<STYLE><!--U {color: Green}S {color: RED} I {color: DARKBLUE; background-color:yellow} P.brk {page-break-before:always}--></STYLE> <BASEFONT SIZE=3> <PRE WIDTH="99"> <FONT SIZE=5><B> STATE OF NEW YORK</B></FONT> ________________________________________________________________________ 8139 2025-2026 Regular Sessions <FONT SIZE=5><B> IN ASSEMBLY</B></FONT> May 1, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LASHER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to protecting people from civil arrest at certain locations <B><U>The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-</U></B> <B><U>bly, do enact as follows:</U></B> 1 Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 29 2 to read as follows: 3 <B><U>§ 29. Civil arrest; certain locations. 1. A person shall be privileged</U></B> 4 <B><U>from civil arrest while within one thousand feet of a sensitive</U></B> 5 <B><U>location, unless such civil arrest is supported by a judicial warrant or</U></B> 6 <B><U>judicial order authorizing such civil arrest.</U></B> 7 <B><U>2. It is a contempt of the court and false imprisonment for any person</U></B> 8 <B><U>to willfully violate subdivision one of this section, by executing an</U></B> 9 <B><U>arrest prohibited by subdivision one of this section or willfully</U></B> 10 <B><U>assisting an arrest prohibited by subdivision one of this section;</U></B> 11 <B><U>provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision shall affect any</U></B> 12 <B><U>right or defense of any person, police officer, peace officer or public</U></B> 13 <B><U>officer pursuant to article thirty-five of the penal law.</U></B> 14 <B><U>3. Regardless of whether a proceeding for contempt of the court pursu-</U></B> 15 <B><U>ant to subdivision two of this section has been initiated:</U></B> 16 <B><U>(a) a person described in subdivision one of this section may bring a</U></B> 17 <B><U>civil action for appropriate equitable and declaratory relief if such</U></B> 18 <B><U>person has reasonable cause to believe a violation of subdivision one of</U></B> 19 <B><U>this section, as described in subdivision two of this section has</U></B> 20 <B><U>occurred or may occur; and</U></B> 21 <B><U>(b) the attorney general may bring a civil action in the name of the</U></B> 22 <B><U>people of the state of New York to obtain appropriate equitable and</U></B> 23 <B><U>declaratory relief if the attorney general has reasonable cause to</U></B> 24 <B><U>believe that a violation of subdivision one of this section, as</U></B> 25 <B><U>described in subdivision two of this section has occurred or may occur.</U></B> EXPLANATION--Matter in <B><U>italics</U></B> (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [<B><S> </S></B>] is old law to be omitted. LBD07393-01-5 </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="99"> A. 8139 2 1 <B><U>4. In any successful action pursuant to subdivision three of this</U></B> 2 <B><U>section, a plaintiff or petitioner may recover costs and reasonable</U></B> 3 <B><U>attorney's fees.</U></B> 4 <B><U>5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to narrow, or in any way</U></B> 5 <B><U>lessen, any common law or other right or privilege of a person privi-</U></B> 6 <B><U>leged from arrest pursuant to this article or otherwise.</U></B> 7 <B><U>6. As used in this section:</U></B> 8 <B><U>(a) "civil arrest" shall mean an arrest that is not:</U></B> 9 <B><U>(i) for the sole or primary purpose of preparing the person subject to</U></B> 10 <B><U>such arrest for criminal prosecution, for an alleged violation of the</U></B> 11 <B><U>criminal law of:</U></B> 12 <B><U>(A) this state, or another state, for which a sentence of a term of</U></B> 13 <B><U>imprisonment is authorized by law; or</U></B> 14 <B><U>(B) the United States, for which a sentence of a term of imprisonment</U></B> 15 <B><U>is authorized by law, and for which federal law requires an initial</U></B> 16 <B><U>appearance before a federal judge, federal magistrate or other judicial</U></B> 17 <B><U>officer, pursuant to the federal rules of criminal procedure that govern</U></B> 18 <B><U>initial appearances; or</U></B> 19 <B><U>(ii) for contempt of the court in which the court proceeding is taking</U></B> 20 <B><U>place or will be taking place;</U></B> 21 <B><U>(b) "sensitive location" means:</U></B> 22 <B><U>(i) any medical treatment or health care facility, including any</U></B> 23 <B><U>hospital, doctor's office, accredited health clinic, or emergent or</U></B> 24 <B><U>urgent care facility, or community health center;</U></B> 25 <B><U>(ii) all public and private schools, including but not limited to,</U></B> 26 <B><U>pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universi-</U></B> 27 <B><U>ties; sites of early childhood education programs; other institutions of</U></B> 28 <B><U>learning; vocational and trade schools; and other sites where individ-</U></B> 29 <B><U>uals who are unemployed or underemployed may apply for or receive work-</U></B> 30 <B><U>force training;</U></B> 31 <B><U>(iii) any scholastic or education-related activity or event, including</U></B> 32 <B><U>field trips and interscholastic events;</U></B> 33 <B><U>(iv) locations where emergency services providers provide shelter or</U></B> 34 <B><U>food;</U></B> 35 <B><U>(v) locations of any organization that:</U></B> 36 <B><U>(A) assists children, pregnant individuals, victims of crime or abuse,</U></B> 37 <B><U>or individuals with significant mental or physical disabilities, includ-</U></B> 38 <B><U>ing domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, supervised visita-</U></B> 39 <B><U>tion centers, family justice centers, and victims services providers; or</U></B> 40 <B><U>(B) provides disaster or emergency social services and assistance, or</U></B> 41 <B><U>services for individuals experiencing homelessness, including, food</U></B> 42 <B><U>banks and shelters;</U></B> 43 <B><U>(vi) places of worship and sites of funerals, weddings or other reli-</U></B> 44 <B><U>gious ceremonies; and</U></B> 45 <B><U>(vii) any office of a state or local elected official; and</U></B> 46 <B><U>(c) "judicial warrant" or "judicial order authorizing such civil</U></B> 47 <B><U>arrest" means an arrest warrant or other judicial order, issued by a</U></B> 48 <B><U>magistrate sitting in the judicial branch of a local or state government</U></B> 49 <B><U>or of the federal government, authorizing a civil arrest and issued by</U></B> 50 <B><U>the court in which proceedings following such arrest will be heard and</U></B> 51 <B><U>determined.</U></B> 52 <B><U>7. No action or proceeding may be commenced pursuant to this section</U></B> 53 <B><U>against the unified court system or any unified court system personnel</U></B> 54 <B><U>acting lawfully pursuant to their duty to maintain safety and order in</U></B> 55 <B><U>the courts.</U></B> </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="99"> A. 8139 3 1 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 2 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 3 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 4 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 5 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 6 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 7 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 8 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 9 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 10 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.