A01623 Summary:

BILL NOA01623
 
SAME ASSAME AS S01382
 
SPONSORJones
 
COSPNSRGottfried, Blake, Gunther, Ortiz, Montesano, DiPietro, Cook, Miller B, Manktelow
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §112, Cor L
 
Requires the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to establish a staffing plan for all uniformed and non-uniformed employees; further requires adequate staffing at correctional facilities.
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A01623 Actions:

BILL NOA01623
 
01/16/2019referred to correction
01/08/2020referred to correction
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A01623 Committee Votes:

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A01623 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A01623 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1623
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 16, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. JONES, GOTTFRIED, BLAKE, GUNTHER, ORTIZ, MONTESA-
          NO,  DiPIETRO,  COOK  --  read  once  and referred to the Committee on
          Correction
 
        AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to adequate staffing  at
          correctional facilities
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 112 of the correction law, as amended by section 19
     2  of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended  to
     3  read as follows:
     4    §  112.  Powers  and  duties  of commissioner relating to correctional
     5  facilities  and  community  supervision.   1.   The   commissioner   [of
     6  corrections  and  community supervision] shall have the superintendence,
     7  management and control of the correctional facilities in the  department
     8  and  of the inmates confined therein, and of all matters relating to the
     9  government, discipline, policing, contracts and fiscal concerns thereof.
    10  He or she shall have the responsibility to ensure that adequate staffing
    11  exists at every correctional facility pursuant to subdivision  three  of
    12  this  section. He or she shall have the power and it shall be his or her
    13  duty to inquire into all matters connected with said correctional facil-
    14  ities. He or she shall make such rules and regulations, not in  conflict
    15  with  the statutes of this state, for the government of the officers and
    16  other employees of the department assigned to said  facilities,  and  in
    17  regard to the duties to be performed by them, and for the government and
    18  discipline  of each correctional facility, as he or she may deem proper,
    19  and shall cause such rules and regulations to be recorded by the  super-
    20  intendent  of  the  facility, and a copy thereof to be furnished to each
    21  employee assigned to the facility. He or  she  shall  also  prescribe  a
    22  system of accounts and records to be kept at each correctional facility,
    23  which  system  shall be uniform at all of said facilities, and he or she
    24  shall also make rules and regulations for a record  of  photographs  and
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02229-01-9

        A. 1623                             2
 
     1  other means of identifying each inmate received into said facilities. He
     2  or  she  shall  appoint and remove, subject to the civil service law and
     3  rules, subordinate officers and other employees of  the  department  who
     4  are assigned to correctional facilities.
     5    2.  The  commissioner shall have the management and control of persons
     6  released on community supervision and of all matters  relating  to  such
     7  persons'  effective reentry into the community, as well as all contracts
     8  and fiscal concerns thereof. The commissioner shall have the  power  and
     9  it  shall  be his or her duty to inquire into all matters connected with
    10  said community supervision. The commissioner shall make such  rules  and
    11  regulations,  not  in  conflict with the statutes of this state, for the
    12  governance of  the  officers  and  other  employees  of  the  department
    13  assigned  to  said community supervision, and in regard to the duties to
    14  be performed by them, as he or she deems proper  and  shall  cause  such
    15  rules  and  regulations  to  be  furnished  to each employee assigned to
    16  perform community supervision. The commissioner shall also  prescribe  a
    17  system  of  accounts and records to be kept, which shall be uniform. The
    18  commissioner shall also make rules  and  regulations  for  a  record  of
    19  photographs  and  other  means  of  identifying  each inmate released to
    20  community supervision. The commissioner shall appoint officers and other
    21  employees of the department who are assigned to perform community super-
    22  vision.
    23    3. The commissioner shall establish a staffing plan for all  uniformed
    24  and non-uniformed employees. With regard to uniformed staff, the commis-
    25  sioner  shall  establish a staffing plan which shall include, but not be
    26  limited to, the following factors:
    27    (a) The number of  total  security  posts  that  must  be  staffed  by
    28  correction officers and correctional sergeants by correctional facility.
    29  These  posts  shall  be delineated by those that are necessary five days
    30  per week and seven days per week.
    31    (b) The staffing plan shall require that every post be staffed using a
    32  ratio of at least 1.75 correction officers for every seven day post  and
    33  a  ratio  of  at  least 1.25 correction officers for each five day post.
    34  Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to authorize a reduction  in
    35  the ratio of officers in facilities which already maintain a ratio of at
    36  least  1.75 officers and 1.25 officers for seven day posts and five days
    37  posts, respectively.
    38    (c) The commissioner shall provide a copy of such staffing plan to the
    39  chairs  of  the  senate  finance,  senate  crime  victims,   crime   and
    40  correction,  assembly  ways and means and assembly correction committees
    41  by December thirty-first of each year. Such report  shall  also  provide
    42  detailed  information  regarding  how  the staffing plan was implemented
    43  during the current fiscal year. This information shall include:
    44    (i) the number of correction officers and  sergeants  by  correctional
    45  facility that the staffing plan required as well as the actual number of
    46  correction  officers  and  sergeants that were available by correctional
    47  facility during the current fiscal year. In  the  event  the  department
    48  deviated  from the staffing plan, the commissioner shall provide details
    49  on why the staffing plan was not implemented  as  required  pursuant  to
    50  this section;
    51    (ii) the number of posts included in the staffing plan for each facil-
    52  ity  that  have  been  closed on a daily basis, by correctional facility
    53  security classification (minimum, medium and maximum);
    54    (iii) the number of security positions not  filled  and  those  elimi-
    55  nated,  by  correctional facility since two thousand one compared to the
    56  number of inmates incarcerated in each such facility; and

        A. 1623                             3
 
     1    (iv) a breakdown  by  correctional  facility  security  classification
     2  (minimum, medium, and maximum) of the staff hours of overtime worked, by
     3  year  since  two  thousand one and the annual aggregate costs related to
     4  this overtime. In addition, such report shall be delineated  by  correc-
     5  tional  facility  security classification, the annual number of security
     6  positions eliminated, the number of closed posts  and  amount  of  staff
     7  hours  of  overtime accrued as well as the overall overtime expenditures
     8  that resulted.
     9    4. The commissioner may require reports from the superintendent or any
    10  other officer or employee of the department assigned to any correctional
    11  facility or to perform community supervision in relation to his  or  her
    12  conduct as such officer or employee, and shall have the power to inquire
    13  into any improper conduct which may be alleged to have been committed by
    14  any  person  at any correctional facility or in the course of his or her
    15  performance of community supervision, and  for  that  purpose  to  issue
    16  subpoenas  to  compel  the  attendance  of witnesses, and the production
    17  before him or her of books, writings and papers. A subpoena issued under
    18  this section shall be regulated by the civil practice law and rules.
    19    [4.] 5. The commissioner and the chair of the parole board shall  work
    20  jointly  to  develop  and  implement, as soon as practicable, a risk and
    21  needs assessment instrument or instruments, which shall  be  empirically
    22  validated,  that  would be administered to inmates upon reception into a
    23  correctional facility, and throughout their incarceration and release to
    24  community supervision, to facilitate appropriate programming both during
    25  an inmate's incarceration and community  supervision,  and  designed  to
    26  facilitate the successful integration of inmates into the community.
    27    §  2.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
    28  effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
    29  or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
    30  tive date are authorized and directed to be made  and  completed  on  or
    31  before such effective date.
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