New York A 9076: Establishes the New York civil rights act

Bill Text

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A09076 Summary:

BILL NOA09076B

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SAME ASSAME AS S08500-B

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SPONSORRomero

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COSPNSRRaga, Shrestha, Lee, Woerner, De Los Santos, McDonald, Burdick, Wright, Hooks, Otis, Simon, Kelles,
 Gonzalez-Rojas, Rosenthal, Meeks, Forrest, Mitaynes, Dinowitz, Cruz, Shimsky, Hevesi, Cunningham,
 Hyndman, Taylor, Valdez, Jackson, Cook, Zinerman, Weprin, Burroughs, Anderson, Bores, Simone,
 Moreno

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MLTSPNSR

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Add Art 8-A §85, Civ Rts L

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Establishes a right of action for the deprivation of constitutional rights; provides for compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and reasonable attorney's fees.

Go to top A09076 Actions:

BILL NOA09076B

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09/12/2025referred to judiciary

12/12/2025amend (t) and recommit to judiciary

12/12/2025print number 9076a

01/07/2026referred to judiciary

03/06/2026amend and recommit to judiciary

03/06/2026print number 9076b

Go to topA09076 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA09076 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA09076 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 9076--B

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 September 12, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. ROMERO, RAGA, SHRESTHA, LEE, WOERNER,
 DE LOS SANTOS, McDONALD, BURDICK, WRIGHT, HOOKS, OTIS, SIMON, KELLES,
 GONZALEZ-ROJAS, ROSENTHAL, MEEKS, FORREST, MITAYNES, DINOWITZ, CRUZ,
 SHIMSKY, HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judici-
 ary -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
 amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the
 Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
 committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
 recommitted to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to enacting the New
 York Civil Rights Act

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York
 2 Civil Rights Act".
 3 § 2. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new article 8-A to
 4 read as follows:
 5 ARTICLE 8-A
 6 THE NEW YORK CIVIL RIGHTS ACT
 7 Section 85. Action for deprivation of constitutional rights.
 8 § 85. Action for deprivation of constitutional rights. 1. Legislative
 9 intent. The people of the State of New York must be guaranteed meaning-
 10 ful remedies, including but not limited to those provided through the
 11 courts, when their constitutional rights are violated. Recent United
 12 States Supreme Court decisions have curtailed the availability of such
 13 remedies under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, repeatedly declining
 14 to extend damages actions to new contexts and leaving many victims of
 15 constitutional violations without recourse. Concurrently, the Federal
 16 Tort Claims Act (FTCA), as amended by the Westfall Act, provides the
 17 exclusive avenue for many common-law damages actions against federal
 18 officers acting within the scope of their employment. These developments

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD13560-13-6

 A. 9076--B 2

 1 have created a significant remedial void for New Yorkers injured by
 2 unconstitutional conduct.
 3 Therefore, the legislature finds it necessary to provide an avenue for
 4 claims for damages against any federal, state, or local official, who,
 5 acting under color of any federal, state, or local law, deprives a
 6 person of rights secured by the United States Constitution. The West-
 7 fall Act explicitly carves out from the FTCA's exclusive purview "a
 8 civil action against an employee of the Government which is brought for
 9 a violation of the Constitution of the United States." 28 U.S.C. §
 10 2679(b)(2)(A). The plain text of this provision contains no limitation
 11 on the scope of constitutional violations carved out from the FTCA's
 12 exclusive purview, recognizing the well-established principle that
 13 government agents act outside of the scope of their offices when they
 14 violate the Constitution. The legislature intends for this statute to
 15 fall squarely within that provision.
 16 This article does not, nor is in