Rpld §§184, 185 & 186, amd Cor L, generally; rpld §162 sub 2 ¶a, sub 4 ¶a sub¶ (iii), sub 5, amd §§162 &
139-j, St Fin L; amd §1-c, Leg L
Establishes a New York state prison labor board to ensure that all labor programs comply with the requirements of the labor law and are for the purpose of promoting successful rehabilitation, reentry and reintegration into the community and not for the purpose of earnings or cost-savings which inure to the benefit the state or any private individual or corporation; prohibits the department of corrections and community supervision from unfairly attaching, garnishing or disbursing the funds of incarcerated individuals where such individuals have not requested disbursement; requires that all interest accumulated on incarcerated individuals' funds be credited to such individual's accounts; eliminates the preferred status of the department of corrections and community supervision regarding commodities and services furnished by the correctional industries program; repeals certain provisions of the state finance law relating to such preferred status.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10626
IN ASSEMBLY
March 13, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to establishing a New
York state prison labor board to ensure that all labor programs comply
with the requirements of the labor law and are for the purpose of
promoting successful rehabilitation, reentry and reintegration into
the community and not for the purpose of earnings or cost-savings
which inure to the benefit of the state or any private individual or
corporation, prohibiting the department of corrections and community
supervision from unfairly attaching, garnishing or disbursing the
funds of incarcerated individuals where such individuals have not
requested disbursement, and requiring that all interest accumulated on
incarcerated individuals' funds be credited to such individual's
accounts; and to repeal sections 184, 185 and 186 of the correction
law relating thereto; to amend the state finance law and the legisla-
tive law, in relation to eliminating the preferred status of the
department of corrections and community supervision regarding commod-
ities and services furnished by the correctional industries program;
and to repeal certain provisions of the state finance law relating to
such preferred status
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short Title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "fairness and opportunity for incarcerated workers act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby declares
4 that:
5 1. The current system of prison labor in New York is an outgrowth of
6 the legacy of slavery and has been allowed to continue in our state
7 because of the exception created in the 13th Amendment which abolished
8 slavery "except as punishment for a crime."
9 2. The history of prison labor in New York can be traced back to
10 Auburn Prison, where a cruel and dehumanizing system of forced labor was
11 established 200 years ago with the goal of creating a self-sustaining
12 prison system.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03188-01-5
A. 10626 2
1 3. Today, incarcerated individuals are forced to work under threat of
2 punishment; hourly wages range from ten to sixty-five cents an hour and
3 have not increased since 1993; work conditions are unsafe and have
4 resulted in serious injury and even death; assigned work programs are
5 insufficient to provide incarcerated individuals with the skills and
6 training necessary for successful rehabilitation, reentry and reinte-
7 gration into the community; and there currently exists no means by which
8 incarcerated individuals can organize to work toward improving these
9 conditions.
10 4. The labor of incarcerated individuals has been used to create
11 millions of dollars of profits and cost-savings for the state.
12 5. The current system of prison labor is a violation of human rights
13 and an affront to human dignity.
14 6. The Fairness and Opportunity for Incarcerated Workers Act will: end
15 forced labor; provide for a minimum wage, healthy and safe working
16 conditions, and the right to organize; and require that all work
17 programs provide incarcerated individuals with the skills and training
18 necessary for successful rehabilitation, reentry, and reintegration into
19 the community. The act also establishes a labor board to ensure that
20 these requirements are met; provides a means of redress if labor laws
21 are violated; and eliminates Corcraft's preferred vendor status.
22 § 3. Section 2 of the correction law is amended by adding two new
23 subdivisions 35 and 36 to read as follows:
24 35. "Labor program" means any job or work whereby the department
25 employs, assigns or permits an incarcerated individual to provide
26 services in any correctional facility, jail, reformatory or other insti-
27 tution in the state and for which the minimum wage established by arti-
28 cle nineteen of the labor law would have been due but for such individ-
29 ual's condition of incarceration. Labor programs shall include, but not
30 be limited to, Corcraft prison industry jobs, facility needs jobs,
31 kitchen, laundry, library, groundskeeping and other in-house prison
32 operation and upkeep work, and any other work whereby the labor of an
33 incarcerated individual is contracted, let, farmed out, given or sold to
34 the state, any subdivision thereof, or any public, nonprofit or private
35 entity, shareholder or individual.
36 36. "Labor board" means the prison labor board established pursuant to
37 section 200-a of this chapter.
38 § 4. Section 116 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 322 of
39 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
40 § 116. [incarcerated] Incarcerated individuals' funds. The warden or
41 superintendent of each of the institutions within the jurisdiction of
42 the department of corrections and community supervision shall deposit at
43 least once in each week to [his or her] such warden or superintendent's
44 credit as such warden, or superintendent, in such bank or banks as may
45 be designated by the comptroller, all the moneys received by [him or
46 her] such warden or superintendent as such warden, or superintendent, as
47 incarcerated individuals' funds, and send to the comptroller and also to
48 the commissioner monthly, a statement showing the amount so received and
49 deposited. Such statement of deposits shall be certified by the proper
50 officer of the bank receiving such deposit or deposits. The warden, or
51 superintendent, shall also verify by [his or her] such warden or super-
52 intendent's affidavit that the sum so deposited is all the money
53 received by [him or her] such warden or superintendent as incarcerated
54 individuals' funds during the month. Any bank in which such deposits
55 shall be made shall, before receiving any such deposits, file a bond
56 with the comptroller of the state, subject to [his or her] such comp-
A. 10626 3
1 troller's approval, for such sum as [he or she] such comptroller shall
2 deem necessary. Upon a certificate of approval issued by the director of
3 the budget, [pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-three of the
4 state finance law,] the amount of interest, if any, heretofore accrued
5 and hereafter to accrue on moneys so deposited, heretofore and hereafter
6 credited to the warden, or superintendent, by the bank from time to
7 time, shall be [available for expenditure by the warden, or superinten-
8 dent, subject to the direction of the commissioner, for welfare work
9 among the incarcerated individuals in his or her custody. The withdrawal
10 of moneys so deposited by such warden, or superintendent, as incarcerat-
11 ed individuals' funds, including any interest so credited, shall be
12 subject to his or her check] designated as incarcerated individual's
13 funds. Each warden, or superintendent, shall each month provide the
14 comptroller and also the commissioner with a record of all withdrawals
15 from incarcerated individuals' funds. As used in this section, the term
16 " incarcerated individuals' funds" means the funds in the possession of
17 the incarcerated individual at the time of [his or her] such incarcerat-
18 ed individual's admission into the institution, funds earned by [him or
19 her] such incarcerated individual as provided in section one hundred
20 eighty-seven of this chapter, interest accrued on such funds, and any
21 other funds received by [him or her] such incarcerated individual or on
22 [his or her] such incarcerated individual's behalf and deposited with
23 such warden or superintendent in accordance with the rules and regu-
24 lations of the commissioner. [Whenever the total unencumbered value of
25 funds in an incarcerated individual's account exceeds ten thousand
26 dollars, the superintendent shall give written notice to the office of
27 victim services.]
28 § 5. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 200-a to
29 read as follows:
30 § 200-a. Prison labor board; organization, functions, powers and
31 duties. 1. There is hereby established within the department a prison
32 labor board which, for the purposes of this section, shall be referred
33 to as the "labor board".
34 2. The labor board shall be comprised of the following members:
35 (a) the commissioner or their designee;
36 (b) the deputy commissioner for programs or their designee;
37 (c) the commissioner of the department of labor or their designee;
38 (d) the commissioner of the division of human rights or their desig-
39 nee;
40 (e) one formerly incarcerated individual who shall be appointed by the
41 governor;
42 (f) one formerly incarcerated individual who shall be appointed by the
43 chairperson of the assembly committee on correction;
44 (g) one formerly incarcerated individual who shall be appointed by the
45 chairperson of the senate committee on crime victims, crime and
46 correction;
47 (h) three currently incarcerated individuals from the three correc-
48 tional facilities with the largest prison populations and where Corcraft
49 industry is in operation. Such individuals shall be appointed by their
50 facility's incarcerated liaison committee and shall serve terms as
51 defined by this section;
52 (i) one currently incarcerated individual from a women's correctional
53 facility. Such individual shall be appointed by their facility's incar-
54 cerated liaison committee and shall serve a term as defined by this
55 section;
A. 10626 4
1 (j) two members of nonprofit reentry programs for incarcerated indi-
2 viduals, one of which serves formerly incarcerated individuals in New
3 York city and one of which serves formerly incarcerated individuals
4 statewide; and
5 (k) two members representing organized labor who shall be appointed by
6 the commissioner of the department of labor.
7 3. The commissioner or their designee and the commissioner of the
8 department of labor or their designee shall serve as co-chairpersons of
9 the labor board.
10 4. All individuals appointed to the labor board shall have direct
11 experience with or demonstrated knowledge of prison labor programs,
12 vocational and occupational training, or community reentry and reinte-
13 gration programs.
14 5. All members of the labor board shall be equal voting members.
15 6. All members of the labor board shall serve two years after initial
16 appointment. After their initial terms, all members shall serve four-
17 year terms.
18 7. Any member chosen to fill in a vacancy created, other than by expi-
19 ration of term, shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the member
20 whom such chosen member is to succeed. Vacancies caused by the expira-
21 tion of term or otherwise shall be filled in the same manner as original
22 appointments.
23 8. The labor board members shall continue in office until the expira-
24 tion of their terms and until their successors are appointed.
25 9. No labor board member shall be appointed to the labor board for
26 more than four consecutive terms.
27 10. Appointments to the labor board shall be made within ninety days
28 of the effective date of this section.
29 11. All nongovernmental labor board members shall be reimbursed for
30 reasonable and necessary expenses related to their official duties as
31 members of the labor board.
32 12. The labor board and each member thereof shall have, but not be
33 limited to the following functions, duties, and powers:
34 (a) to ensure that all labor programs are for the purpose of rehabili-
35 tation and community reentry and reintegration, and not for the purpose
36 of creating profits or cost-savings which inure to the benefit of the
37 state, any subdivision thereof, the department of corrections and commu-
38 nity supervision, any public or nonprofit entity, or any private entity,
39 shareholder, or individual;
40 (b) to develop and implement:
41 (i) uniform rules, regulations, standards, processes, and best prac-
42 tices that all labor programs shall meet; and
43 (ii) uniform rules and regulations that govern the responsibilities of
44 the department and the labor board in designing, implementing, approv-
45 ing, and monitoring labor programs;
46 (c) to approve existing labor programs that meet the requirements of
47 this chapter, to make recommendations for labor programs that are not
48 approved, and to design and implement new labor programs;
49 (d) to ensure that labor programs are made available to all incarcer-
50 ated individuals in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner, and to
51 prohibit the extraction of any form of payment or benefit as a condition
52 of labor program assignment or duties; and
53 (e) to investigate or take such other action as shall be deemed neces-
54 sary or proper with respect to any labor program that does not comply
55 with the requirements of this article.
A. 10626 5
1 13. Within one year of the enactment of this section, but no later
2 than December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-six, and annually there-
3 after, the labor board shall report to the governor, the temporary pres-
4 ident of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly the following
5 information for each correctional facility:
6 (a) all activities undertaken by the labor board including approvals,
7 disapprovals, and investigations of current labor programs, and activ-
8 ities related to the creation of new labor programs;
9 (b) a description of the purpose of each labor program, including the
10 skills required to perform the labor and the training or education
11 offered to attain such skills;
12 (c) the wage rate assigned to each type of labor program including
13 variations within the wage rate based on seniority, skills, or other
14 criteria;
15 (d) the physical and environmental hazards that exist for each type of
16 labor program;
17 (e) a datafile consisting of every incarcerated individual participat-
18 ing in a labor program in which each individual is de-identified but is
19 assigned an ID unique to such datafile, which shall include the follow-
20 ing information for each individual for each pay period during the past
21 year:
22 (i) for each incarcerated individual, the wages received by such
23 incarcerated individual with an indication of any amounts that were
24 garnished or attached by the court or the department;
25 (ii) for each incarcerated individual, the total number of hours
26 worked and hourly wage rate assigned to the labor program;
27 (iii) the race, ethnicity, gender, and age for each incarcerated indi-
28 vidual participating in a labor program;
29 (iv) any injuries reported by an incarcerated individual while partic-
30 ipating in a labor program, including a description of the injury
31 received, or exacerbation of an existing injury, the specific labor
32 program in which the injury was received, the treatment administered,
33 and outcome of such treatment; and
34 (v) any reports regarding an incarcerated individual's refusal to work
35 or threatened refusal to work, reasons for such work refusal, and the
36 consequences imposed including, but not limited to, placement on
37 keeplock status, negative behavior reports, fines, or loss of family
38 visitation or other privileges.
39 (f) recommendations for further study to measure the success of the
40 labor program regarding rehabilitation, reentry, and reintegration into
41 the community.
42 § 6. Section 154 of the correction law, as added by chapter 788 of the
43 laws of 1968, subdivision 4 as amended by section 3 of part F of chapter
44 62 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
45 § 154. Disposition of [Earnings] earnings. The earnings of [a prison-
46 er] an incarcerated individual participating in a work release program,
47 less any payroll deductions required or authorized by law, shall be
48 deposited with the department in a trust fund account. Such earnings
49 shall not be subject to attachment or garnishment in the hands of the
50 department. The commissioner is authorized [to provide for disbursements
51 from the trust fund account for any or all of the following purposes:
52 1. Such costs incident to the prisoner's confinement as the commis-
53 sioner deems appropriate and reasonable.
54 2. Such costs related to the prisoner's work release program as the
55 commissioner deems appropriate and reasonable.
56 3. Support of the prisoner's dependents.
A. 10626 6
1 4. Payment of court fines, mandatory surcharge, sex offender registra-
2 tion fee, DNA databank fee, restitution or reparation, or forfeitures]
3 and shall approve requests by incarcerated individuals for the disburse-
4 ment of their earnings for commissary purchases, aid to dependents, or
5 any other lawful purposes. The balance of such earnings, if any, after
6 disbursements for any of the foregoing purposes shall be paid [to the
7 prisoner] by check issued by the department and payable to the incarcer-
8 ated individual upon termination of [his] such incarcerated individual's
9 imprisonment.
10 § 7. Subdivision 1 of section 170 of the correction law, as amended by
11 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
12 1. The commissioner shall not, nor shall any other authority whatsoev-
13 er, make any contract by which the labor or time of any incarcerated
14 individual in any state or local correctional facility in this state, or
15 the product or profit of [his or her] such incarcerated individual's
16 work, shall be contracted, let, farmed out, given or sold to [any
17 person, firm, association or corporation; except that the incarcerated
18 individuals in said correctional institutions may work for, and the
19 products of their labor may be disposed of to, the state or any poli-
20 tical subdivision thereof, any public institution owned or managed and
21 controlled by the state, or any political subdivision thereof, provided
22 that no incarcerated individual shall be employed or assigned to engage
23 in any activity that involves obtaining access to, collecting or proc-
24 essing social security account numbers of other individuals] the state,
25 any subdivision thereof, the department, or any public, nonprofit or
26 private entity, shareholder, or individual unless such labor program is
27 in compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
28 § 8. Section 171 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 364 of
29 the laws of 1983, the section heading and subdivision 1 as amended by
30 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
31 § 171. [Incarcerated individuals to be employed; products of labor of
32 incarcerated individuals] Terms and conditions of labor programs. 1. The
33 commissioner and the superintendents and officials of all penitentiaries
34 in the state may not cause incarcerated individuals in the state correc-
35 tional facilities and such penitentiaries [who are physically capable
36 thereof] to be employed for [not to exceed] more than eight hours of
37 each day other than Sundays and public holidays. Notwithstanding any
38 other provision of this section, however, the commissioner and super-
39 intendents of state correctional facilities may employ incarcerated
40 individuals on a volunteer basis on Sundays and public holidays in
41 specialized areas of the facility, including kitchen areas, vehicular
42 garages, rubbish pickup and grounds maintenance, providing, however,
43 that incarcerated individuals so employed shall be allowed an alterna-
44 tive free day within the normal work week.
45 2. [Such labor] Labor programs shall be [either] for the purpose of
46 [the production of supplies for said institutions, or for the state, or
47 any political subdivision thereof, or for any public institution owned
48 or managed and controlled by the state, or any political subdivision
49 thereof; or for the purpose of industrial training and instruction, or
50 partly for one, and partly for the other of such purposes] promoting
51 successful rehabilitation, reentry and reintegration into the community,
52 and not for the purpose of creating profits or cost-savings which inure
53 to the benefit of the state, any subdivision thereof, the department, or
54 any public or nonprofit entity, private entity, shareholder or individ-
55 ual.
A. 10626 7
1 3. All labor programs shall comply with the following terms and condi-
2 tions:
3 (a) No incarcerated individual shall be compelled, threatened, induced
4 or coerced to provide labor against such incarcerated individual's will
5 by means of actual or threatened force, punishment, sexual harm, or by
6 any other means reasonably likely to cause the incarcerated individual
7 to believe that, if they do not provide such labor, that they or another
8 person would suffer physical, emotional or mental harm, or other adverse
9 consequences;
10 (b) The wages paid to incarcerated individuals shall not be less than
11 the minimum wage established by article nineteen of the labor law;
12 (c) All health and safety protections required to be provided to
13 employees under federal and state labor law shall be provided to incar-
14 cerated individuals engaged in labor programs;
15 (d) All incarcerated individuals shall have the right to organize and
16 collectively bargain; and
17 (e) All incarcerated individuals shall be afforded an equal opportu-
18 nity to participate in labor programs and the commissioner, the super-
19 intendents and officials of all correctional facilities, jails, reforma-
20 tories and other institutions shall make all efforts to ensure that
21 assignments are distributed equitably and work is provided to all who
22 request it.
23 4. No incarcerated individual shall be discriminated against in a
24 labor program because of their age, race, creed, color, national origin,
25 sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex,
26 disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, mari-
27 tal status, or status as a victim of domestic violence.
28 5. The department shall not take any retaliatory action against an
29 incarcerated individual, whether or not within the scope of the individ-
30 ual's labor program duties, because such individual does any of the
31 following:
32 (a) discloses, or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public
33 body an activity, policy, or practice of the department that the incar-
34 cerated individual reasonably believes is in violation of law, rule, or
35 regulation, or that the incarcerated individual reasonably believes
36 poses a substantial and specific danger to the public health or safety;
37 (b) provides information to, or testifies before, any public body
38 conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any such activity,
39 policy or practice by the department; or
40 (c) objects to, or refuses to participate in, any such activity, poli-
41 cy, or practice.
42 6. In no event shall an incarcerated individual be employed in an
43 establishment which has a labor dispute.
44 7. The department of labor shall exercise the same supervision over
45 conditions of employment for incarcerated individuals participating in
46 labor programs as such department does over conditions of employment for
47 non-incarcerated individuals.
48 8. Any incarcerated individual alleging a violation of subdivision
49 three, four, or five of this section against any correctional facility,
50 jail, reformatory, or other institution in the state shall have a cause
51 of action in the court of appropriate jurisdiction for damages and
52 injunctive relief and such other remedies as may be appropriate.
53 9. Any incarcerated individual alleging a violation of subdivision
54 three, four or five of this section against any officer or employee of
55 any correctional facility, jail, reformatory, or other institution in
56 the state shall, within ten years after the acts alleged to have
A. 10626 8
1 violated this section, have a cause of action for damages, including
2 punitive damages, injunctive relief, and such other remedies as may be
3 appropriate together with all reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
4 10. The immunity granted pursuant to subdivision one of section twen-
5 ty-four of this chapter shall not extend to actions brought pursuant to
6 subdivision three, four, or five of this section and any action
7 commenced under this section may be brought in any court of competent
8 jurisdiction, including the supreme court.
9 11. A violation of any of the provisions of subdivision three, four,
10 or five of this section by any officer or employee of any correctional
11 facility, jail, reformatory, or other institution in the state shall
12 constitute sufficient cause for the removal of such employee by the duly
13 constituted authority having jurisdiction.
14 § 9. Subdivision 3 of section 177 of the correction law, as amended by
15 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
16 3. However, for the purpose of distributing, marketing or sale of the
17 whole or any part of the product of any correctional facility in the
18 state, other than by said state correctional facilities, to the state or
19 to any political subdivisions thereof or to any public institutions
20 owned or managed and controlled by the state, or by any political subdi-
21 visions thereof, or to any public corporation, authority, or eleemosy-
22 nary association funded in whole or in part by any federal, state or
23 local funds, the sheriff of any such local correctional facility and the
24 commissioner of corrections and community supervision may enter into a
25 contract or contracts which may determine the kinds and qualities of
26 articles to be produced by such institution and the method of distrib-
27 ution and sale thereof by the commissioner of corrections and community
28 supervision or under [his or her] such commissioner's direction, either
29 in separate lots or in combination with the products of other such
30 institutions and with the products produced by incarcerated individuals
31 in state correctional facilities. Such contracts may fix and determine
32 any and all terms and conditions for the disposition of such products
33 and the disposition of proceeds of sale thereof and any and all other
34 terms and conditions as may be agreed upon, not inconsistent with the
35 constitution or this chapter. However, no such contract shall be for a
36 period of more than one year and any prices fixed by such contract shall
37 be [the prices established pursuant to section one hundred eighty-six of
38 this article for like articles or shall be] approved by the [department
39 of corrections and community supervision] labor board and the director
40 of the budget on presentation to them of a copy of such contract or
41 proposed contract, and provided further that any distribution or diver-
42 sification of industries provided for by such contract shall be in
43 accordance with the rules and regulations established by the department
44 of corrections and community supervision or shall be approved by such
45 department on presentation to it of a copy of such contract or proposed
46 contract.
47 § 10. Section 178 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 322 of
48 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
49 § 178. Participation in work release and other community activities.
50 Nothing contained in this article shall be construed or applied so as to
51 prohibit private employment of incarcerated individuals in the community
52 under a work release program, or a residential treatment facility
53 program [formulated pursuant to any provision] provided such employment
54 complies with the requirements of this chapter.
55 § 11. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 183 of the correction law,
56 subdivision 1 as amended by section 26 of subpart A of part C of chapter
A. 10626 9
1 62 of the laws of 2011 and subdivision 2 as added by chapter 464 of the
2 laws of 1981, are amended to read as follows:
3 1. It shall be the duty of the commissioner to distribute, among the
4 correctional institutions under [his] such commissioner's jurisdiction,
5 the labor and industries assigned to said institutions, due regard being
6 had to the location and convenience of the prisons, and of the other
7 institutions to be supplied, the machinery now therein and the number of
8 [prisoners] incarcerated individuals, in order to secure the best
9 service and distribution of the labor, and to employ the [prisoners, so
10 far as practicable,] incarcerated individuals in occupations in which
11 they will be most likely to obtain employment after their discharge from
12 imprisonment. The commissioner shall change or dispose of the present
13 plants and machinery in said institutions now used in industries which
14 shall be discontinued, and which can not be used in the industries here-
15 after to be carried on in said prisons, due effort to be made by full
16 notice to probable purchasers, in case of sales of industries or machin-
17 ery, to obtain the best price possible for the property sold, and good
18 will of the business to be discontinued.
19 2. The commissioner shall submit reports, quarterly, to the labor
20 board, the senate finance committee, the assembly ways and means commit-
21 tee, and the director of the budget, regarding industries under [his]
22 such commissioner's jurisdiction. Such reports shall include, but not
23 be limited to, the following:
24 (a) all materials, machinery or other property procured, and the cost
25 thereof;
26 (b) all other expenditures and the nature thereof;
27 (c) all receipts and the nature thereof;
28 (d) all inventory on hand at the opening and closing of the quarter;
29 and
30 (e) recommendations regarding the continuance of the program.
31 § 12. Sections 184, 185 and 186 of the correction law are REPEALED.
32 § 13. Section 187 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 322 of
33 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
34 § 187. Earnings of incarcerated individuals. 1. Every incarcerated
35 individual confined in a [state] correctional facility, [subject to the
36 rules and regulations of the department of corrections and community
37 supervision, and every incarcerated individual confined in a local
38 correctional facility, in the discretion of the sheriff thereof, may]
39 jail, reformatory, or other institution in the state shall receive
40 compensation for work performed during [his or her] such incarcerated
41 individual's imprisonment. Such compensation shall be graded by the
42 [department of corrections and community supervision] labor board, with
43 regard to incarcerated individuals [employed in prison industries]
44 participating in labor programs, based upon the work performed by such
45 [prisoners for prisoners confined in state correctional facilities, and
46 by the sheriffs in all local correctional facilities for incarcerated
47 individuals confined therein] incarcerated individual.
48 2. The [department of corrections and community supervision] labor
49 board shall adopt rules, subject to the approval of the director of the
50 budget, for establishing in all of the state correctional facilities a
51 system of compensation for the incarcerated individuals confined there-
52 in. Such rules shall provide for the payment of compensation to each
53 incarcerated individual[, who] and shall meet the requirements estab-
54 lished by [the department of corrections and community supervision,
55 based upon the work performed by such incarcerated individuals] this
56 chapter.
A. 10626 10
1 3. The [department] labor board shall prepare graded wage schedules
2 for incarcerated individuals, which schedules shall be based upon clas-
3 sifications according to the value of work performed by each and in no
4 instance shall be lower than the minimum wage established by article
5 nineteen of the labor law. Such schedules [need not] shall be uniform in
6 all institutions. [The rules of the department shall also provide for
7 the establishment of a credit system for each incarcerated individual
8 and the manner in which such earnings shall be paid to the incarcerated
9 individual or [his or her] such incarcerated individual's dependents or
10 held in trust for [him or her] such incarcerated individual until [his
11 or her] such incarcerated individual's release.
12 4. Any compensation paid to an incarcerated individual under this
13 article shall be based on the work performed by such incarcerated indi-
14 vidual. Compensation may be paid from moneys appropriated to the depart-
15 ment and available to facilities for nonpersonal service.]
16 § 14. Section 189 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 738 of
17 the laws of 1942, is amended to read as follows:
18 § 189. Disposition of moneys paid to [prisoner] incarcerated individ-
19 ual for [his] such incarcerated individual's labor. The earnings,
20 including any accrued interest, of an incarcerated individual partic-
21 ipating in a labor program shall be held by the department in a trust
22 fund account. Such earnings shall not be subject to attachment or
23 garnishment in the hands of the department. The amount of such [compen-
24 sation] earnings to the credit of any [prisoner] incarcerated individual
25 may be drawn by the [prisoner] incarcerated individual during [his] such
26 incarcerated individual's imprisonment[, only upon approval of the
27 commissioner to] for aid to dependent relatives [of such prisoner],
28 commissary purchases, or for [such] any other [purposes as the commis-
29 sioner may approve. Such disbursement to aid a dependent relative of a
30 prisoner may be made without the consent of such prisoner upon the
31 certificate of the commissioner of welfare, or other officer performing
32 the duties of a commissioner of welfare, of the community in which such
33 dependent is located] lawful purpose. Any balance to the credit of any
34 [prisoner] incarcerated individual at the time of [his] such incarcerat-
35 ed individual's conditional release as provided by this chapter shall be
36 subject to the draft of the [prisoner in such amounts and at such times
37 as the commissioner shall approve] incarcerated individual; provided,
38 however, that at the date of absolute discharge of any [prisoner] incar-
39 cerated individual the balance as aforesaid shall be paid to such [pris-
40 oner] incarcerated individual.
41 § 15. Section 190 of the correction law, as amended by section 23 of
42 subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to
43 read as follows:
44 § 190. Monthly statement of receipts and expenditures for industries.
45 The warden of each of the state prisons shall, on the first of each
46 month, make a full detailed statement of all materials, machinery or
47 other property procured, and of the cost thereof, and of the expendi-
48 tures made during the last preceding month for manufacturing purposes,
49 together with a statement of all materials then on hand to be manufac-
50 tured, or in process of manufacture, or manufactured, and of machinery,
51 fixtures or other appurtenances for the purpose of carrying on the labor
52 of the [prisoners] incarcerated individual, and the amount and kinds of
53 work done, and the earnings realized, and the total amount of moneys
54 coming into [his or her] such incarcerated individual's hands as such
55 warden during such last preceding month as the proceeds of the labor of
56 the [prisoners] incarcerated individuals at such prison, which statement
A. 10626 11
1 shall be verified by the oath of such warden to be just and true, and
2 shall be by [him or her] such warden forwarded to the department and the
3 labor board.
4 § 16. Subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 6 of section 200 of the correction
5 law, subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of
6 2021, and subdivision 6 as added by chapter 536 of the laws of 1974, are
7 amended to read as follows:
8 2. In lieu of the system of labor in correctional institutions estab-
9 lished by this article, the [commissioner may] labor board shall, in
10 order to facilitate an incarcerated individual's eventual reintegration
11 into society, establish for the incarcerated individuals in one or more
12 state correctional institutions a system of educational, career and
13 industrial training programs, and of incentive allowances for each such
14 program. Educational, career and industrial training programs shall not
15 include any job or work that is part of a labor program as defined by
16 subdivision thirty-five of section two of this chapter.
17 3. For each institution wherein such system is established the
18 [commissioner] labor board shall prepare, and may at times revise, grad-
19 ed incentive allowance schedules for the incarcerated individuals within
20 each such program based upon the levels of performance and achievement
21 by an incarcerated individual in a program to which [he or she] such
22 incarcerated individual has been assigned. Upon the approval of the
23 director of the budget such schedules or revisions thereof may be
24 promulgated.
25 4. The [commissioner] labor board shall also provide for the estab-
26 lishment of a credit system for each incarcerated individual and the
27 manner in which incentive allowances shall be paid to the incarcerated
28 individual or [his or her] such incarcerated individual's dependents or
29 held in trust for [him or her] such incarcerated individual until [his
30 or her] such incarcerated individual's release. The amount of incentive
31 allowed to the credit of any incarcerated individual shall be disposed
32 of as provided by section one hundred eighty-nine of this article.
33 6. [Except as otherwise provided by this section, those provisions of
34 law dealing with labor in state correctional institutions shall apply to
35 industrial training in state correctional institutions including the
36 disposition of services rendered and products produced incidental to
37 such industrial training.] All health and safety protections required to
38 be provided to employees under federal and state labor law shall be
39 provided to incarcerated individuals engaged in educational, career and
40 industrial training programs.
41 § 17. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 162 of the state
42 finance law is REPEALED and paragraphs b, c, d, e, and f are relettered
43 paragraphs a, b, c, d, and e.
44 § 18. Subdivision 3 of section 162 of the state finance law, as added
45 by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, paragraphs a and b as amended by
46 section 164 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is
47 amended to read as follows:
48 3. Public list of services and commodities provided by preferred
49 sources.
50 a. By December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-five, the commis-
51 sioner, in consultation with the commissioners of [corrections and
52 community supervision,] the office of children and family services, the
53 office of temporary and disability assistance, mental health and educa-
54 tion, shall prepare a list of all commodities and services that are
55 available and are being provided as of said date, for purchase by state
56 agencies, public benefit corporations or political subdivisions from
A. 10626 12
1 those entities accorded preference or priority status under this
2 section. Such list may include references to catalogs and other descrip-
3 tive literature which are available directly from any provider accorded
4 preferred status under this section. The commissioner shall make this
5 list available to prospective vendors, state agencies, public benefit
6 corporations, political subdivisions and other interested parties. Ther-
7 eafter, new or substantially different commodities or services may only
8 be made available by preferred sources for purchase by more than one
9 state agency, public benefit corporation or political subdivision after
10 addition to said list.
11 b. After January first, nineteen hundred ninety-six, upon the applica-
12 tion of [the commissioner of corrections and community supervision,] the
13 commissioner of the office of children and family services, the office
14 of temporary and disability assistance, the commissioner of mental
15 health or the commissioner of education, or a non-profit-making facili-
16 tating agency designated by one of the said commissioners pursuant to
17 paragraph e of subdivision [six] five of this section, the state
18 procurement council may recommend that the commissioner: (i) add commod-
19 ities or services to, or (ii) in order to insure that such list reflects
20 current production and/or availability of commodities and services,
21 delete at the request of a preferred source, commodities or services
22 from, the list established by paragraph a of this subdivision. The coun-
23 cil may make a non-binding recommendation to the relevant preferred
24 source to delete a commodity or service from such list. Additions may be
25 made only for new services or commodities, or for services or commod-
26 ities that are substantially different from those reflected on said list
27 for that provider. The decision to recommend the addition of services or
28 commodities shall be based upon a review of relevant factors as deter-
29 mined by the council including costs and benefits to be derived from
30 such addition and shall include an analysis by the office of general
31 services conducted pursuant to subdivision [six] five of this section.
32 Unless the state procurement council shall make a recommendation to the
33 commissioner on any such application within one hundred twenty days of
34 receipt thereof, such application shall be deemed recommended. In the
35 event that the state procurement council shall deny any such applica-
36 tion, the commissioner or non-profit-making agency which submitted such
37 application may, within thirty days of such denial, appeal such denial
38 to the commissioner of general services who shall review all materials
39 submitted to the state procurement council with respect to such applica-
40 tion and who may request such further information or material as is
41 deemed necessary. Within sixty days of receipt of all information or
42 materials deemed necessary, the commissioner shall render a written
43 final decision on the application which shall be binding upon the appli-
44 cant and upon the state procurement council.
45 c. The list maintained by the office of general services pursuant to
46 paragraph a of this subdivision shall be revised as necessary to reflect
47 the additions and deletions of commodities and services approved by the
48 state procurement council.
49 § 19. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section
50 162 of the state finance law is REPEALED.
51 § 20. Subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph a, subparagraphs (i),
52 (ii) and (iii) of paragraph b and paragraph c of subdivision 4 of
53 section 162 of the state finance law, subparagraph (i) of paragraph a as
54 amended by section 164 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws
55 of 2011, subparagraph (ii) of paragraph a as amended by chapter 91 of
56 the laws of 2023, subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph b and para-
A. 10626 13
1 graph c as added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, and subparagraph
2 (iii) of paragraph b of subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 430 of the
3 laws of 1997, are amended to read as follows:
4 (i) When commodities are available, in the form, function and utility
5 required by a state agency, public authority, commission, public benefit
6 corporation or political subdivision, said commodities must be purchased
7 first from [the correctional industries program of the department of
8 corrections and community supervision] approved charitable non-profit-
9 making agencies for the blind;
10 (ii) When commodities are available, in the form, function and utility
11 required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public benefit
12 corporation having their own purchasing agency, and such commodities are
13 not available pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, said
14 commodities shall then be purchased from [approved charitable non-pro-
15 fit-making agencies for the blind] a qualified non-profit-making agency
16 for other severely disabled persons, a qualified special employment
17 program for mentally ill persons, or a qualified veterans' workshop,
18 provided, however, the preferred source shall perform fifty percent or
19 more of the work;
20 (i) state agencies or political subdivisions or public benefit corpo-
21 rations having their own purchasing agency shall make reasonable efforts
22 to provide a notification describing their requirements to those
23 preferred sources, or to the facilitating entity identified in paragraph
24 e of subdivision [six] five of this section, which provide the required
25 services as indicated on the official public list maintained by the
26 office of general services pursuant to subdivision three of this
27 section;
28 (ii) if, within ten days of the notification required by subparagraph
29 (i) of this paragraph, one or more preferred sources or facilitating
30 entities identified in paragraph e of subdivision [six] five of this
31 section submit a notice of intent to provide the service in the form,
32 function and utility required, said service shall be purchased in
33 accordance with this section. If more than one preferred source or
34 facilitating entity identified in paragraph e of subdivision [six] five
35 of this section submits notification of intent and meets the require-
36 ments, costs shall be the determining factor for purchase among the
37 preferred sources;
38 (iii) if, within ten days of the notification required by subparagraph
39 (i) of this paragraph, no preferred source or facilitating entity iden-
40 tified in paragraph e of subdivision [six] five of this section indi-
41 cates intent to provide the service, then the service shall be procured
42 in accordance with section one hundred sixty-three of this article. If,
43 after such period, a preferred source elects to bid on the service,
44 award shall be made in accordance with section one hundred sixty-three
45 of this article or as otherwise provided by law.
46 c. For the purposes of commodities and services produced by special
47 employment programs operated by facilities approved or operated by the
48 office of mental health, facilities within the office of mental health
49 shall be exempt from the requirements of subparagraph (i) of paragraph a
50 of this subdivision. When such requirements of the office of mental
51 health cannot be met pursuant to subparagraph (ii) [or (iii)] of para-
52 graph a of this subdivision, or paragraph b of this subdivision, the
53 office of mental health may purchase commodities and services which are
54 competitive in price and comparable in quality to those which could
55 otherwise be obtained in accordance with this article, from special
A. 10626 14
1 employment programs operated by facilities within the office of mental
2 health or other programs approved by the office of mental health.
3 § 21. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 162
4 of the state finance law, as added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is
5 amended to read as follows:
6 (ii) When commodities are available, in the form, function and utility
7 required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public benefit
8 corporation having their own purchasing agency, and such commodities are
9 not available pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, said
10 commodities shall then be purchased from [approved charitable non-pro-
11 fit-making agencies for the blind] a qualified non-profit-making agency
12 for other severely disabled persons, a qualified special employment
13 program for mentally ill persons, or a qualified veterans' workshop
14 provided, however, the preferred source shall perform fifty percent or
15 more of the work;
16 § 22. Subdivision 5 of section 162 of the state finance law is
17 REPEALED and subdivisions 6, 7, 8, and 9 are renumbered subdivisions 5,
18 6, 7 and 8.
19 § 23. The opening paragraph and paragraph a of subdivision 5 of
20 section 162 of the state finance law, as amended by chapter 565 of the
21 laws of 2022 and as renumbered by section twenty-two of this act, is
22 amended to read as follows:
23 Prices charged by agencies for the blind, other disabled and veterans'
24 entity, and the department of corrections and community supervision.
25 a. [Except with respect to the correctional industries program of the
26 department of corrections and community supervision, it] It shall be the
27 duty of the commissioner to determine, and from time to time review, the
28 prices of all commodities and to approve the price of all services
29 provided by the department of corrections and community supervision and
30 preferred sources as specified in this section offered to state agen-
31 cies, political subdivisions or public benefit corporations having their
32 own purchasing office. The commissioner's price review and approval
33 shall not be required for any purchases below one hundred thousand
34 dollars.
35 § 24. Subparagraph 9 of paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 139-j
36 of the state finance law, as amended by chapter 265 of the laws of 2013,
37 is amended to read as follows:
38 (9) Any communications relating to a governmental procurement made
39 under section one hundred sixty-two of the state finance law undertaken
40 by (i) the non-profit-making agencies appointed pursuant to paragraph e
41 of subdivision [six] five of section one hundred sixty-two of the state
42 finance law by the commissioner of the office of children and family
43 services, the commission for the blind, or the commissioner of educa-
44 tion, and (ii) the qualified charitable non-profit-making agencies for
45 the blind, and qualified charitable non-profit-making agencies for other
46 severely disabled persons as identified in subdivision two of section
47 one hundred sixty-two of this chapter; provided, however, that any
48 communications which attempt to influence the issuance or terms of the
49 specifications that serve as the basis for bid documents, requests for
50 proposals, invitations for bids, or solicitations of proposals, or any
51 other method for soliciting a response from offerers intending to result
52 in a procurement contract with a state agency, the state legislature,
53 the unified court system, a municipal agency or local legislative body
54 shall not be exempt from the provisions of this paragraph; provided,
55 however, that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as recog-
56 nizing or creating any new rights, duties or responsibilities or abro-
A. 10626 15
1 gating any existing rights, duties or responsibilities of any govern-
2 mental entity as it pertains to implementation and enforcement of
3 article eleven of this chapter or any other provision of law dealing
4 with the governmental procurement process, and that nothing in this
5 subdivision shall be interpreted to limit the authority of a govern-
6 mental entity involved in a government procurement by exercise of an
7 oversight function from providing information to offerers regarding the
8 status of the review, oversight, or approval of a governmental procure-
9 ment that has been submitted to or is under review by that governmental
10 entity;
11 § 25. Subparagraph (G) of the second undesignated paragraph of subdi-
12 vision (c) of section 1-c of the legislative law, as amended by chapter
13 265 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
14 (G) Any activity relating to governmental procurements made under
15 section one hundred sixty-two of the state finance law undertaken by (i)
16 the non-profit-making agencies appointed pursuant to paragraph e of
17 subdivision [six] five of section one hundred sixty-two of the state
18 finance law by the commissioner of the office of children and family
19 services, the commission for the blind, or the commissioner of educa-
20 tion, and (ii) the qualified charitable non-profit-making agencies for
21 the blind, and qualified charitable non-profit-making agencies for other
22 severely disabled persons as identified in subdivision two of section
23 one hundred sixty-two of the state finance law; provided, however, that
24 any attempt to influence the issuance or terms of the specifications
25 that serve as the basis for bid documents, requests for proposals, invi-
26 tations for bids, or solicitations of proposals, or any other method for
27 soliciting a response from offerers intending to result in a procurement
28 contract with a state agency, the state legislature, the unified court
29 system, a municipal agency or local legislative body shall not be exempt
30 from the definition of "lobbying" or "lobbying activities" under this
31 subparagraph;
32 § 26. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
33 vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
34 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
35 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
36 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
37 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
38 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
39 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
40 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
41 § 27. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that
42 the relettering of paragraphs d, e and f of subdivision 2 of section 162
43 of the state finance law made by section eighteen of this act shall not
44 affect the expiration of such paragraphs and shall expire therewith;
45 provided further, however, that the amendments to subparagraph (ii) of
46 paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 162 of the state finance law
47 made by section twenty of this act shall be subject to the expiration
48 and reversion of such subparagraph pursuant to section 2 of chapter 91
49 of the laws of 2023, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of
50 section twenty-one of this act shall take effect; provided further, that
51 the amendments to section 139-j of the state finance law made by section
52 twenty-four of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and
53 shall be deemed repealed therewith.
