BILL NUMBER: S8500A
SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to enacting the New
York Civil Rights Act
 
PURPOSE:
To protect the rights guaranteed to all residents in New York by amend-
ing the civil rights law to provide an avenue for claims for damages for
the deprivation of constitutional rights.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 established the title as the New York Civil Rights Act.
Section 2 sets forth the legislative intent. Defines "color of any law,
statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage." Provides an avenue
for claims for damages against a person acting under the color of law
who deprives an individual's rights secured by the Constitution of the
United States. Includes immunity defenses to claims based on this act.
Provides for remedies for the deprivation are to include compensatory
damages, punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, attorney's
fees, and expert fees. Includes a severability clause.
Section 3 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The people of the State of New York must be guaranteed meaningful reme-
dies, including but not limited to those provided through the courts,
when their constitutional rights are violated. Recent United States
Supreme Court decisions have curtailed the availability of such remedies
under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, repeatedly declining to extend
damages actions to new contexts and leaving many victims of constitu-
tional violations without recourse. Concurrently, the Federal Tort
Claims Act (FTCA), as amended by the Westfall Act, provides the exclu-
sive avenue for many common-law damages actions against federal officers
acting within the scope of their employment. These developments have
created a significant remedial void for New Yorkers injured by unconsti-
tutional conduct.
Therefore, the legislature finds it necessary to provide an avenue for
claims for damages against any federal, state, or local official, who,
acting under color of federal, state, or local law, deprives a person of
rights secured by the United States Constitution. The Westfall Act
explicitly carves out from the FTCA's exclusive purview "a civil action
against an employee of the Government which is brought for a violation
of the Constitution of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2679(b)(2)(A).
The plain text of this provision contains no limitation on the scope of
constitutional violations carved out from the FTCA's exclusive purview,
recognizing the well-established principle that government agents act
outside of the scope of their offices when they violate the constitu-
tion. The legislature intends for this statute to fall squarely within
that provision.
This enactment does not, nor is intended to, usurp federal authority.
Nor does it discriminate against federal officials. This statute under-
scores the supremacy of the federal Constitution by ensuring that its
guarantees remain enforceable for all New Yorkers against all persons
acting under color of law. From the Founding era through the nineteenth
century, courts regularly entertained suits against federal officers who
exceeded lawful authority. Nothing in the Constitution, federal stat-
utes, or United States Supreme Court precedent forecloses such actions
today. The legislature thus finds that New York State may properly act
to safeguard its residents' constitutional rights.
The intent of this statute is to restore a meaningful avenue of account-
ability consistent with federal supremacy, state sovereignty, and the
longstanding principle that rights must be paired with remedies.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.