equitable relief or other proper redress. A civil
    10  action brought by an injured party  shall  not  foreclose  the  attorney
    11  general  from  bringing  a civil action for legal or equitable relief or
    12  other proper redress.
    13    (b) If the attorney general prevails in an action brought pursuant  to
    14  this  section,  the  court  shall order the distribution of any award of
    15  damages to the injured party.
    16    3. (a) Statutory immunities and statutory  limitations  on  liability,
    17  damages or attorney fees do not apply to claims brought pursuant to this
    18  section.
    19    (b)  It  shall  not be a defense or immunity to any action brought for
    20  the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by  the
    21  federal  or  state Constitution and laws, that such defendant was acting
    22  in good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or  otherwise,
    23  that  their  conduct  was lawful at the time such conduct was committed.
    24  Nor shall it be a defense or immunity that the  rights,  privileges,  or
    25  immunities secured by the federal or state Constitution or laws were not
    26  clearly  established  at the time of their deprivation by the defendant,
    27  or that the state of the law was otherwise such that the defendant could
    28  not reasonably have been expected to  know  whether  their  conduct  was
    29  lawful.
    30    4.  A  civil action pursuant to this section shall be commenced within
    31  three years after the cause of action accrues.
    32    5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a public  entity  shall
    33  indemnify its public employee for any liability incurred by the employee
    34  and  for  any  judgment  entered against the employee for claims arising
    35  under this section.
    36    6. For the purpose of this section, "public  entity"  shall  mean  the
    37  state,  any county, city and county, municipality, and every other poli-
    38  tical subdivision of the state; and any private entity that  engages  in
    39  state action.
    40    7.  The  immunity granted pursuant to subdivision one of section twen-
    41  ty-four of the correction law shall not extend to actions brought pursu-
    42  ant to this section.
    43    8. Notwithstanding any other  provision  of  law,  including  but  not
    44  limited to subdivision two of section twenty-four of the correction law,
    45  actions  brought  pursuant to this section may be commenced in any court
    46  of competent jurisdiction, including the supreme court.
    47    § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    48  sion, section or part of this act shall be  adjudged  by  any  court  of
    49  competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
    50  impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
    51  its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
    52  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    53  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    54  the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
    55  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    56    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.