Senator Montgomery's bill to increase transparency with the Board of Parole passes Senate

Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell celebrate the passage of  S6806/A1984 in the Senate.  This bill directs the State Board of Parole to publish its appeal decisions on a public website and create an annual index of such decisions.  The decisions are useful in that individuals and their attorneys can read appeal decisions in similar cases to see what kinds of arguments might apply to their cases and because agency transparency is an important tenet of open government. The Board of Parole, which exercises extraordinary discretion, should post its administrative appeal determinations so that the public and concerned citizens can have access to the body of decisions that informs the Board's practice.

The bill has already passed in the Assembly and awaits consideration by Governor Cuomo.

To learn more about the legislation, visit https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2015/s6806