S4266A

The New York State Senate passed legislation establishing a task force to address the crisis of missing and murdered Black, Indigenous, and women and girls of color, with a vote of 62-0 on Tuesday. Senate Print 4266A, sponsored by Sen. Webb, would create a state task force to develop policy changes within government agencies, ensure cultural competency among first responders, increase transparency in data collection, and recommend preventative programming to address disparities in how cases of missing BIPOC women and girls are handled. Supporters cited statistics showing approximately 75,000 missing Black women and girls nationally, over 2,306 missing Indigenous women and girls, and that Native women face murder rates more than 10 times the national average. Multiple senators emphasized that missing Black and brown women receive significantly less law enforcement attention and media coverage than missing white women, and are often misclassified as runaways, causing their cases to be deprioritized. Sen. Cleare spoke from personal experience accompanying families to law enforcement and noted the emotional toll on families who feel their missing relatives are not being actively sought. The bill takes effect 60 days after becoming law.