New Laws – What is a New Law?

A new law is a policy idea that is drafted into legislation. Legislators can come up with ideas for laws in many ways. Often, these ideas are submitted by constituents or groups that advocate for a particular issue. Sometimes, State agencies have their own attorneys who draft ideas for legislation that they submit to the Legislature in bill form. Regardless of the source, all bills must go through a process that begins with an initial proposal from a Senator and ends when a new law is signed into effect by the Governor.

This bill would require public agencies, which include the City, to notify certain persons if private identifying information has been accessed, disclosed or used by an unauthorized person as a result of a data breach. The bill also makes technical changes to align the City’s data breach notification laws with those of New York State.

Existing law prohibits credibly impersonating a peace officer, firefighter, or employee of a public utility, state or local government agency, or search and rescue team through an electronic device, such as an internet website or text message, for the purpose of defrauding another. This bill would expand these provisions to include impersonating a federal law enforcement officer, and would make it a misdemeanor to do so.

This bill would require the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, in consultation with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, to prepare a notice for City agencies to provide to employees and job applicants regarding student loan forgiveness programs. It would also make technical amendments to the City’s data breach notification laws in order to clarify requirements and ensure consistency with New York State’s SHIELD Act.