Establishes the "earned time act" providing for time allowances against the term or maximum term of sentences imposed by the court to be credited on an annual pro rata basis.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1085
SPONSOR: Kelles TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law and the penal law, in relation to the
early release of incarcerated individuals
PURPOSE:
This bill strengthens good time and merit time laws to support personal
transformation in prison, promoting the criminal legal system's goal of
rehabilitation. As summarized below, the bill provides increased good
time and merit time allowance credits to incarcerated individuals and
critical protections for these time credits.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 is the short title "earned time act."
Section 2 amends the Correction Law by adding a new § 802. The section
requires the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
("DOCCS") to report annually to the Governor and Legislature regarding
withheld, forfeited, or canceled time allowance credit. The report shall
include the race of each incarcerated individual where credit was
denied, the amount of credit involved, the reasons for the denial, the
department facility in which the recommendation to withhold, forfeit or
cancel credits was made, and the names of the department personnel who
made such a recommendation to ensure there is not a misuse of discipli-
nary tickets by individual staff. This data will be used to encourage
transparency and accountability in decision-making.
Section 3 amends Correction Law § 803 to make good behavior time allow-
ances vest at the end of each calendar year, after which such credit
cannot be withheld, forfeited, or canceled. This section requires DOCCS
to demonstrate at a hearing by a preponderance of the evidence that a
person violated institutional rules for time allowances not yet vested
to be withheld, forfeited, or canceled, and allows for the subsequent
reinstatement of good time allowance credit for good behavior. This
section further provides that, following any final determination with-
holding a time allowance, the incarcerated person has the right to take
an administrative appeal and the right to legal assistance in taking the
appeal.
Section 3 also amends Correction Law § 803 to increase the good time
allowance credit to one-half of the maximum term imposed by the court
for those serving indeterminate sentences, and to one-half of the term
for those serving determinate sentences.
Section 3 also expands who is eligible for merit time to include all
persons, regardless of offense (though merit time cannot be earned on
sentences of life without parole). It increases the merit time allowance
credit to one-half of the minimum term imposed by the court for those
serving indeterminate sentences, and one-quarter of the term for those
serving determinate sentences,. It provides merit time credit for addi-
tional programmatic opportunities, and where an institution does not
provide opportunities to earn merit time allowances, merit time is auto-
matically credited.
Section 3 requires that these merit time allowances shall apply retroac-
tively.
Section 4 amends Correction Law § 804 to apply the changes to good
behavior time allowances outlined in Section 2 to those serving definite
sentences.
Section 5 amends Correction Law § 804-a to apply the changes to good
behavior time allowances outlined in Section 3 to those serving civil
commitments.
Section 6 amends § 865 of the Corrections Law to provide definitions.
Section 7 amends § 867 of the Corrections Law.
Sections 8-12 amend § 70.30 of the Penal Law for consistency with
sentencing in the amended correction law.
Sections 13-14 amend § 70.40 of the Penal Law for consistency with
sentencing in the amended correction law.
Section 15 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Encouraging incarcerated individuals to pursue personal transformation,
and providing meaningful opportunities to do so, furthers the goal of
rehabilitation and safe reintegration. Decades of research and the expe-
riences of both corrections professionals and incarcerated individuals
show that both "good" and "merit" time policies offer several critically
important benefits that contribute to societal public safety. Correction
officers across the country, including in places such as Florida,
Nebraska, and Ohio, have noted that, at an operational level, sentence
credits are crucial to keeping prisons safe and reducing conflict as
well as improving safety for the workforce within the carceral system.
Sentence credits also provide incentives to incarcerated individuals to
participate in educational, vocational, mental health and substance use
disorder treatment, and other rehabilitative prison programs that are
proven to reduce recidivism and antisocial behaviors and promote posi-
tive post-release outcomes.
To align New York state with best practices, this Act will provide
incarcerated individuals increased good time and merit time allowance
credit to instill active and sustainable behavior change and committed
engagement in the workforce during and post incarceration. In order to
create a comprehensive culture shift within prisons towards collective
rehabilitation, the Act will also provide rehabilitative opportunities
for all incarcerated people, regardless of offense (with the sole exclu-
sion of individuals sentenced to life without parole). It will enhance
rehabilitation efforts by protecting earned time credit, requiring good
time credit to vest at the end of each year, imposing a higher burden
for the withholding of good time credit, and incentivizing facilities to
provide programming for merit time allowances.
Finally, this Act promotes the safety of the public and eliminates
unnecessary financial burdens for the state, as earned time allowance
credit opportunities have been shown to reduce recidivism rates and
lessen correctional costs. The potential for savings with expanding
earned time is significant. When the legislature established its first
merit time program in 1997 (which now excludes about 80% of the current
prison population, and strictly limits the amount of merit time avail-
able to those who are eligible) DOCCS saw $387 million total savings in
its first ten years of implementation, highlighting that even a small
expansion in the program lead to huge cost savings to the state. New
York now has the opportunity to expand upon the cost-savings and reci-
divism reducing benefits of merit time by passing the Earned Time Act.
Ultimately, expanding earned time credit will incentivize participation
in educational, vocational, and rehabilitation programs making New York-
ers safer by reducing conflict in prisons and improving reentry
outcomes.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A1128A of 2023-24: referred to Correction
A8462B of 2021-22: referred to Correction
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
