Ren Art 10 §§100 & 101 to be Art 11 §§110 & 111, add Art 10 §100, Civ Rts L; rpld §24, Cor L
Relates to the imposition of penalties and remedies in suits brought for the vindication of civil rights or human rights; provides for reasonable attorney's fee and reasonable expert fees.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4281
SPONSOR: Steck TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to the imposition of
penalties and remedies in suits brought for the vindication of civil
rights or human rights; and to repeal section 24 of the correction law
relating thereto
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To put New York State on similar footing as the federal government in
the protection of civil rights as was done under federal law with the
enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1871. New York has never had legis-
lation similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1871. This bill further
corrects historical weaknesses in the Federal law that became apparent
in the over 100-year history of the federal legislation.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Like 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, this law holds government officials
liable in tort for violating persons constitutional rights. The bill
further describes the circumstances under which the State and munici-
palities will be held liable for violating constitutional rights.
JUSTIFICATION:
Recently the Legislature approved a State constitutional provision
providing equal rights to women. However, constitutional provisions are
meaningless in the absence of an enforcement mechanism. When the slaves
were freed after the Civil War, Congress realized that the protection of
the freed slaves' civil rights was meaningless without an enforcement
mechanism. Congress provided that mechanism in the Civil Rights Act of
1871, now codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. This legislation
adopts and improves that mechanism for enforcing civil rights provided
for under our State Constitution and State. The Civil Rights Act has
been used for enforcing many other constitutional rights, such as free-
dom of speech, due process of law, equal protection of the law, and the
like. This legislation is necessary. It is well-known that New York has
a heavy-handed administration at both the State and local level. Public
officials will now have a far greater incentive to avoid misconduct that
adversely impacts the citizens of our State. There is no reason that we
should give less protection to the citizens of our State than they have
under Federal law, which is the case at present.
An earlier version of this legislation had already passed the Assembly
twice. The current version represents a further improvement over federal
law. First, the State explicitly waives sovereign immunity from suit, a
status it currently enjoys under Federal law. This is consistent with
modern legal theory. Suits against the Federal government were implied
by virtue of the Supreme Court's decision in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named
Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971) (Federal government liable for violating
individual's Fourth Amendment rights). Second, all individual immunities
from suit are abolished, except for those specifically set forth in the
legislation (immunity of judicial officers unless acting outside their
jurisdiction). Third, the legislation simplifies the ground for holding
the State and municipalities liable for violating civil rights under the
well-established respondeat superior standard used in tort law (liabil-
ity for all acts of employees or agents committed within the scope of
their employment), since laws of this type have historically been called
"constitutional torts." This liability obviates the need to debate the
pros and cons of whether government should indemnify actors who violate
constitutional rights. Since to State and municipalities will be liable
under the respondeat superior standard, they must be vigilant to assure
that constitutional violations will not be committed by their employees
and agents. This is in contrast to the far more complicated approach
under federal law resulting from Monell v. Department of Soc. Svcs., 436
U.S. 658 (1978), where the grounds for liability were more limited
because the federal statute only addressed individual liability.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
An earlier version of this bill passed the Assembly twic in 2020 and
2021.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The State and municipalities will be liable in damages for violating the
civil rights of citizens
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4281
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STECK, SIMON, SEAWRIGHT, ZINERMAN -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to the imposition of
penalties and remedies in suits brought for the vindication of civil
rights or human rights; and to repeal section 24 of the correction law
relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 10 and sections 100 and 101 of the civil rights
2 law, as renumbered by chapter 263 of the laws of 2019, are renumbered
3 article 11 and sections 110 and 111 and a new article 10 is added to
4 read as follows:
5 ARTICLE 10
6 PENALTIES AND REMEDIES
7 Section 100. Penalties and remedies.
8 § 100. Penalties and remedies. 1. Every person or the state, its
9 subdivisions, agencies, public authorities, and any other affiliated
10 entities, and all municipal entities in this state, including but not
11 limited to counties, school districts, towns, and villages who, is
12 acting or which acts under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation,
13 custom, or usage, of this state, subjects, or causes to be subjected,
14 any citizen of this state or other person within the jurisdiction there-
15 of to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured
16 by the constitution and laws of this state, shall be liable to the party
17 injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding
18 for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial offi-
19 cer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity
20 such officer shall not be held liable unless such action was clearly in
21 excess of such officer's jurisdiction.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05473-01-3
A. 4281 2
1 2. The supreme court shall have jurisdiction over all suits brought
2 for the vindication of civil rights as provided in subdivision one of
3 this section. The parties in an action brought pursuant to this section
4 shall have the right to a jury trial.
5 3. (a) In any action or proceeding to enforce this section or the
6 human rights law, the court shall award the prevailing party, other than
7 the state, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.
8 (b) In awarding an attorney's fee under paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
9 sion in any action or proceeding to enforce a provision of this article,
10 the court shall include reasonable expert fees as part of the attorney's
11 fee.
12 4. This article shall displace any jurisdiction currently existing in
13 the courts or administrative agencies of this state and shall be the
14 exclusive remedy for the type of injury referred to in this section.
15 5. In interpreting this section, the courts may, except as set forth
16 herein, consider the fundamental principles already enunciated by the
17 federal courts in interpreting 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, which are the
18 parallel federal civil rights laws, except as indicated in subdivisions
19 six and seven of this section.
20 6. The state hereby waives its sovereign immunity and consents on
21 behalf of itself, its subdivisions, agencies, public authorities, and
22 any other affiliated entity to suit as provided herein. The doctrine of
23 qualified immunity is hereby abolished and shall not be asserted as a
24 defense to any action arising under this section, unless specifically
25 set forth in this section.
26 7. The state, its subdivisions, agencies, public authorities, and any
27 other affiliated entities, and all municipal entities in this state,
28 including but not limited to counties, school districts, towns, and
29 villages, shall be liable in respondant superior for the actions of any
30 person or entity committing constitutional violations as referred to in
31 subdivision one of this section. Any act committed while on the prem-
32 ises of the employer or using equipment or an instrumentality provided
33 by the employer shall be considered within the scope of employment.
34 § 2. Section 24 of the correction law is REPEALED.
35 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
36 have become a law.
