S04162 Summary:

BILL NOS04162
 
SAME ASSAME AS A05251
 
SPONSORRAMOS
 
COSPNSRBRISPORT, COMRIE, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, MYRIE, PARKER, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §52-e, Civ Rts L
 
Establishes the "protect our privacy (POP) act" to impose limitations on the use of drones for law enforcement purposes; prohibits the use of drones by law enforcement at concerts, protests, demonstrations, or other actions protected by the first amendment.
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S04162 Actions:

BILL NOS04162
 
02/03/2023REFERRED TO CODES
01/03/2024REFERRED TO CODES
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S04162 Committee Votes:

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S04162 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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S04162 Memo:

Memo not available
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S04162 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4162
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 3, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens. RAMOS, BRISPORT, COMRIE, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL,
          JACKSON, KAVANAGH, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, MYRIE, PARKER,  RIVERA,  SALAZAR
          -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the Committee on Codes
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the civil rights law, in relation to imposing limita-
          tions on the use of drones for law enforcement purposes
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  This  act shall be known and may be cited as the "protect
     2  our privacy (POP) act".
     3    § 2. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section  52-e  to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 52-e. Limitations on the use of drones; law enforcement purposes. 1.
     6  The  use  of drones by a law enforcement agency, or employee thereof, or
     7  for law enforcement purposes, is  prohibited,  and  no  warrant  may  be
     8  sought  or  issued authorizing such use of drones. It is also prohibited
     9  for law enforcement to enter into an agreement with a private entity  or
    10  individual,  whether  paid  or  otherwise,  to  obtain  information from
    11  drones.
    12    2. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this  section,  law  enforcement
    13  agencies may use drones for the following purposes:
    14    a. Search and rescue.
    15    b. Examining conditions of dangerous areas after natural disasters.
    16    3.  Notwithstanding subdivision two of this section, a law enforcement
    17  agency or employee thereof  may  not  use  a  drone  for  documentation,
    18  recording,  investigation,  or collection of data at concerts, protests,
    19  demonstrations, or other actions protected by the first amendment to the
    20  United States constitution or sections eight and nine of article one  of
    21  the  New  York  state  constitution, nor may a law enforcement agency or
    22  employee thereof possess or use an armed drone.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04385-02-3

        S. 4162                             2
 
     1    4. Any data obtained from drones pursuant to subdivision two  of  this
     2  section  may  not be used for any law enforcement purposes. Furthermore,
     3  any personally identifying information collected from  such  drones  may
     4  not be shared with any federal, state, local, or private entity or indi-
     5  vidual  unless such entity or individual agrees to keep such information
     6  confidential. Any individual whose personally identifying data is shared
     7  in violation of this subdivision or in violation  of  a  confidentiality
     8  agreement  pursuant  to  this  subdivision shall have a private right of
     9  action against the entity or individual who shares such data.
    10    5. This section shall apply retroactively with respect to law enforce-
    11  ment data collected from using drones equipped with  facial  recognition
    12  software  or  using  facial  recognition  on video or images obtained or
    13  created by a drone, including videos or images obtained  or  created  by
    14  drones  owned, controlled, or maintained by a private company, a private
    15  individual, or other government agency, and any such  data  may  not  be
    16  used in any ongoing investigations or prosecutions and shall be promptly
    17  deleted.
    18    6.  Data  or  information obtained by drones and within the control of
    19  any government agency or in the possession of a private company or indi-
    20  vidual on behalf of any government agency shall be  subject  to  release
    21  under the freedom of information law, provided that all personal identi-
    22  fying  information,  except for that of law enforcement personnel acting
    23  within their official responsibilities or performing an  official  func-
    24  tion, shall be redacted prior to such release.
    25    7.  All existing data or information obtained by the use of drones for
    26  law enforcement purposes that are not part of an ongoing criminal inves-
    27  tigation or proceeding shall be destroyed in one year or less, absent  a
    28  subpoena  or  court order. Existing data or information not destroyed in
    29  one year or less pursuant to a subpoena or court order and that is with-
    30  in the control of any government  agency  or  in  the  possession  of  a
    31  private  company  or individual on behalf of any government agency shall
    32  be destroyed once the proceedings or investigations that the subpoena or
    33  court order related to have ended.
    34    8. a. Suppression. i. Upon motion from  a  defendant,  a  court  shall
    35  order  that  evidence  be suppressed or excluded if the court finds that
    36  such evidence was obtained in violation of this section.
    37    ii. This paragraph shall apply regardless of the  court  which  issued
    38  the  order  and  regardless  of  whether  the  issuance of the order was
    39  permissible under the procedures of that court.
    40    iii. This paragraph shall apply  regardless  of  any  claim  that  the
    41  information or evidence is attenuated from an unlawful order or request,
    42  would  inevitably  have been discovered, or was simultaneously or subse-
    43  quently obtained or reobtained through other means.
    44    b. Private right of action.  i.  Any  individual  whose  records  were
    45  obtained  by  any  government  entity  in  violation of this section may
    46  institute a civil action against such government entity for any  or  all
    47  of the following:
    48    (1) one thousand dollars per violation or actual damages, whichever is
    49  greater;
    50    (2) punitive damages;
    51    (3) injunctive or declaratory relief;
    52    (4) any other relief the court deems proper.
    53    ii.  In  assessing  the  amount  of  punitive damages, the court shall
    54  consider:
    55    (1) the number of people whose rights were violated;

        S. 4162                             3
 
     1    (2) whether the violation  directly  or  indirectly  targeted  persons
     2  engaged  in  the  exercise  of activities protected by the United States
     3  constitution or the New York state constitution; and
     4    (3) the persistence of violations by the particular government entity.
     5    iii.  In  any action brought under this section, the court shall award
     6  reasonable attorneys' fees, expenses and costs to  a  prevailing  plain-
     7  tiff.
     8    9. As used in this section:
     9    a.  "Drone" means any remotely or autonomously piloted device, includ-
    10  ing devices that travel by  air  (such  as  quadcopters  and  fixed-wing
    11  aircraft), land, or water.
    12    b.  "Law  enforcement  agency"  means  a lawfully established state or
    13  local public agency that is responsible for the prevention and detection
    14  of crime, the enforcement of local government codes and the  enforcement
    15  of  penal,  traffic,  regulatory,  game or controlled substance laws and
    16  includes an agent of the law enforcement agency.
    17    c. "Law enforcement purposes" includes activities regularly  conducted
    18  by   law   enforcement  agencies,  including  but  not  limited  to  the
    19  prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences
    20  or the execution of criminal penalties, including  but  not  limited  to
    21  crowd  control and safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to
    22  public security.
    23    d. "Search and rescue" means the employment, coordination, and  utili-
    24  zation  of  available  resources  and  personnel  in locating, relieving
    25  distress and preserving life of, and removing survivors from the site of
    26  a disaster, emergency, or hazard to a place of safety in case  of  lost,
    27  stranded, entrapped, or injured persons.
    28    e.  "Armed  drone"  means a drone equipped with a firearm or dangerous
    29  weapon as defined in section 265.00 of the penal law or any  other  tool
    30  designed to cause death, serious bodily injury, or incapacitation.
    31    10.  If any provision of this section or its application to any person
    32  or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not  affect  other
    33  provisions  or  applications  of  this section which can be given effect
    34  without the invalid provision  or  application,  and  to  this  end  the
    35  provisions of this section are severable.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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