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History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S2687
Title of bill
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to increasing the tax imposed upon the sale or use of cigarettes; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to the tobacco use prevention and control program fund
Summary
Section 1: This bill would amend the civil Rights Law by creating a new section 40-h. It would require police agencies throughout the State of New York to report "bias incidents" to the State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Justification
Crimes motivated by hatred are exceptionally deplorable. Hate crimes may inflame intergroup tensions, may threaten community stability, and may undermine efforts to promote tolerance and civil rights. For these reasons, New York State should require police agencies across the State to record and report bias incidents. The New York City Police Department has been recording such incidents since creating its bias Incident Investigation Unit in 1981. Maryland and Pennsylvania have recently enacted similar legislation.
The legislation will serve two Principal purposes. First, it will enable New York State to monitor the levels of bias incidents--to see whether certain types of hate crimes are on the rise or on the decline, to see whether certain areas of the State are more or less successful in combating acts of prejudice. Without such a reporting system, political and civil rights leaders will not be able to rely upon objective information about the levels of prejudice-motivated violence.
Second, by requiring police agencies to report and catalogue bias incidents, the legislation will encourage police departments across the state to recognize the unique qualities of bias incidents and thereby to provide the appropriate law enforcement and community response. Once a crime is identified as having a bias component, then the police and community organizations can develop a strategy based on this unique aspect--the police departments can bring in community affairs officers, local organizations can mobilize religious, ethnic or community groups, etc. Through the process of identification of the bias incident, the damage caused by the crime can be ameliorated and contained.
Legislative history
2013-14: S.3130 - Referred to investigations and government operations 2011-12 S.6201 - Referred to investigations and government operations
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January after it shall have become law, with provisions.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.