What's happening
The New York Religious Freedom Act prohibits state and local agencies from collecting or sharing personal religious information for registries or enforcement purposes, protecting individuals from religious-based discrimination.
Why it matters
Prevents misuse of personal religious information. By barring state and local agencies from sharing or compiling personally identifiable data about religious beliefs, practices, or affiliations, the law aims to stop the creation of registries that could enable profiling, targeting, or discrimination against religious groups.
Limits law enforcement surveillance. Law enforcement agencies are specifically prohibited from collecting information about a person's religion unless it's directly relevant to a specific criminal investigation or needed for religious accommodation, reducing the risk of broad surveillance of religious communities.
Overrides existing conflicting agreements. Any current agreements that allow agency databases to be used in ways that conflict with these new protections would be automatically terminated, ensuring immediate and comprehensive compliance with the law’s intent.
Allows for non-personal data and immigration status sharing. The law still permits the exchange of aggregate, non-personally identifiable religious demographic information and does not restrict information-sharing about immigration or citizenship status, balancing privacy with compliance to federal requirements.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Religious Privacy Data
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Religious Privacy Rights
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Felix Ortiz
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1924
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 17, 2019
Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, BAILEY, BRESLIN, RIVERA, SERRANO, STAVISKY -- 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 enacting the New York religious freedom act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the "New York religious freedom act".
§ 2. Legislative intent. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In New York, we celebrate the rich cultural heritage and diversity of our residents.
(b) Freedom of religion and protection from persecution are founding ideals of our nation.
(c) New York must uphold the protection of religious freedom enshrined in the United States Constitution for all of its people, and the state has a moral obligation to protect its citizens from religious persecution.
(d) Section 3 of Article I of the New York state Constitution guarantees the free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination or preference.
§ 3. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 16 to read as follows:
§ 16. New York religious freedom act. 1. Notwithstanding any other law, a state or local agency or public employee acting under color of law shall not:
(a) Provide or disclose to federal government authorities personally identifiable information regarding the religious beliefs, practices, or affiliation of any individual for the purpose of compiling a list,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02044-01-9
S. 1924 2
registry, or database of individuals based on religious affiliation, national origin, or ethnicity.
(b) Use agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to assist in creation, implementation, or enforcement of any government program compiling a list, registry, or database of personally identifiable information about individuals based on religious belief, practice, or affiliation, or national origin or ethnicity, for law enforcement or immigration purposes.
(c) Make personally identifiable information from agency databases available, including any databases maintained by private vendors contracting with the agency, to anyone or any entity for the purpose of investigation or enforcement under any government program compiling a list, registry, or database of individuals based on religious belief, practice, or affiliation, or national origin or ethnicity for law enforcement or immigration purposes.
2. Notwithstanding any other law, state and local law enforcement agencies shall not:
(a) Collect information on the religious belief, practice, or affiliation of any individual except: (1) as part of a targeted investigation of an individual based on reasonable suspicion to believe that individual has engaged in criminal activity, and when there is a clear nexus between the criminal activity and the specific information collected about religious belief, practice, or affiliation; or (2) where necessary to provide religious accommodations.
(b) Use agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any criminal, civil, or administrative violation, or warrant for a violation, of any requirement that individuals register with the federal government or any federal agency based on religion, national origin, or ethnicity.
3. Any agreements in existence on the effective date of this section that make any agency or department information or database available in conflict with the terms of this section are terminated on that date to the extent of the conflict.
4. Nothing in this section prohibits any state or local agency from sending to, or receiving from, any local, state, or federal agency, information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status. "Information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful" for purposes of this section, shall be interpreted consistent with Sections 1373 and 1644 of Title 8 of the United States Code.
5. Nothing in this section is intended to prevent any state or local agency from compiling aggregate non-personally identifiable information about religious belief, practice, or affiliation, national origin or ethnicity or from exchanging it with other local, state, or federal agencies.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to enacting the New York religious freedom act
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of the bill is the title.
Section two of the bill is comprised of legislative findings.
Section three of the bill adds a new Section 16 to the civil rights law establishing the New York religious freedom act which prohibits disclo- sure to federal government authorities of personally identifiable infor- mation regarding religious beliefs for the purpose of compiling a regis- try based on religious affiliation, national origin or ethnicity; prohibits the use of resources for the creation implementation or enforcement of any registry of information based upon religious belief; and prohibits making personally identifiable information regarding reli- gious belief to any entity creating such a registry.
Furthermore the act prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from collecting information on religious belief except in the course of an investigation where there is a clear nexus between criminal activity and the specific information, or where necessary to provide religious accommodations; or using resources to assist in any requirement that individuals register with the federal government based on religion, national origin or ethnicity.
Section four establishes the effective date.
Justification
In New York, we celebrate the rich cultural heritage and diversity of our residents. Freedom of religion and protection from persecution are founding ideals of our nation. New York must uphold the protection of religious freedom enshrined in the United States Constitution for all of its people, and the state has a moral obligation to protect its citizens from religious persecution.
This legislation is necessary to ensure that New York agencies are prepared to appropriately deny access to information to any entity attempting to establish a registry based on religious belief. On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order relating to immi- gration. In that order, the President imposed a 90 day ban prohibiting all foreign nationals from seven countries from entering the U.S. He further suspended the entry of all refugees into the country for 120 days and indefinitely suspended permission for refugees from Syria to come to the U.S. While the President asserted that this was "not a Muslim ban," all seven of the countries affected by the Order are predo- minately Muslim. President Trump has also indicated in public remarks that he would take religion into account in determining who was eligible to enter the country, and has expressed support for a Muslim registry.
There is nothing in current law that explicitly bars state or local agencies or public employees acting under color of law from providing data about personal information related to religious beliefs, national origin, or ethnicity to the federal government for a religious registry. This legislation seeks to prevent individuals from being targeted based on their religious affiliation, national origin, or ethnicity by any federal program that would compile a list, database, or registry based on that information.
Prior legislative history
2017-2018: S.4379/codes - A.10263/Ortiz - Gov. Ops
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.