S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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2949--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 18, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. RITCHIE, HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims,
Crime and Correction -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to adequate staffing at
correctional facilities
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 112 of the correction law, as amended by section 19
of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to
read as follows:
§ 112. Powers and duties of commissioner relating to correctional
facilities and community supervision. 1. The commissioner [of
corrections and community supervision] shall have the superintendence,
management and control of the correctional facilities in the department
and of the inmates confined therein, and of all matters relating to the
government, discipline, policing, contracts and fiscal concerns thereof.
HE OR SHE SHALL HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT ADEQUATE STAFFING
EXISTS AT EVERY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION THREE OF
THIS SECTION. He or she shall have the power and it shall be his or her
duty to inquire into all matters connected with said correctional facil-
ities. He or she shall make such rules and regulations, not in conflict
with the statutes of this state, for the government of the officers and
other employees of the department assigned to said facilities, and in
regard to the duties to be performed by them, and for the government and
discipline of each correctional facility, as he or she may deem proper,
and shall cause such rules and regulations to be recorded by the super-
intendent of the facility, and a copy thereof to be furnished to each
employee assigned to the facility. He or she shall also prescribe a
system of accounts and records to be kept at each correctional facility,
which system shall be uniform at all of said facilities, and he or she
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05026-05-7
S. 2949--A 2
shall also make rules and regulations for a record of photographs and
other means of identifying each inmate received into said facilities. He
or she shall appoint and remove, subject to the civil service law and
rules, subordinate officers and other employees of the department who
are assigned to correctional facilities.
2. The commissioner shall have the management and control of persons
released on community supervision and of all matters relating to such
persons' effective reentry into the community, as well as all contracts
and fiscal concerns thereof. The commissioner shall have the power and
it shall be his or her duty to inquire into all matters connected with
said community supervision. The commissioner shall make such rules and
regulations, not in conflict with the statutes of this state, for the
governance of the officers and other employees of the department
assigned to said community supervision, and in regard to the duties to
be performed by them, as he or she deems proper and shall cause such
rules and regulations to be furnished to each employee assigned to
perform community supervision. The commissioner shall also prescribe a
system of accounts and records to be kept, which shall be uniform. The
commissioner shall also make rules and regulations for a record of
photographs and other means of identifying each inmate released to
community supervision. The commissioner shall appoint officers and other
employees of the department who are assigned to perform community super-
vision.
3. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTABLISH A STAFFING PLAN FOR ALL UNIFORMED
AND NON-UNIFORMED EMPLOYEES. WITH REGARD TO UNIFORMED STAFF, THE COMMIS-
SIONER SHALL ESTABLISH A STAFFING PLAN WHICH SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE
LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING FACTORS:
(A) THE NUMBER OF TOTAL SECURITY POSTS THAT MUST BE STAFFED BY
CORRECTION OFFICERS AND CORRECTIONAL SERGEANTS BY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.
THESE POSTS SHALL BE DELINEATED BY THOSE THAT ARE NECESSARY FIVE DAYS
PER WEEK AND SEVEN DAYS PER WEEK.
(B) THE STAFFING PLAN SHALL REQUIRE THAT EVERY POST BE STAFFED USING A
RATIO OF AT LEAST 1.75 CORRECTION OFFICERS FOR EVERY SEVEN DAY POST AND
A RATIO OF AT LEAST 1.25 CORRECTION OFFICERS FOR EACH FIVE DAY POST.
NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE DEEMED TO AUTHORIZE A REDUCTION IN
THE RATIO OF OFFICERS IN FACILITIES WHICH ALREADY MAINTAIN A RATIO OF AT
LEAST 1.75 OFFICERS AND 1.25 OFFICERS FOR SEVEN DAY POSTS AND FIVE DAYS
POSTS, RESPECTIVELY.
(C) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROVIDE A COPY OF SUCH STAFFING PLAN TO THE
CHAIRS OF THE SENATE FINANCE, SENATE CRIME VICTIMS, CRIME AND
CORRECTION, ASSEMBLY WAYS AND MEANS AND ASSEMBLY CORRECTION COMMITTEES
BY DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST OF EACH YEAR. SUCH REPORT SHALL ALSO PROVIDE
DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING HOW THE STAFFING PLAN WAS IMPLEMENTED
DURING THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. THIS INFORMATION SHALL INCLUDE:
(I) THE NUMBER OF CORRECTION OFFICERS AND SERGEANTS BY CORRECTIONAL
FACILITY THAT THE STAFFING PLAN REQUIRED AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF
CORRECTION OFFICERS AND SERGEANTS THAT WERE AVAILABLE BY CORRECTIONAL
FACILITY DURING THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. IN THE EVENT THE DEPARTMENT
DEVIATED FROM THE STAFFING PLAN, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROVIDE DETAILS
ON WHY THE STAFFING PLAN WAS NOT IMPLEMENTED AS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO
THIS SECTION;
(II) THE NUMBER OF POSTS INCLUDED IN THE STAFFING PLAN FOR EACH FACIL-
ITY THAT HAVE BEEN CLOSED ON A DAILY BASIS, BY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION (MINIMUM, MEDIUM AND MAXIMUM);
S. 2949--A 3
(III) THE NUMBER OF SECURITY POSITIONS NOT FILLED AND THOSE ELIMI-
NATED, BY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SINCE TWO THOUSAND ONE COMPARED TO THE
NUMBER OF INMATES INCARCERATED IN EACH SUCH FACILITY; AND
(IV) A BREAKDOWN BY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
(MINIMUM, MEDIUM, AND MAXIMUM) OF THE STAFF HOURS OF OVERTIME WORKED, BY
YEAR SINCE TWO THOUSAND ONE AND THE ANNUAL AGGREGATE COSTS RELATED TO
THIS OVERTIME. IN ADDITION, SUCH REPORT SHALL BE DELINEATED BY CORREC-
TIONAL FACILITY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION, THE ANNUAL NUMBER OF SECURITY
POSITIONS ELIMINATED, THE NUMBER OF CLOSED POSTS AND AMOUNT OF STAFF
HOURS OF OVERTIME ACCRUED AS WELL AS THE OVERALL OVERTIME EXPENDITURES
THAT RESULTED.
4. The commissioner may require reports from the superintendent or any
other officer or employee of the department assigned to any correctional
facility or to perform community supervision in relation to his or her
conduct as such officer or employee, and shall have the power to inquire
into any improper conduct which may be alleged to have been committed by
any person at any correctional facility or in the course of his or her
performance of community supervision, and for that purpose to issue
subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses, and the production
before him or her of books, writings and papers. A subpoena issued under
this section shall be regulated by the civil practice law and rules.
[4.] 5. The commissioner and the chair of the parole board shall work
jointly to develop and implement, as soon as practicable, a risk and
needs assessment instrument or instruments, which shall be empirically
validated, that would be administered to inmates upon reception into a
correctional facility, and throughout their incarceration and release to
community supervision, to facilitate appropriate programming both during
an inmate's incarceration and community supervision, and designed to
facilitate the successful integration of inmates into the community.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
tive date is authorized and directed to be made and completed on or
before such effective date.
