---
type: "Bill"
title: "Establishes the right of publicity and provides for a private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit depiction of an individual"
description: "Establishes the right of publicity and provides for a private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit depiction of an individual."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ny"
legislature: "New York Legislature"
session: "2019-2020"
identifier: "S 5959"
citation: "New York S 5959 (2019-2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["SAVINO"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 23
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2019-05-16"
last_action: "2020-11-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/13887d6c-dd85-4f18-86ba-c268fe87d1f6"
source_url: "http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S5959"
source_hash: "0ea4a754c20d21b6100d9ee56176056213504bf3db8fef7b1f3ac1596d22a85d"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ny"]
---

# New York S 5959 (2019-2020) — Establishes the right of publicity and provides for a private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit depiction of an individual

Establishes the right of publicity and provides for a private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit depiction of an individual.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **S5959** (committee substitute) — [source](http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?sh=printbill&bn=S5959&term=2019&Text=Y)
2. **S5959A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2019/S5959A)
3. **S5959B** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2019/S5959B)
4. **S5959C** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2019/S5959C)
5. **S5959D** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2019/S5959D)

## Votes

- Floor Vote - Version: D — **60–0** (pass) · upper
- Assembly Vote — **140–1** (pass) · lower
- Rules Vote - Version: D — **19–0** (pass) · upper
- Judiciary Vote - Version: C — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- Finance Vote - Version: D — **23–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- SAVINO — primary (person)
- BENJAMIN — cosponsor (person)
- BIAGGI — cosponsor (person)
- CARLUCCI — cosponsor (person)
- GAUGHRAN — cosponsor (person)
- HARCKHAM — cosponsor (person)
- JACKSON — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2019-05-16** REFERRED TO CODES `referral-committee`
- **2019-05-17** COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO JUDICIARY `referral-committee`
- **2019-06-07** AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO JUDICIARY `referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2019-06-07** PRINT NUMBER 5959A `amendment-passage`
- **2019-06-16** AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO JUDICIARY `referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2019-06-16** PRINT NUMBER 5959B `amendment-passage`
- **2020-01-08** REFERRED TO JUDICIARY `referral-committee`
- **2020-03-05** AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO JUDICIARY `referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2020-03-05** PRINT NUMBER 5959C `amendment-passage`
- **2020-03-10** REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-17** AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO FINANCE `referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-17** PRINT NUMBER 5959D `amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-21** REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO RULES `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-21** ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.788
- **2020-07-22** PASSED SENATE `passage`
- **2020-07-22** DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
- **2020-07-22** REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-23** SUBSTITUTED FOR A5605C
- **2020-07-23** ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.210
- **2020-07-23** PASSED ASSEMBLY `passage`
- **2020-07-23** RETURNED TO SENATE
- **2020-11-18** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR `executive-receipt`
- **2020-11-30** SIGNED CHAP.304 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/13887d6c-dd85-4f18-86ba-c268fe87d1f6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New York legislature records).