NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A272B
SPONSOR: Seawright
 
TITLE OF BILL: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing amendments to section 11 of article 1 of the constitution, in
relation to equality of rights and protection against discrimination
 
PURPOSE:
Section 11 of the New York Bill of Rights (Article 1) currently contains
an equal protection provision that tracks the equal protection clause of
the federal Constitution and a separate antidiscrimination provision
covering race, color, creed or religion.
The current discrimination provision purports to bar both governmental
and private discrimination in "civil rights." However, judicial decision
(See Dorsey v. Stuyvesant Town Corp., 299 N.Y 512) has sharply limited
the effectiveness of this provision on the basis that it fails to define
the term "civil rights" and is therefore not self-executing.
This resolution proposes to amend section 11 to achieve three primary
goals. First, it would expand section 11's coverage to include other
classifications that have been used to subordinate and disadvantage
certain members of those groups including, for example, women. These new
classification are sex including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression, national origin, ethnicity, age and disability.
Second it would define the term "civil rights" to make section 11 self-
executing.
Third it would make clear that the prohibited discrimination would
include what is called disparate impact discrimination which consists of
using a seeming neutral requirement to achieve a discriminatory impact
lacking adequate justification. It does this both by barring denial or
abridgement of equal civil rights and defining "civil rights" in terms
of the "impact" of a particular right on equal opportunity.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section (a) continues unchanged the terms of New York's equal protection
provision, expands the classification covered by ban on discrimination
in civil rights provision, adds to that discrimination ban a ban on the
denial or abridgement of equal rights and defines the term civil rights
as "any right that impacts the equal opportunity of all the people of
New York to enjoy a full and productive life." The language of equal
opportunity is drawn from the preamble of New York's Human Rights Law.
Section (b) sets forth five constraints on the construction of section
11. This is necessary because section 11 is being made self-executing
with real force and effect. The first constraint protects bonafide qual-
ifications based on age or disability if allowed by law. For example
mandatory retirement if allowed by law (as is currently the case in
certain circumstances) would not be barred by section 11 if there is a
bona fide reason for that mandate. Nor would consideration of disability
as a qualification factor if there is a bona fide reason to do so and
that consideration is authorized by law. The second constraint is to
confirm the constitutionality of reasonable accommodation of pregnancy,
a form of sex discrimination, or disability, whether required by law or
provided on a voluntary basis in excess of legal requirements. The third
constraint is to confirm the constitutionality of single sex or single
religion education at a private educational institution. The language is
drawn from the New York Human Rights Law. This constraint could be
limited or eliminated by law. The fourth constraint is to assure that
questions of accommodation of religious practice and the like will be
resolved under the freedom of worship provision of the Bill of Rights
(section 3) and not under section 11, for example, as matter of a
claimed disparate impact on a particular religious group. Finally, the
fifth constraint is intended to protect public and private activity to
ameliorate conditions faced by the historically disadvantaged groups. It
is the primary purpose of section 11 to protect these very individuals
and communities.
Section (c) recognizes that under the federal Constitution there is the
possibility of federal preemption whether on statutory of constitutional
grounds. It allows provisions that are preempted to be enforced only as
allowed by the applicable constitutional or statutory provision. Simi-
larly section 11 may be enforced in a way needed to avoid loss of feder-
al funding if that course is authorized by law.
 
EXISTING LAW:
Currently section 11 of the constitution provides protection from public
or private discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed and reli-
gion but for the reasons mentioned above is not self-executing.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Equality of rights is a fundamental principle of both our state and our
nation, but conceptions of what equality of rights means have changed
dramatically over our history. Section 11 was adopted in 1938, prior to
the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the LGBTQ movement, the
disability rights movement and the many other challenges to discrimi-
nation in our state and nation. New York's Constitution should reflect
the evolution of concepts of equal rights and protections from discrimi-
nation that have occurred over the last eighty years. This amendment
would provide that badly needed update.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
272--B
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SEAWRIGHT, OTIS, SIMOTAS, CRESPO, QUART, LENTOL,
NIOU, GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judici-
ary -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said
committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit-
ted to said committee
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing amendments to section 11 of article 1 of the constitution, in
relation to equality of rights and protection against discrimination
1 Section 1. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That section 11 of article
2 1 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
3 § 11. (a) No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws
4 of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of
5 race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed [or],
6 religion, or sex including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identi-
7 ty or expression, be subjected to any discrimination in or to any denial
8 or abridgment of his or her equal civil rights by any other person or by
9 any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or
10 subdivision of the state. The words "civil rights" mean any right that
11 impacts the equal opportunity of all the people of New York to enjoy a
12 full and productive life.
13 (b) This section shall not be construed to:
14 (1) preclude bona fide qualifications for a job, position, benefit or
15 service in a particular capacity if authorized by law with respect to
16 disability or age; or
17 (2) preclude reasonable accommodation with respect to disability or
18 pregnancy; or
19 (3) preclude a private educational institution that has a policy of
20 educating students of one sex or religion from limiting enrollment to
21 that sex or religion if so authorized by law; or
22 (4) modify the requirements of section three of this article; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD89010-07-9
A. 272--B 2
1 (5) invalidate or prevent the adoption of any law, regulation, program
2 or activity that has as its purpose the amelioration of conditions of
3 historically disadvantaged individuals or communities.
4 (c) (1) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting
5 legislative action which must be taken to establish or maintain eligi-
6 bility for any federal program, where ineligibility would result in a
7 loss of federal funds to the state.
8 (2) If any part of this section, or any action taken to enforce this
9 section, be finally declared invalid under federal law or the United
10 States Constitution, the section shall be implemented to the maximum
11 extent that federal law and the United States Constitution permit. Any
12 provision held invalid shall be severable from the remaining portions of
13 this section.
14 § 2. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That the foregoing amendment be
15 referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
16 next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in
17 conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be
18 published for three months previous to the time of such election.