Home/Bills/A 5961New York · 2025–2026 Legislative Session
Assembly BillIntroduced

A 5961: Requires the disposal of copies of identification documents by owner, lessee, proprietor or manager of any hotel, motel, steamboat, tourist cabins, camp, resort, tavern, inn, boarding or lodging house.

New York · Assembly · 2025–2026 Legislative Session · last verified January 8, 2026

What A 5961 does, verified January 8, 2026

The bill requires hotel, motel, steamboat, tourist cabins, camp, resort, tavern, inn, and boarding or lodging house owners to dispose of guest identification documents, including driver's licenses, passports, and non-driver identification cards, within 24 hours of their completion of stay. This includes deleting digital copies and physically destroying physical copies in a way that makes them impossible to recreate. The bill aims to protect guests' personal information and ensure their identification documents are not retained by establishments.

Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to consumer affairs and protection (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 5961
What is the current status of A 5961?
As of January 8, 2026, A 5961 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to consumer affairs and protection".
Did A 5961 pass?
Not yet. A 5961 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
Who wrote A 5961, and where is it now?
A 5961 was authored by Asm. Linda Rosenthal. Its committee of record is Assembly Consumer Affairs & Protection.
Recent actions2 total · showing 2
Jan. 07, 2026referred to consumer affairs and protection
Feb. 25, 2025referred to consumer affairs and protection
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 25, 2025 · 236 words
  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5961 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 25, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring the disposal of copies of identification documents The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 209-h to read as follows: 3 § 209-h. Disposal of copies of identification documents. The owner, 4 lessee, proprietor or manager of any hotel, motel, steamboat, tourist 5 cabins, camp, resort, tavern, inn, boarding or lodging house shall 6 dispose of any copies of a guest's identification document, including 7 but not limited to a driver's license, passport, or non-driver identifi- 8 cation card, within twenty-four hours of the guest completing their 9 stay. Disposal of the copies shall include deletion of any digital 10 copies and the physical destruction of any physical copies such that it 11 would be impossible to recreate the copy. 12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 13 have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07899-01-5 
Text of A 5961 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions
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