NYS law creates penalties for motels, hotels that fail to post human trafficking info in rooms

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new law Tuesday that will penalize hotels and motels that fail to display mandatory human trafficking hotline and resource information.

The law imposes $500 fines on hotels and motels for the first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense if the information is not provided within 30 days of being notified by the state.

Also signed was a new law protecting people whose intimate photos or videos have been shared without their consent and another law to keep voter registration information for domestic violence survivors confidential.

"Every New Yorker deserves to live a life free from fear, and these new laws will help to protect that right," Hochul said in a statement.

The hotels-motels bill follows a Newsday investigation that found nearly 60 motels on Long Island where at least one incident of sex trafficking, prostitution or a case of sex with a minor had occurred. Authorities, including the Suffolk County Human Trafficking Unit, said they frequently monitor the motels for possible trafficking, drug and weapons activity.

In the last five years, arrests for prostitution or illegal massages at salons, spas and other establishments on Long Island have skyrocketed by more than 1,200%, according to Newsday’s investigation.

A Brentwood man was charged Tuesday with sex trafficking an underage girl for more than two years following an investigation by the Suffolk police Human Trafficking Unit determined the girl was being trafficked at a home on MacArthur Avenue in Brentwood.

Last week, a former employee at the MacArthur Inn in Holbrook was charged with promoting prostitution after placing classified sex ads for three women.

The sex trafficking legislation, sponsored by State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-Staten Island) and Assemb. Amy Paulin (D-Westchester), passed unanimously in both chambers and was signed into law by the governor Tuesday.

"Human trafficking festers in the shadows, and every opportunity we have to connect victims with life-saving resources is vital," Paulin said in a statement. "These information cards, strategically placed in the rooms of lodging facilities, empower victims by providing them with the essential information they need to seek help and escape exploitation. This legislation ensures that lodging facilities comply with the law’s requirements and actively contribute to the fight against human trafficking."

Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story

Correction: The new legislation penalizes hotels and motels that fail to display mandatory human trafficking hotline and resource information. An earlier version of the headline on this story did not accurately describe the law.