STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 969 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 11, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to the amount of damages recoverable in a cause of action for unlawful interference with protected rights The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 70-b of the civil 2 rights law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the civil 3 rights law relating to establishing a cause of action for unlawful 4 interference with protected rights, as proposed in legislative bills 5 numbers A. 10094-A and S. 9039-A, is amended to read as follows: 6 (b) [punitive] additional damages of up to three times the amount of 7 compensatory damages shall be recoverable upon an additional demon- 8 stration that the action against the plaintiff was commenced or contin- 9 ued for the purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise 10 maliciously inhibiting the exercise of rights protected in New York, 11 including but not limited to the rights in subdivision six of this 12 section. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 14 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the civil rights law 15 relating to establishing a cause of action for unlawful interference 16 with protected rights, as proposed in legislative bills numbers A. 17 10094-A and S. 9039-A, takes effect. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03943-01-3