STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2146 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 12, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ALCANTARA -- 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 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-t 2 to read as follows: 3 § 837-t. 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 which employs police officers or peace 7 officers who are empowered to and in the course of their official duties 8 lawfully stop motor vehicles or stop and frisk individuals. 9 (b) "Law enforcement officer" means a police officer or peace officer 10 employed by a law enforcement agency. 11 (c) "Racial or ethnic profiling" means the stopping of a motor vehi- 12 cle, the stopping and questioning of an individual or the stopping and 13 frisking of an individual by a law enforcement officer that is based 14 upon an individual's actual or apparent racial or ethnic status without 15 reasonable individualized suspicion or cause to lawfully justify such 16 conduct. 17 2. Every law enforcement agency and every law enforcement officer 18 shall be prohibited from engaging in racial or ethnic profiling. 19 3. On or before January first, two thousand nineteen, every law 20 enforcement agency shall promulgate and adopt a written policy which 21 prohibits racial or ethnic profiling. In addition, each such agency 22 shall promulgate and adopt procedures for the review and the taking of 23 corrective action with respect to complaints by individuals who allege 24 that they have been the subject of racial or ethnic profiling. A copy of 25 each such complaint received pursuant to this section and written EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06972-01-7S. 2146 2 1 notification of the review and disposition of such complaint shall be 2 promptly provided by such agency to the division. 3 4. Commencing on January first, two thousand nineteen, each law 4 enforcement agency shall, using a form to be determined by the division, 5 record and retain the following information with respect to law enforce- 6 ment officers employed by such agency: 7 (a) the number of persons stopped for traffic violations and the 8 number of persons patted down, frisked and searched; 9 (b) the characteristics of race, color, ethnicity, gender and age of 10 each such person, provided the identification of such characteristics 11 shall be based on the observation and perception of the officer respon- 12 sible for reporting the stop and the information shall not be required 13 to be provided by the person stopped; 14 (c) if a vehicle was stopped, the number of individuals in the stopped 15 motor vehicle; 16 (d) whether immigration status was questioned, immigration documents 17 requested, and if any further inquiry was made to the Immigration and 18 Naturalization Service with respect to any person stopped or in the 19 motor vehicle; 20 (e) the nature of the alleged traffic violation that resulted in the 21 stop or the basis for the conduct that resulted in the individual being 22 stopped and frisked or searched; 23 (f) whether a search was conducted and, if so, the result of the 24 search; 25 (g) if a search was conducted, whether the search was of a person or 26 the person's property, and whether the search was conducted pursuant to 27 consent and if not, the basis for conducting the search including any 28 alleged criminal behavior that justified the search; 29 (h) whether a warning or citation was issued; 30 (i) whether an arrest was made and for what charge; 31 (j) the approximate duration of the stop; and 32 (k) the time and location of the stop. 33 5. Every law enforcement agency shall compile the information set 34 forth in subdivision four of this section for the calendar year into a 35 report to the division. The format of such report shall be determined by 36 the division. The report shall be submitted to the division no later 37 than March first of the following calendar year. 38 6. Not later than January first, two thousand nineteen, the division, 39 in consultation with the attorney general, shall develop and promulgate: 40 (a) a form in both printed and electronic format, to be used by law 41 enforcement officers to record the information listed in subdivision 42 four of this section when making a traffic stop or when stopping and 43 frisking an individual; and 44 (b) a form to be used to report complaints pursuant to subdivision 45 three of this section by individuals who believe they have been 46 subjected to racial or ethnic profiling. 47 7. Every law enforcement agency shall make available to the attorney 48 general, upon seven days demand and notice, the documents required to be 49 produced and promulgated pursuant to subdivisions three, four and five 50 of this section. 51 8. Every law enforcement agency shall furnish all data/information 52 collected from traffic stops to the division. The division of criminal 53 justice services shall develop and implement a plan for a computerized 54 data system for public viewing of such data and shall publish an annual 55 report on data collected for the governor, the legislature, and theS. 2146 3 1 public on law enforcement traffic stops. Information released shall not 2 reveal the identity of any individual. 3 9. The attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the people 4 for injunctive relief and/or damages against a law enforcement agency 5 that is engaging in or has engaged in an act or acts of racial profiling 6 in a court having jurisdiction to issue such relief. The court may award 7 costs and reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff who prevails in such 8 an action. 9 10. In addition to a cause of action brought pursuant to subdivision 10 nine of this section, an individual who has been the subject of an act 11 or acts of racial profiling may bring an action for injunctive relief 12 and/or damages against a law enforcement agency that is engaged in or 13 has engaged in an act or acts of racial profiling. The court may award 14 costs and reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff who prevails in such 15 an action. 16 11. Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing or abro- 17 gating any right, remedy or cause of action which an individual who has 18 been subject to racial or ethnic profiling may have pursuant to any 19 other provision of law. 20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 21 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate- 22 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation 23 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date is 24 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such 25 effective date.