BILL NUMBER:S3079A

TITLE  OF BILL:   An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to
establishing private right of action for unwarranted video imaging  of
residential premises

PURPOSE:    The purpose of this legislation is to establish a right of
action for damages from the unauthorized invasion of privacy by  video
surveillance of an individual's recreational activities which occur in
their own backyard.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section  one adds a new section to create the right to sue for damages
for the unauthorized video imaging of a residential premises. A person
is guilty of this action if he or she intentionally uses or  installs,
or  Permits  to  be,  used,  or installed, a video imaging system that
allows the unwarranted  video  imaging  of  an  adjoining  residential
property owner's backyard premise without the property owner's written
consent."  Backyard  is  defined as the portion of the parcel on which
the residential parcel  is  located  which  extends  beyond  the  rear
footprint  of  the  residential dwelling to the rear and side boundary
lines of such parcel.

Section two provides the date that the act shall take effect.

              

JUSTIFICATION:  In 2003, Stephanie's Law was  signed  into  law.  This
bill seeks to close a gap in that law. Stephanie's Law was named after
Stephanie  Fuller,  a woman who discovered that she was being secretly
videotaped in her bedroom by her landlord. This law sought  to  expand
protections  of  privacy  to  include incidents where voyeurs used new
types of technology.

Stephanie discovered that she was being  videotaped  by  her  landlord
when her boyfriend noticed strange wires coming out of the smoke alarm
in  her bedroom. Because her landlord used a video camera that was not
filming Stephanie through her window, he could  not  be  charged  with
violating New York's "Peeping Tom" laws.

Under  Stephanie's Law, unlawful Surveillance is now a Class E felony,
punishable by up to four years imprisonment for first rime  offenders,
and  up  to  seven  years  for  repeat offenders (N.Y. Crim. Pen. L.
250.5).

Several  other  states  have  also  enacted  their  own  versions   of
Stephanie's   Law,   including:   Washington,   Tennessee,  Wisconsin,
Virginia, California, and Illinois. All of these  anti-voyeurism  laws
focus  their  protection of privacy on the physical location where the
incident occurred rather  than  on  the  individual  privacy  invasion
committed.

Currently,  New  York  contains no restrictions to control videotaping
which monitors a neighbor's back yard. Penal Law  Sections  250.40  et
seq.   only   establishes   criminal   penalties  for  unlawful  video
surveillance  when  the  videotaping  occurs  in  a  setting  with   a
"reasonable  expectation  of  privacy"  (i.e.  a  bathroom or changing


room), or if a perpetrator had to trespass on property to videotape or
install a camera.

In  at  least  one instance, a family has been subject to undue stress
and concern for their young children's safety when they  were  subject
to  constant camera surveillance while swimming or sunbathing in their
own backyard  by  an  adjoining  neighbor  who  is  a  registered  sex
offender.  However,  because New York State law provides no protection
from unwarranted  and  potentially  dangerous  video  observation  and
recording,  there is little that can be done to prevent this unnerving
intrusion.

This legislation would help to ensure that  the  rights  of  adjoining
landowners  are  subordinate  to the rights of individuals who wish to
enjoy backyard recreational activities with a certain  expectation  of
privacy.  Owners  who do not care about their neighbor's video imaging
can authorize such  observation  via  written  consent.  No  right  of
privacy  is  afforded  when  the  imaging is done by a law enforcement
officer in the course of their official duties.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  2012: S.7111 Referred to Codes

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after
it shall have become a law and shall apply to  acts  occurring  on  or
after such date.