A 5478 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Enacts the "gender identity respect, dignity and safety act"

Summary

Enacts the "gender identity respect, dignity and safety act"; relates to the treatment and placement of incarcerated individuals based upon gender identity; requires that incarcerated individuals in state and local correctional facilities who have a gender identity different from their assigned sex at birth be addressed and have access to commissary items, clothing and other materials that are consistent with the person's gender identity; establishes that incarcerated individuals shall be presumptively placed in a correctional facility with persons of the gender that most closely aligns with such person's self-attested gender identity unless the person opts out of such placement.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 14, 2025 Last action Jan 8, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

A5478 → A5478A · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to remove the word 'presumptively' from the placement requirements for transgender and gender nonconforming incarcerated individuals. This change makes the placement in facilities aligned with a person's gender identity mandatory rather than a default that can be easily overridden, strengthening protections against forced placement in facilities that do not align with their identity.

Scope change

The scope of the placement mandate was narrowed to eliminate discretion, ensuring that gender-aligned placement is the strict rule rather than a presumption.

REQUIREMENT

The phrase 'presumptively placed' was changed to 'placed' in the section governing where incarcerated individuals are housed based on gender identity, removing the ability to override the placement unless the individual opts out.

TECHNICAL

Minor technical updates were made to the bill's title and the specific section numbers cited in the confidentiality provisions regarding data reporting.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jan 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

PRINT NUMBER 5478A

lower

Jan 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO CORRECTION

lower

Jan 7, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO CORRECTION

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO CORRECTION

lower

1 primary · 37 co-sponsors