NY State Senate Bill 2017-S960

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 03, 2018	referred to elections
Jan 05, 2017	referred to elections

co-Sponsors

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2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5367
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §5-106, El L; amd §75, add §510, Cor L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S4643
2011-2012: S2760
2013-2014: S3342
2015-2016: S2023, A7634
2019-2020: S1931, A4987
2021-2022: A4448

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S960

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law and the correction law, in relation
to voting by convicted felons

 PURPOSE :

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 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 because 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 EL5S-106, 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 § 5
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.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :


2015-16: S/2023/A.7634 referred to Elections Committee; ordered to
third reading in Assembly.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state

 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.

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    960
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 5, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. COMRIE, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, PERKINS, RIVERA -- 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 correction 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 AND SENTENCED TO A
 PERIOD OF IMPRISONMENT FOR SUCH FELONY pursuant  to  the  laws  of  this
 state,  shall  have  the  right  to register for or vote at any election
 unless he [shall have been pardoned or restored to the rights  of  citi-
 zenship  by  the  governor,  or his 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] OR SHE HAS BEEN RELEASED FROM INCARCERATION
 FOR SUCH FELONY OR RELEASED FROM SERVING A TIME ASSESSMENT  PURSUANT  TO
 SUBPARAGRAPH  (X)  OF  PARAGRAPH (F) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION TWO
 HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-I OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW.
   § 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,  AND SENTENCED TO A PERIOD OF IMPRISONMENT FOR SUCH FELONY,
 shall have the right to register for or vote at any election  unless  he
 [shall  have  been  pardoned or restored to the rights of citizenship by
 the president of the United States, or his maximum sentence of imprison-
 ment has expired, or he has been discharged from parole] OR SHE HAS BEEN
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD00170-01-7

 S. 960                              2
 
 RELEASED FROM INCARCERATION FOR SUCH FELONY OR RELEASED FROM  SERVING  A
 TIME  ASSESSMENT  PURSUANT  TO  A  VIOLATION OF PAROLE SUPERVISION UNDER
 FEDERAL JURISDICTION.
   §  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 AND
 SENTENCED  TO  A  PERIOD OF IMPRISONMENT FOR SUCH FELONY, shall have the
 right to register for or vote at any election in this  state  unless  he
 shall have been pardoned or restored to the rights of citizenship by the
 governor  or  other  appropriate  authority  of such other state, or his
 maximum sentence has expired, or he [has been discharged from parole] OR
 SHE HAS BEEN RELEASED FROM INCARCERATION FOR  SUCH  FELONY  OR  RELEASED
 FROM  SERVING  A  TIME  ASSESSMENT FOR A VIOLATION OF PAROLE SUPERVISION
 UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF COURTS, PAROLING AUTHORITIES,  CORRECTIONS  OR
 OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES.
   §  4.  Section  75  of the correction law, as amended by section 18 of
 subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of  2011,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   §  75.  Notice  of  voting rights. Upon the [discharge] RELEASE from a
 correctional facility of any person [whose maximum sentence of imprison-
 ment has expired or upon a  person's  discharge  from  community  super-
 vision,]  the department shall notify such person of his or her right to
 vote and provide such person with a form of application for voter regis-
 tration together with written information distributed by  the  board  of
 elections on the importance and the mechanics of voting.
   § 5. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 510 to read
 as follows:
   § 510. VOTING UPON RELEASE. UPON THE RELEASE FROM A LOCAL CORRECTIONAL
 FACILITY  OF  ANY  PERSON CONVICTED OF A FELONY THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE
 OFFICER SHALL NOTIFY SUCH PERSON OF HIS OR HER RIGHT TO VOTE AND PROVIDE
 SUCH PERSON WITH A FORM OF APPLICATION FOR VOTER  REGISTRATION  TOGETHER
 WITH  WRITTEN  INFORMATION  DISTRIBUTED BY THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS ON THE
 IMPORTANCE AND THE MECHANICS OF VOTING.
   § 6. The department of corrections  and  community  supervision  shall
 notify  each  person  serving  a  period of community supervision on the
 effective date of this act of his or her right to vote and provide  such
 person  with  a form of application for voter registration together with
 written information distributed by the board of elections on the  impor-
 tance and the mechanics of voting.
   §  7.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
 sections four, five, and six 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 S960

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

co-Sponsors

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S960

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Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

co-Sponsors

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S960 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments