NY State Senate Bill 2019-S2169

Senate Bill S2169

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Creates a temporary state commission relating to local correctional facilities in upstate New York

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - Stricken

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
Mar 25, 2019	recommit, enacting clause stricken
Jan 23, 2019	referred to finance

2019-S2169 (ACTIVE) - Details

Law Section:: Correctional Services
Versions Introduced in 2017-2018 Legislative Session:: S8150

2019-S2169 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Creates a temporary state commission relating to local correctional facilities in upstate New York; emphasis shall be placed on medical and mental health care, overcrowding, inmate deaths, use of force, restraints, and all segregation and confinement practices and solitary confinement.

2019-S2169 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S2169

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act creating a temporary state commission relating to local correc-
tional facilities in upstate New York; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon expiration thereof

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA:

This bill creates a three-year commission to study local jails outside
of New York City, with particular emphasis on conditions of confinement
including, but not limited to, medical and mental health care, over-
crowding, inmate inmate deaths, use of restraints, use of force and
segregated confinement.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. establishes a temporary state commission on local jails to
study and make recommendations for statewide policy or reforms, specif-

ically focusing on mental health care, medical treatment, overcrowding,
restraints, inmate deaths, the use of force and segregated confinement.

Section 2. prescribes the manner in which eleven commission members will
be appointed.

Section 3. provides that commission members will receive no compen-
sation, but will be reimbursed for their expenses pertaining to the
performance of their duties.

Section 4. grants commission members unrestricted access to all local
correctional facilities across the state. Access includes the ability to
conduct confidential interviews of inmates and employee and unredacted
copies of dccuments. The commission is instructed to hold public hear-
ings with all the powers of a legislative committee.

Section 5. provides for reports by the commission to the governor and
legislature.

Section 6. establishes an effective date and repeal date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

While the crime rate has fallen across the state in the last several
years, overcrowding in some county jails remains a problem.  Addi-
tionally, county jails often have trouble finding and retaining medical
and mental health staff or contractors and may lack the resources to
provide mentally ill or drug addicted inmates with effective treatment
or programming. Each county jail has different problems and policies and
must remain responsive to unique local concerns.

Even though the State Commission of Correction, itselfunddrfunded and
understaffed, has oversight authority of the county jails, it only
establishes minimum standards for jails and does not otherwise develop
coordinated policy on conditions of confinement, programming, use of
force and medical and mental health care.


This bill would provide for a temporary commission appointed. by the
governor and legislature to review the conditions in local jails outside
of New York City, report on their findings, make recommendations for
statewide policy or reforms that might be needed to provide for humane
and uniform treatment of jail inmates across the various counties, and
identify problems that may require state funding, legislation or other
state action to help sheriffs improve jail conditions. The commission
would have unfettered access to jails across the state and would hold
public hearingS in a number of regional centers in order to receive
input from all stakeholders in the local county jails prior to issuing
its final report.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: A.7959 (Weprin) - Referred to Correction

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed three years after such date.

2019-S2169 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2169
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 23, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT creating a temporary state commission relating to  local  correc-
   tional facilities in upstate New York; and providing for the repeal of
   such provisions upon expiration thereof

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. A temporary state commission is hereby created to study and
 make recommendations relating to local correctional  facilities  located
 outside  of  the boundaries of a city with a population of more than one
 million people. The commission will place particular emphasis on medical
 and mental health care (including the use of private contractors), over-
 crowding, inmate deaths, use of force, restraints, and  all  segregation
 and  confinement  practices  and  solitary  confinement, but will not be
 restricted to those topics.
   § 2. The commission shall consist of eleven members to be appointed as
 follows: five shall be appointed by the governor; two shall be appointed
 by the temporary president of the senate and one by the minority  leader
 of the senate; and two shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly
 and  one  by  the  minority  leader of the assembly. The members of such
 commission shall serve at  the  pleasure  of  the  official  making  the
 appointment  of such member. Of the five members appointed by the gover-
 nor, none shall be an elected official or current employee  of  a  local
 correctional facility or other branch of county government, one shall be
 from the state commission of correction and one shall be from Disability
 Rights  New  York.  The  remaining  nine  members of the commission must
 reside in counties under the purview of this commission.   Vacancies  in
 the  membership of the commission shall be filled in the manner provided
 for original  appointments.  Membership  on  the  commission  shall  not
 constitute  a public office. The governor shall appoint the chair of the
 commission.

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

                                                            LBD05627-01-9

 S. 2169                             2
 
   § 3. The members of the commission shall receive no  compensation  for
 their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
 incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this act.
   §  4. The members of the commission shall be given unrestricted access
 to all local correctional facilities in the state, including the ability
 to conduct confidential interviews of  inmates  and  employees  of  such
 facilities  and to receive unredacted copies of any documents maintained
 by such facilities, although documents that are confidential under state
 or federal law may not be  disclosed  to  individuals  or  organizations
 otherwise unauthorized to obtain such documents by the commission or its
 members.  The  commission shall also hold at least one public hearing in
 each of  the  cities  of  Albany,  Buffalo,  Plattsburgh,  Poughkeepsie,
 Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, and shall have all the powers of a legis-
 lative committee pursuant to the legislative law.
   § 5. The commission shall issue periodic reports, no less than annual-
 ly,  of its findings and publish a final report of its findings and make
 any recommendations it may deem necessary and appropriate to the  gover-
 nor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly,
 the  chairperson  of  the  senate  crime  victims,  crime and correction
 committee, and the chairperson of the assembly committee  on  correction
 no  later  than  three  years  after the effective date of this act. The
 report shall also make recommendations for needed regulatory changes  to
 the chairperson of the state commission of correction.
   §  6.  This  act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
 deemed repealed 3 years after such date.

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