BILL NUMBER: S5830

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to amending the defi-
nition of special populations to include persons who are in the first
eight weeks of the post-partum recovery period regardless of pregnancy
outcome

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this legislation is to make clear that the limits on
segregated confinement in correctional facilities are applicable in the
first eight weeks of a woman's post-partum recovery period, regardless
of how the pregnancy ended.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: amends Correction Law § 2(33) to add that its definition of
"special populations" extends to all persons in the first eight weeks of
their postpartum recovery period, regardless of how their pregnancies
              

ended.

Section 2: Sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New Yorkers have raised concerns for years about the overuse of solitary
confinement as a disciplinary measure in state and local correctional
facilities.Such concerns led to an agreement between the Governor and
Legislature that two state agencies involved in corrections would act
through regulations to impose limits on the use of solitary confine-
ment.These regulations were to include a strict prohibition of placement
of vulnerable incarcerated individuals such as adolescents, pregnant
women, and the disabled within special housing units for solitary
confinement.

The regulations originally proposed by the Department of Corrections and
Community Supervision (DOCCS) only limited the use of solitary confine-
ment by state correctional facilities in the post-partum period after a
live birth. However, after receiving public comments it changed the
regulations to include all individuals in the post-partum period regard-
less of how the pregnancy ended. The State Commission of Correction
(SCOC) proposed regulations that limited confinement in special housing
to anyone "within eight weeks of delivery or pregnancy outcome" and
adopted this provision without change.

Subsequently, to further reform the disciplinary process in correctional
facilities, the Legislature enacted the "Humane Alternatives to Long-
Term Solitary Confinement Act" (Chapter 93 of the Laws of 2021).
Although this legislation included a definition of "special populations"
that included any person who is "in the first eight weeks of the post-
partum recovery period after giving birth, it had served as the model
for the aforementioned regulations of both agencies. The regulations
DOCCS adopted after enactment of the HALT Act continued to apply to
post-partum recovery regardless of how the pregnancy ended.


On the other hand, SCOC retreated from the similar language that it had
earlier maintained and defined "special population" in its regulations
to only apply after a live birth. The Assembly Chair of the Administra-
tive Regulations Review Commission submitted comments to SCOC pointing
put the discrepancy between not only the regulations of its sister agen-
cy but also its own previous policy. The response from SCOC stated that
it preferred to maintain a definition identification to the statute to
avoid confusion and inconsistencies.

It is no more appropriate to place a person who had been expecting the
birth of their child but instead experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth
into solitary confinement than a new mother in the post-partum period.
This bill will ensure that no such policy will continue to apply in any
correctional facility in New York State.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.