NY State Senate Bill 2023-S4341

Senate Bill S4341

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to public health emergency allowances against sentences for certain incarcerated individuals

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction 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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to crime victims, crime and correction
Feb 07, 2023	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

2023-S4341 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Crime Victims, Crime And Correction
Law Section:: Correction Law
Laws Affected:: Add §803-c, Cor L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S3805

2023-S4341 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to public health emergency allowances against sentences for certain incarcerated individuals; allows up to twelve months of public health emergency allowances to be given to incarcerated individuals during a public health crisis.

2023-S4341 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4341

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to public health emer-
gency allowances against sentences for certain incarcerated individuals

 
PURPOSE:

To decrease the likelihood of transmission of a communicable or infec-
tious disease during a public health crisis in state correctional facil-
itates by creating a mechanism of release for certain incarcerated indi-
viduals.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the corrections law by adding a new section 803-c.

Section 2 provides an effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

COVID-19 hits hardest in dense population centers or clusters where
people gather in close proximity. It is advised to maintain social
distance of at least 6 feet to mitigate the possibility of contracting
the virus, but it is nearly impossible to do so in correctional facili-
ties. The state's correctional facilities, by design and nature, lack
space for movement, and thus, COVID-19 is spreading within New York's
incarcerated population at a higher rate than the general population.
Mechanisms must be in place to lower the population in these facilities
in the case of a public health emergency, like COVID-19. This bill
creates a "public health allowance" credited against an inmate's term
served during a public health emergency of up to one year, allowing
individuals close to the end of a sentence of incarceration to secure
release in an effort to decrease the likelihood of transmission of a
communicable or infectious disease.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S. 3805 of 2021-22: New Bill, Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and
Correction

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Will save the state money by lowering the prison population and lowering
medical costs for incarcerated people.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S4341 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4341
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 7, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and
   Correction
 
 AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to public  health  emer-
   gency  allowances  against sentences for certain incarcerated individ-
   uals

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 803-c
 to read as follows:
   §  803-C. PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY ALLOWANCES AGAINST INDETERMINATE AND
 DETERMINATE SENTENCES. 1. EVERY PERSON CONFINED IN AN INSTITUTION OF THE
 DEPARTMENT OR A FACILITY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE SERVING  AN
 INDETERMINATE  OR  DETERMINATE SENTENCE OF IMPRISONMENT, EXCEPT A PERSON
 SERVING A SENTENCE WITH A  MAXIMUM  TERM  OF  LIFE  IMPRISONMENT,  SHALL
 RECEIVE  A  PUBLIC  HEALTH  EMERGENCY TIME ALLOWANCE AGAINST THE TERM OR
 MAXIMUM TERM OF HIS OR HER SENTENCE IMPOSED BY THE  COURT.  SUCH  ALLOW-
 ANCES  SHALL BE GRANTED FOR TIME SERVED DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION IF:
   (A) THE GOVERNOR DECLARES A STATE OF DISASTER  EMERGENCY  PURSUANT  TO
 SECTION  TWENTY-EIGHT  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE LAW IN RESPONSE TO SUCH PUBLIC
 HEALTH EMERGENCY;
   (B) THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY ARISES AS A RESULT OF  A  COMMUNICABLE
 OR INFECTIOUS DISEASE; AND
   (C) THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RESULTS IN THE MODIFICATION OF CORREC-
 TIONAL FACILITY OPERATIONS.
   2.  EXCEPT  AS  PROVIDED  BY SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION, PUBLIC
 HEALTH EMERGENCY ALLOWANCES AWARDED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF  THIS
 SECTION  SHALL PROVIDE FURTHER REMISSION FROM BOTH THE MAXIMUM AND MINI-
 MUM TERM OF AN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S SENTENCE AT  THE  RATE  OF  SIX
 MONTHS  FOR  EACH  MONTH,  OR  PORTION THEREOF, SERVED DURING A STATE OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00397-01-3

 S. 4341                             2
 
 DISASTER EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE GOVERNOR PURSUANT TO SECTION  TWENTY-
 EIGHT OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW IN RESPONSE TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
   3.  PUBLIC  HEALTH  EMERGENCY ALLOWANCES SHALL NOT BE AVAILABLE TO ANY
 PERSON SERVING AN INDETERMINATE OR DETERMINATE SENTENCE AUTHORIZED FOR A
 SEX OFFENSE UNDER ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE PENAL LAW.
   4. AN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL SHALL NOT BE  AWARDED  A  PUBLIC  HEALTH
 EMERGENCY  ALLOWANCE  IN  EXCESS  OF  TWELVE MONTHS OF REMISSION FOR ANY
 SINGLE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.