BILL NUMBER: S3662A REVISED 3/7/2025
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to limiting the
frequency of traffic stops for minor violations in furtherance of racial
equity and public safety; to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to the basis for a motion to suppress or exclude evidence; and
to amend the executive law, in relation to the duties of the division of
criminal justice services
 
PURPOSE:
To reduce racial disparities in policing and increase road and community
safety through 1) reallocation of law enforcement resources by prohibit-
ing a law enforcement officer from initiating a traffic stop based sole-
ly on certain violations of the vehicle and traffic law and certain
low-level warrants, 2) providing a procedure for criminal defendants to
challenge admissibility of evidence obtained as a result of racial
profiling, 3) adding procedural protections to ensure consent searches
of vehicles are the product of consent, and 4) requiring the collection,
analysis and transparency of data for evaluation of racial disparities
in traffic enforcement and further remedies to address them.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill adds a new article 23-A to the Vehicle and Traffic
Law titled "Certain Traffic Stops Restricted" containing sections 1106-
1109.
New section 1106 defines the terms primary violation, secondary
violation, and officer.
New section 1107 prohibits officers from stopping, arresting, or detain-
ing a pedestrian or operator of a motor vehicle or bicycle for a second-
ary violation as defined in section 1106 or for a suspicion of an
outstanding warrant for failure to pay fines or fees or appear in court
for a violation-level (noncriminal) offense, except in certain circum-
stances. Section 1107 also prohibits stops based on racial profiling and
establishes certain requirements for officers searching vehicles.
New section 1108 directs law enforcement agencies to collect data and
produce reports on all traffic stops.
New section 1109 provides that evidence recovered from stops, arrests,
or detentions made in violation of section 1107(A)(3) are subject to
section 60.77 of the criminal procedure law and clarifies preemption and
supersession.
Section 2 of the bill adds a new section 60.77 to the Criminal Procedure
Law restricting the admissibility of evidence derived from a stop of a
motor vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian based primarily on an individ-
ual's membership in a protected class as set forth in the statute.
Section 3 of the bill adds a new subdivision 24 to Section 837 of the
Executive Law to direct DCJS to accept and publish reports from law
enforcement agencies pursuant to new article 23-A, new section 1108.
Section 4 of the bill establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
While many traffic stops address critical issues of traffic safety, such
as reckless driving, or running a red light, there are additional
violations that pose no risk of harm to people outside of the vehicle.
These violations are used to pull over drivers under the pretext of a
traffic violation, when the objective may be to search people and vehi-
cles for an unrelated crime, such as weapons charges, or racial profil-
ing. However, studies have shown that these non-safety traffic stops are
an ineffective technique for the recovery of weapons. Restricting these
stops can free up resources in police departments to t increase road and
public safety while lowering the risk of confrontations between civil-
ians and police officers that too often cause harm to both.
Numerous studies have found that law enforcement officers stop motorists
of color at a disproportionate rate compared with their white counter-
parts, despite similar driving behavior. A 2020 study of nearly 100
million traffic stops across the United States found that Black drivers
were 20 percent more likely to be pulled over and up to twice as likely
to be searched by police compared to white drivers, despite being less
likely to have contraband. This is consistent with Black drivers being
searched at a lower threshold of suspicion.
Biased traffic stops, often for non-safety reasons, combined with the
reality that Black people are disproportionately likely to be killed by
police, result in a landscape of discrimination and danger that rarely
serves a public safety purpose. The deaths of Sandra Bland, Tyre
Nichols, and Philando Castile brought national attention to the discri-
minatory and sometimes fatal threat routine traffic stops pose to Black
and brown people. Unfortunately, their deaths were not outliers. Over
600 people were killed by law enforcement officers during traffic stops
between 2017 and 2023 according to data compiled by the nonprofit
research group Mapping Police Violence. Traffic stops can also lead to
injuries and deaths of police officers, including from roadside crashes.
The fifth most common cause of line of duty deaths for law enforcement
officers is being hit by a passing car during a traffic stop.
This legislation would clarify that the specified non-safety-related
infractions are not appropriately enforced through detention by an armed
law enforcement, and thereby protect the safety and constitutional
rights of New Yorkers who pose no risk of harm to people outside of the
vehicle, and improve relationships between law enforcement and the
communities they serve by reducing unnecessary interactions for offenses
that do not threaten lives, public safety, or private property.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.7111 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Transportation
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take on the first of January next succeeding the date
upon which it shall have become law.

Statutes affected:
S3662: 710.20 criminal procedure law
S3662A: 837 executive law