Establishes application processing and review requirements for reprieves, commutations and pardons by the governor; requires the governor to provide: a written notification that the application has been received; a receipt number that the applicant can then use to check on the applicant's application status; guidelines for supplementing the application with additional or updated information; and a notification when a decision is made on the application; requires quarterly reports to the legislature regarding reprieves, commutations and pardons.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
394
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. MYRIE, BAILEY, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE, FERNANDEZ,
GONZALEZ, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, MAY, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALA-
ZAR, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, WEBB -- 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 executive law, in relation to establishing applica-
tion processing and review requirements for reprieves, commutations
and pardons
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 "Clemency Justice Act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds
4 that families and communities are frequently torn apart due to the
5 United States' overzealous legal system and immigration system, and that
6 one of the predominant tools to mitigate this issue, executive clemency,
7 is grossly underused. Between 2017-2020, the governor's office received
8 6,405 clemency applications while only granting 81 pardons and 14 commu-
9 tations. The legislature further finds that the clemency process is
10 convoluted, unequal, and difficult to navigate with no way for appli-
11 cants to check the status of their application or expedite it in case of
12 an emergency. Meanwhile, an estimated 9,000 people, of which the over-
13 whelming majority are people of color, are serving life sentences while
14 an unprecedented pandemic ravages prisons and detention centers. A
15 simpler, more holistic approach to granting clemency would begin to
16 address the systemic injustices of the immigration and criminal legal
17 systems.
18 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 15-a to read
19 as follows:
20 § 15-a. Process and requirements for considering applications and
21 requests for reprieves, commutations and pardons. 1. Upon receipt of an
22 application for a reprieve, commutation or pardon, the governor shall
23 provide to the applicant:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01661-01-5
S. 394 2
1 a. a written notification that the application has been received;
2 b. a receipt number that the applicant can then use to check on the
3 applicant's application status;
4 c. guidelines for supplementing the application with additional or
5 updated information; and
6 d. an electronic or written notification when a decision is made on
7 the application.
8 2. a. The application for a reprieve, commutation or pardon shall
9 include a section allowing applicants to describe an urgent need for the
10 reprieve, commutation or pardon. For the purposes of this section, an
11 "urgent need" shall include, but not be limited to, a pending deporta-
12 tion proceeding or final deportation order, humanitarian concerns,
13 health issues and the aging status of the applicant.
14 b. Applicants are permitted to update an application to indicate
15 urgent need due to changed circumstances following the initial
16 submission of the application.
17 3. The governor shall issue a decision on applications indicating
18 urgent need within ninety days from the date the application is
19 received. All other applications shall be granted or denied, or contin-
20 ued within one year from the date that the application is received. All
21 applicants shall receive written notification of any such action taken
22 on the application. Continued applications shall be left open to allow
23 applicants to submit further supporting materials according to guide-
24 lines provided to the applicant by the governor.
25 § 4. Section 17 of the executive law, as added by chapter 545 of the
26 laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
27 § 17. Governor to [communicate annually to legislature, reprieves,
28 commutations and pardons. He must annually communicate to the legisla-
29 ture, each case of reprieve, commutation or pardon; stating the name of
30 the convict, the crime of which he was convicted, the sentence and its
31 date, and the date of the commutation, pardon or reprieve] submit
32 reports to the legislature on a quarterly basis regarding reprieves,
33 commutations and pardons. 1. The governor shall submit a report to the
34 legislature on a quarterly basis regarding reprieves, commutations and
35 pardons.
36 2. Such report shall include:
37 a. The number of applications for reprieves, commutations and pardons
38 submitted pursuant to section fifteen-a of this article; and
39 b. If a reprieve, commutation or pardon was granted: (i) the date of
40 the commutation, pardon or reprieve; and (ii) the age, gender, race and
41 ethnicity of the approved applicant; or
42 c. If a reprieve, commutation or pardon was denied, the age, gender,
43 race and ethnicity of the denied applicant.
44 3. Such reports shall not include any personally identifiable informa-
45 tion about applicants.
46 4. The reports required by this section shall be published on a
47 publicly accessible website.
48 § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
49 have become a law and shall apply to applications for reprieves, commu-
50 tations and pardons received before, on or after the effective date of
51 this act. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal
52 of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act
53 on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
