BILL NUMBER: S4885
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to establishing a bill
of rights for unhoused persons
 
PURPOSE:
Establishes a set of rights which are not to be abridged by public or
private entities on account of a person's status or perceived status as
unhoused.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 provides a short title.
Section 2 renumbers the existing article 10 of the civil rights law to
article 11 and establishes as a new article 10 the Bill of Rights of the
Unhoused, including mechanisms and remedies.
Section 3 establishes a timeline for implementation.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The unhoused are in many ways the most vulnerable members of our commu-
nity, and face regular discrimination from private entities that can
make it difficult or impossible for them to begin to rebuild a stable
life for themselves or to receive services necessary for the maintenance
of their wellbeing. Further, some municipalities have or have attempted
to pass ordinances and statutes which make punishable the act of exist-
ing in public in certain ways, the act of resting in public, and the act
of asking for help in public - specifically to target members of our
unhoused population. The governments of New York must face their housing
problems head-on and resolve them, and should not be allowed to punish
and hide away those who are suffering under a broken housing system.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Ninety days after the act shall have become law.