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A1031Assembly2025-2026 Session

Ban Religious Bias at Waterparks

Official title

“Prohibits religious discrimination in recreational water parks”

Sponsor Philip RamosAD-6+9 co-sponsors
Status
In Assembly Committee
Governmental Operations
Impact
6/10
Moderate
Passage
9%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Governmental Operations

What's happening

This bill prohibits recreational water parks in New York from discriminating against individuals based on religious attire or practices.

Why it matters

  1. Strengthens religious freedom protections. by ensuring that individuals can observe religious dress codes (such as modesty swimsuits, hijabs, turbans, or facial hair) when visiting water parks, beaches, pools, or similar facilities.

  2. Prevents exclusion or embarrassment. for people whose faith requires specific attire or grooming, reducing the risk of being denied entry, singled out, or asked to change at recreational water venues.

  3. Expands the definition of recreational water parks. to cover a wide range of public and private aquatic facilities, meaning the law would apply broadly and have significant statewide impact.

  4. Clarifies legal recourse. for individuals who experience religious discrimination at water parks, providing a clear legal standard and potentially setting precedent for similar protections in other recreational settings.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Ban Religious Bias at Waterparks

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Philip Ramos

Assembly Member · Assembly District 6

History

  1. Referred to governmental operations
  2. Referred to governmental operations

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

1031

2025-2026 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 8, 2025

Introduced by M. of A. RAMOS, FALL, SAYEGH, COLTON, EPSTEIN, COOK, CRUZ, REYES, EICHENSTEIN, WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to prohibiting discrimination in recreational water parks due to religious attire

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 40-h to read as follows:

§ 40-h. Religious discrimination at recreational water parks. No person, agency, bureau, corporation or association, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any recreational water park as defined in this section shall require any person to violate or forgo a sincerely held practice of such person's religion, including but not limited to the wearing of any attire, clothing including, but not limited to, modesty swimsuits or full body swimsuits, or facial hair in accordance with the requirements of such person's religion.

Recreational water park within the meaning of this section shall include, but not be limited to, beaches, lakes, pools and other water facilities, operated on land or water for recreational use.

§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD00397-01-5

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.