STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 115 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, BAILEY, BRESLIN, LIU, 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 Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as 2 the "New York religious freedom act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The Legislature finds and declares all of the 4 following: 5 (a) In New York, we celebrate the rich cultural heritage and diversity 6 of our residents. 7 (b) Freedom of religion and protection from persecution are founding 8 ideals of our nation. 9 (c) New York must uphold the protection of religious freedom enshrined 10 in the United States Constitution for all of its people, and the state 11 has a moral obligation to protect its citizens from religious perse- 12 cution. 13 (d) Section 3 of Article I of the New York state Constitution guaran- 14 tees the free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination 15 or preference. 16 § 3. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 16 to 17 read as follows: 18 § 16. New York religious freedom act. 1. Notwithstanding any other 19 law, a state or local agency or public employee acting under color of 20 law shall not: 21 (a) Provide or disclose to federal government authorities personally 22 identifiable information regarding the religious beliefs, practices, or 23 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. LBD01085-01-3

S. 115 2 1 registry, or database of individuals based on religious affiliation, 2 national origin, or ethnicity. 3 (b) Use agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to 4 assist in creation, implementation, or enforcement of any government 5 program compiling a list, registry, or database of personally identifi- 6 able information about individuals based on religious belief, practice, 7 or affiliation, or national origin or ethnicity, for law enforcement or 8 immigration purposes. 9 (c) Make personally identifiable information from agency databases 10 available, including any databases maintained by private vendors 11 contracting with the agency, to anyone or any entity for the purpose of 12 investigation or enforcement under any government program compiling a 13 list, registry, or database of individuals based on religious belief, 14 practice, or affiliation, or national origin or ethnicity for law 15 enforcement or immigration purposes. 16 2. Notwithstanding any other law, state and local law enforcement 17 agencies shall not: 18 (a) Collect information on the religious belief, practice, or affil- 19 iation of any individual except: (1) as part of a targeted investigation 20 of an individual based on reasonable suspicion to believe that individ- 21 ual has engaged in criminal activity, and when there is a clear nexus 22 between the criminal activity and the specific information collected 23 about religious belief, practice, or affiliation; or (2) where necessary 24 to provide religious accommodations. 25 (b) Use agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to 26 investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of 27 any criminal, civil, or administrative violation, or warrant for a 28 violation, of any requirement that individuals register with the federal 29 government or any federal agency based on religion, national origin, or 30 ethnicity. 31 3. Any agreements in existence on the effective date of this section 32 that make any agency or department information or database available in 33 conflict with the terms of this section are terminated on that date to 34 the extent of the conflict. 35 4. Nothing in this section prohibits any state or local agency from 36 sending to, or receiving from, any local, state, or federal agency, 37 information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status. 38 "Information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration 39 status, lawful or unlawful" for purposes of this section, shall be 40 interpreted consistent with Sections 1373 and 1644 of Title 8 of the 41 United States Code. 42 5. Nothing in this section is intended to prevent any state or local 43 agency from compiling aggregate non-personally identifiable information 44 about religious belief, practice, or affiliation, national origin or 45 ethnicity or from exchanging it with other local, state, or federal 46 agencies. 47 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Enacts the "New York religious freedom act"

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