Increases the limited credit time allowances for certain incarcerated individuals serving indeterminate or determinate sentences imposed for specified offenses up to twenty-four months.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5418
SPONSOR: Dilan TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to the limited credit
time allowances for certain incarcerated individuals
PURPOSE OF BILL:
The goal of this bill is to increase the existing limited credit time
allowance (LCTA) for incarcerated individuals from six months to twen-
ty-four months. The LCTA provides a significant incentive for individ-
uals serving lengthy sentences to take all steps possible to engage in
and succeed at programs, educational opportunities, and other rehabili-
tative efforts.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 803-b of the correction law, as added by
section 4 of part L of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009, clauses (A) and
(C) of subparagraph (ii) as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021,
to provide that eligible individuals shall be eligible for release twen-
ty-four months before the completion of the controlling minimum period
of imprisonment if they have engaged in significant programmatic activ-
ities and have not had a significant disciplinary history.
Section 2 sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under existing law, eligible individuals are eligible for a six-month
allowance if they successfully complete one or more significant program-
matic accomplishments (such as educational attainment, positive work
history within DOCCS, or other similar efforts), have not committed a
serious disciplinary infraction or maintained an overall negative insti-
tutional record. In recognition of the value of positive and productive
conduct while incarcerated, and the harms caused by long periods of
incarceration, this bill expands the allowable amount of good time cred-
it from six months to twenty-four months for eligible incarcerated indi-
viduals, essentially all incarcerated individuals except those serving
life without parole sentence.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
SENATE:
2023-2024: S483 (Salazar) - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and
Correction
2022: S8602 (Salazar) - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction
ASSEMBLY: No same as
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This bill will save the state a significant amount of money as it will
decrease the time individuals will spend incarcerated and will increase
the economic value and contribution individuals will make to their
communities upon release.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5418
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DILAN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to the limited credit
time allowances for certain incarcerated individuals
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 803-b of the
2 correction law, as added by section 4 of part L of chapter 56 of the
3 laws of 2009, clauses (A) and (C) of subparagraph (ii) as amended by
4 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
5 (b) "limited credit time benefit" means:
6 (i) in the case of an eligible offender who is subject to an indeter-
7 minate sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment, such offender
8 shall be eligible for release [six] twenty-four months before the
9 completion of the controlling minimum period of imprisonment as defined
10 by subdivision one of section 70.40 of the penal law; or
11 (ii) (A) in the case of an eligible offender who is not subject to an
12 indeterminate sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment, such
13 offender shall be eligible for conditional release [six] twenty-four
14 months earlier than as provided by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of
15 section 70.40 of the penal law, provided that the department determines
16 such offender has earned the full amount of good time authorized by
17 section eight hundred three of this article; the withholding of any good
18 behavior time credit by the department shall render an incarcerated
19 individual ineligible for the credit defined herein;
20 (B) in the event the limited credit time benefit defined herein causes
21 such conditional release date to precede the parole eligibility date as
22 calculated pursuant to subdivision one of section 70.40 of the penal
23 law, a limited credit time benefit shall also be applied to the parole
24 eligibility date, but only to the extent necessary to cause such parole
25 eligibility date to be the same date as the conditional release date;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00599-01-5
A. 5418 2
1 (C) an incarcerated individual shall not be eligible for the credit
2 defined herein if [he or she] such individual is returned to the depart-
3 ment pursuant to a revocation of presumptive release, parole, condi-
4 tional release, or post-release supervision and has not been sentenced
5 to an additional indeterminate or determinate term of imprisonment.
6 (iii) Regardless of the number of sentences to which an eligible
7 offender is subject, the limited credit time benefit authorized pursuant
8 to this section shall be limited to a single [six-month] twenty-four-
9 month credit applied to such person's parole eligibility date pursuant
10 to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or to such person's conditional
11 release date pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. Except as
12 provided in clause (B) of subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the
13 limited credit time benefit authorized pursuant to this section shall
14 not be applied to an eligible offender's parole eligibility date and
15 conditional release date.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
