NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5701

Senate Bill S5701

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires the department of corrections and community supervision to establish discharge plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals upon their discharge

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Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

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

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 27, 2025	advanced to third reading
Mar 26, 2025	2nd report cal.
Mar 25, 2025	1st report cal.609
Feb 28, 2025	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

Votes

- Mar 25, 2025 - Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee Vote
  S5701
  
  6
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee Vote: Mar 25, 2025
      
      aye (6)
      
      Bailey
      
      Harckham
      
      Murray
      
      Rivera
      
      Rolison
      
      Salazar
      
      excused (1)
      
      Sepúlveda

co-Sponsors

2025-S5701 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4325
Law Section:: Correction Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §78, add §78-a, Cor L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S7646, A8017

2025-S5701 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the department of corrections and community supervision to establish discharge plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals upon their discharge which includes housing needs, educational needs, employment needs, medical needs, and specific social service needs.

2025-S5701 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5701

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to requiring the depart-
ment of corrections and community supervision to establish discharge
plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals upon
their discharge

 
PURPOSE:

To require the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to
provide discharge plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted
individuals.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends the section heading of Section 78 of the correction
law.

Section 2: Creates Section 78-a, which pertains to discharge plans and

reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals. It defines key
terms, such as "wrongfully convicted individual," "discharge plan," and
"reentry services."

Section 3: Sets Effective Date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

A wrongfully convicted individual has been found guilty and subsequently
punished through legal proceedings but is later determined to be inno-
cent of the crime for which they were convicted.  Some wrongfully
convicted individuals are sentenced to prison and spend years behind
bars. This can happen for various reasons, including errors in the legal
process, false evidence, coerced confessions, or the discovery of new
evidence that clears the individual's name.

A 2022 article by the Bronx Times stated that 331 people have been exon-
erated in New York State in the last 33 years, and those are just the
cases that have been recorded. Undoubtedly, individuals who were wrong-
fully convicted of a crime are sitting in prisons across the state at
any given moment.

Wrongfully convicted individuals who are incarcerated face an unjust
loss of freedom and potential damage to their lives. Currently, New York
State law requires that DOCCS provide re-entry services only to some
offenders, not including those who were wrongfully convicted.  There-
fore, individuals who were wrongfully convicted and released from jail
are not offered any re-entry services. This bill will ensure that wrong-
fully convicted individuals are provided essential services upon
release, acknowledging the emotional, psychological, and practical hard-
ships that they might experience.

Individuals who spend time in prison for a crime they did not commit
deserve the best resources and support to assist in their reintegration
into society. The State must demonstrate its commitment to treating
individuals with dignity and addressing their unique needs. Without
proper support upon release, wrongfully convicted individuals might be
at risk of falling into homelessness, mental and physical health chal-
lenges, and challenges related to education and employment. By providing
tailored discharge plans and reentry services, the bill seeks to promote
successful reintegration and facilitate a smoother reentry process by
ensuring access to housing, education, employment, medical care, and
other social services, which can help these individuals rebuild their
lives.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Senate

2023: S7646, Referred to Rules

2024: S7646, Passed Senate

Assembly

2023: A8017, Referred to Correction

2024: A8017, Referred to Correction

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such effective date.

2025-S5701 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5701
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. SKOUFIS, BAILEY -- 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 requiring the depart-
   ment  of  corrections and community supervision to establish discharge
   plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted  individuals  upon
   their discharge
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The section heading of section 78 of the correction law, as
 added by section 81-b of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   Discharge  plans  AND REENTRY SERVICES; JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND ADOLES-
 CENT OFFENDERS.
   § 2. The correction law is amended by adding a  new  section  78-a  to
 read as follows:
   §  78-A.  DISCHARGE  PLANS  AND REENTRY SERVICES; WRONGFULLY CONVICTED
 INDIVIDUALS. 1. DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM:
   (A) "WRONGFULLY CONVICTED INDIVIDUAL" MEANS  A  PERSON  WHO  HAS  BEEN
 CONVICTED  AND  SUBSEQUENTLY  DETERMINED TO BE INNOCENT OF THE CRIME FOR
 WHICH THEY WERE CONVICTED.
   (B) "DISCHARGE PLAN" MEANS A PLAN DESCRIBING THE MANNER IN  WHICH  THE
 WRONGFULLY CONVICTED INDIVIDUAL WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE REENTRY SERVICES
 UPON RELEASE FROM THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT TO THE COMMUNITY.
   (C) "REENTRY SERVICES" MEANS APPROPRIATE PROGRAMMING AND SUPPORT PLAN-
 NING  OFFERED TO A WRONGFULLY CONVICTED INDIVIDUAL UPON RELEASE FROM THE
 CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT TO THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT
 OFFERED TO THE INDIVIDUAL AFTER THEIR RELEASE.
   2. DISCHARGE PLANS AND REENTRY SERVICES. PRIOR TO THE  RELEASE  OF  AN
 ELIGIBLE  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL FROM THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT, A
 DESIGNEE OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL,  IN  CONSULTATION  WITH  NON-PROFIT
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08280-01-5

 S. 5701                             2
 
 PROVIDERS  AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH SUCH WRONGFULLY CONVICTED INDIVIDUAL,
 DEVELOP AND OFFER TO SUCH INDIVIDUAL A DISCHARGE  PLAN.  SUCH  DISCHARGE
 PLAN SHALL:
   (A)  BE  DESIGNED  TO  ADDRESS  THE  UNIQUE  NEEDS  OF  THE WRONGFULLY
 CONVICTED INDIVIDUAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED  TO,  THE  INDIVIDUAL'S
 GEOGRAPHIC  LOCATION  UPON  RELEASE  FROM THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT,
 HOUSING NEEDS, EDUCATIONAL NEEDS, EMPLOYMENT NEEDS, MEDICAL  NEEDS,  AND
 SPECIFIC SOCIAL SERVICE NEEDS.
   (B)  PROVIDE  ACCESS TO REENTRY SERVICES INCLUDING, BUT NOT BE LIMITED
 TO, CASE MANAGEMENT AND CONNECTIONS TO EMPLOYMENT SERVICES,  EDUCATIONAL
 SERVICES,  MENTAL  HEALTH  SERVICES, MEDICAL CARE, HOUSING SERVICES, AND
 OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE TO SUCH WRONGFULLY CONVICTED
 INDIVIDUAL UPON THEIR RELEASE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such effective date.

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Senate Bill S5701

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Sponsored By

James Skoufis