NY State Senate Bill 2019-S294

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to investigations and government operations
Jan 09, 2019	referred to investigations and government operations

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2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7093
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §292, Exec L; amd §79-n, Civ Rts L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S963
2021-2022: S102, A9136
2023-2024: S1404, A2790

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to defining immigration status in the executive law and the civil rights law; and provides a civil remedy for any harm or damage to the property or person of another due to a belief or perception regarding such person's immigration status.

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S294

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to defining immigration
status; and to amend the civil rights law, in relation to defining immi-
gration status and providing a civil remedy for any harm or damage to
the property or person of another due to a belief or perception regard-
ing such persons immigration status

 
PURPOSE:

To include "immigration status" in the definition of "national origin"
for the purposes of the antidiscrimination regime set forth by the Human
Rights Law and the Civil Rights Law.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 establishes a definition of the term "immigration status", to
be defined as the possession or lack thereof of any certification,

documentation, or authorization to be present in the country for a
specific or unspecific amount of time as one of several classifications
of an immigrant as defined by federal law.

Section 2 would add the term "immigration status" to the current defi-
nition of national origin, provided that no action taken based on immi-
gration status or verification of such status would be considered a
violation of this Article when required by federal law.

Sections 3 and 4 would add the term "immigration status" as previously
defined to the list of protected classes under the Civil Rights Law
provisions on civil remedies for bias-related crimes or intimidation.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Currently discrimination on the basis of immigration status would not be
considered to be discrimination on the basis of national origin if the
reason for the discrimination is solely based on a person's immigration
status.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York State's Human Rights Law is on the forefront of protecting
various classes of people from a wide range of discrimination, including
employment, housing, credit, and public accommodation.  Despite current
protections in law, including protections against discrimination on the
basis of national origin, there are no protections against discrimi-
nation on the basis of a person's immigration status.

This legislation would include immigration status as a protected class
of people to prevent further discriminatory actions against various
categories of immigrants. It would also expand current civil remedies
for victims of bias-related crimes to those who are assaulted or intim-
idated due to their immigration status. New York is a state built upon
immigration with a unique history and understanding of the immigrant
experience. By protecting individual against such discrimination, New
York will continue its historic role as a leader in treating all people
with dignity.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: Died in Investigations and Government Operations
2017: Died in Investigations and Government Operations

 
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    294
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced   by  Sens.  GIANARIS,  BAILEY,  BRESLIN,  HOYLMAN,  PERSAUD,
   SANDERS, SERRANO, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations

 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to  defining  immigration
   status;  and  to  amend  the civil rights law, in relation to defining
   immigration status and providing a civil remedy for any harm or damage
   to the property or person of another due to  a  belief  or  perception
   regarding such persons immigration status
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 292 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 35 to read as follows:
   35. THE TERM "IMMIGRATION STATUS", WHEN USED IN THIS ARTICLE, MEANS  A
 PERSON'S  POSSESSION  OR NON-POSSESSION OF CERTIFICATION, DOCUMENTATION,
 OR AUTHORIZATION TO BE PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES FOR  A  SPECIFIC  OR
 UNDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME, AS AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT
 RESIDENCE  AS DEFINED IN 8 U.S.C. § 1101(A)(20), A REFUGEE AS DEFINED IN
 8 U.S.C. § 1101(A)(42), AN ALIEN WHO HAS BEEN GRANTED ASYLUM PURSUANT TO
 8 U.S.C. § 1158, AN ALIEN THAT HAS BEEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR  TEMPORARY
 RESIDENCE PURSUANT TO 8 U.S.C.  § 1255A, OR ANY OTHER RELATED STATUS.
   §  2.  Subdivision 8 of section 292 of the executive law is amended to
 read as follows:
   8. The term "national origin" shall, for the purposes of this article,
 include "ancestry[.]" AND SHALL ALSO INCLUDE IMMIGRATION STATUS AS  SUCH
 TERM IS DEFINED IN THIS ARTICLE. HOWEVER, NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL
 BE  CONSTRUED TO PROHIBIT VERIFICATION OF A PERSON'S IMMIGRATION STATUS,
 NOR SHALL ANY ADVERSE ACTION BE  PROHIBITED  WHEN  BASED  UPON  VERIFIED
 IMMIGRATION STATUS AS REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05018-01-9

 S. 294                              2
 
   §  3.  Subdivision 1 of section 79-n of the civil rights law, as added
 by chapter 227 of the laws of 2010, is amended by adding a new paragraph
 (e) to read as follows:
   (E)  THE TERM "IMMIGRATION STATUS" MEANS A PERSON'S POSSESSION OR NON-
 POSSESSION OF CERTIFICATION, DOCUMENTATION, OR AUTHORIZATION TO BE PRES-
 ENT IN THE UNITED STATES FOR A SPECIFIC OR UNDETERMINED PERIOD OF  TIME,
 AS  AN  ALIEN  LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE AS DEFINED IN 8
 U.S.C. § 1101(A)(20), A REFUGEE AS DEFINED IN 8 U.S.C. § 1101(A)(42), AN
 ALIEN WHO HAS BEEN GRANTED ASYLUM PURSUANT TO 8 U.S.C. §1158,  AN  ALIEN
 THAT  HAS  BEEN  LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PURSUANT TO 8
 U.S.C.  § 1255A, OR ANY OTHER RELATED STATUS.
   § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 79-n of the civil rights law,  as  added
 by chapter 227 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Any person who intentionally selects a person or property for harm
 or causes damage to the property of another or causes physical injury or
 death to another in whole or in substantial part because of a belief  or
 perception  regarding  the  race,  color,  national  origin, IMMIGRATION
 STATUS, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age,  disability
 or  sexual  orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or
 perception is correct, shall be liable, in a civil action or  proceeding
 maintained  by  such  individual or group of individuals, for injunctive
 relief, damages, or any other appropriate relief in law or equity. If it
 shall appear to the satisfaction  of  the  court  or  justice  that  the
 respondent  has,  in  fact,  violated this section, an injunction may be
 issued by such court or justice, enjoining and restraining  any  further
 violation,  without  requiring  proof that any person has, in fact, been
 injured or damaged thereby.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S294

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

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co-Sponsors

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S294 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments