NY State Senate Bill 2009-S4643

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to elections
Apr 27, 2009	referred to elections

co-Sponsors

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2445
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §5-106, El L; amd §259-a, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S2760, A3601
2013-2014: S3342
2015-2016: S2023
2017-2018: S960
2019-2020: S1931

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to voting and registration for voting by convicted felons; may vote if pardoned, such persons maximum sentence of imprisonment has expired, or such person is serving a term of parole, presumptive release, conditional release or post-release supervision.

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4643

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the election law and the executive
law, in relation to voting by convicted felons

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

This bill would restore voting rights to parolees, to facilitate
community reintegration and participation in the civic process, rather
than requiring a parolee to wait until he or she has been discharged
from parole or reached the maximum expiration date of the sentence.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section one of the bill amends subdivision two of section 5-106 of the
Election Law to restore voting rights to individuals who have been
released to community supervision from New York state sentences
imposed as a result of New York felony convictions. Election Law
§5-106(2) bars a person convicted of a New York felony from voting or
registering to vote, and also, as currently drafted, restores voting
rights when the person is either discharged from parole or reaches the
maximum expiration date of his or her sentence. This bill would
restore voting rights while the person is serving the community
supervision portion of the sentence, so that he or she can exercise
the civic responsibility of voting. Sections two and three of the bill
make similar changes to subdivisions three and four of EL§5-1 06,

which deal respectively with federal felony convictions and felony
convictions in other states.

Section 4 of the bill requires the Division of Parole to make voter
registration forms available to parolees.

Section 5 of the bill is the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Under current law, a felony conviction imposes a variety of
disabilities, including a bar to voting, and the voting bar may be
removed only by discharge from, or completion of, the sentence as
provided in the Election Law, or by issuance of a certificate of
relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct under
Article 23 of the Correction Law. Certificates of relief and good
conduct may be issued to relieve eligible offenders of a variety of
different disabilities, and may be specifically limited to one or more
enumerated forfeiture, disability or bar. See Correction Law §§701(1),
703-a(1). However, these certificates are not issued automatically,
even for the limited purpose of restoring voting rights, and some
releasees supervised by the Division of Parole may not be eligible for
certificates of good conduct until they meet statutory waiting
periods. Thus, many, if not most, releasees cannot vote until after
their periods of community supervision are over.

Parole is meant to help prevent recidivism and to rehabilitate and
reinitiate a felon back into society. This rehabilitation is built on
the offender's recognition of fault, taking responsibility for his or
her behavior, and his or her effort to change. Preventing releasees
from voting, and from exercising a constitutional right and a civic
responsibility, is a barrier to full reintegration into society. It
also continues to punish people who have already served the
incarcerative parts of their sentences, and that part of their debt to
society.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

A9706 (2008)

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 4 shall
take effect 120 days after becoming law, to give the Division of
Parole time to implement section 4.

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4643

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 27, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  HASSELL-THOMPSON,  MONTGOMERY  --  read twice and
  ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
  Elections

AN  ACT  to amend the election law and the executive law, in relation to
  voting by convicted felons

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of  section 5-106 of the election law, as
amended by chapter 373 of the laws  of  1978,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  2.  No  person who has been convicted of a felony pursuant to the laws
of this state, shall have the right to  register  for  or  vote  at  any
election  unless  [he]:  (I)  SUCH  PERSON  shall  have been pardoned or
restored to the rights of citizenship by the  governor,  or  [his]  (II)
SUCH  PERSON'S  maximum sentence of imprisonment has expired, or [he has
been discharged from parole. The governor,  however,  may  attach  as  a
condition  to any such pardon a provision that any such person shall not
have the right of suffrage until it shall have been separately  restored
to  him]  (III)  SUCH  PERSON  IS  SERVING A TERM OF PAROLE, PRESUMPTIVE
RELEASE, CONDITIONAL RELEASE OR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION.
  S 2. Subdivision 3 of section 5-106 of the election law is amended  to
read as follows:
  3.  No  person who has been convicted in a federal court, of a felony,
or a crime or offense which would constitute a felony under the laws  of
this state, shall have the right to register for or vote at any election
unless [he]: (I) SUCH PERSON shall have been pardoned or restored to the
rights  of  citizenship  by the president of the United States, or [his]
(II) SUCH PERSON'S maximum sentence of imprisonment has expired, or  [he
has  been discharged from parole] (III) SUCH PERSON IS SERVING A TERM OF
PAROLE, PRESUMPTIVE RELEASE, CONDITIONAL RELEASE OR POST-RELEASE  SUPER-
VISION.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00082-01-9

S. 4643                             2

  S  3. Subdivision 4 of section 5-106 of the election law is amended to
read as follows:
  4.  No  person  who has been convicted in another state for a crime or
offense which would constitute a felony under the  laws  of  this  state
shall  have  the  right  to register for or vote at any election in this
state unless [he]: (I) SUCH PERSON shall have been pardoned or  restored
to  the  rights  of  citizenship  by  the  governor or other appropriate
authority of such other state,  or  [his]  (II)  SUCH  PERSON'S  maximum
sentence has expired, or [he has been discharged from parole] (III) SUCH
PERSON  IS  SERVING  A  TERM OF PAROLE, PRESUMPTIVE RELEASE, CONDITIONAL
RELEASE OR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION.
  S 4. Section 259-a of the executive law is amended  by  adding  a  new
subdivision 6-b to read as follows:
  6-B.  THE  DIVISION  SHALL HAVE THE DUTY TO PROVIDE VOTER REGISTRATION
FORMS TO  EVERY  PERSON  ON  PAROLE,  PRESUMPTIVE  RELEASE,  CONDITIONAL
RELEASE  OR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION AT THE TIME SUCH PERSON IS RELEASED
TO SUPERVISION OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS PRACTICABLE.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately, provided,  however,  that
section  four of this act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth
day after it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S4643

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

co-Sponsors

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S4643

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Sponsored By

Ruth Hassell-Thompson

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

co-Sponsors

Ruben Diaz

Liz Krueger

Velmanette Montgomery

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4643 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments