New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Committee Votes 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 
 
•  LFIN 
 
•  Chamber Video/Transcript 

S00399 Summary:

S00399 Actions:

S00399 Committee Votes:

S00399 Floor Votes:

S00399 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         399--A
            Cal. No. 930
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens.  BIAGGI,  HOYLMAN, JACKSON, MYRIE, SALAZAR -- read
          twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
          Committee on Women's Issues -- reported favorably from said committee,
          ordered  to  first  and  second  report,  ordered  to a third reading,
          amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place  in  the  order  of
          third reading
 
        AN  ACT  to amend the correction law, in relation to the rights of preg-
          nant inmates
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 and subdivision 2 of section
     2  611  of the correction law, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 as amended by
     3  chapter 17 of the laws of 2016 and subdivision 2 as amended  by  chapter
     4  242 of the laws of 1930, are amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to
     5  read as follows:
     6    (c)  No  restraints  of  any  kind shall be used when such woman is in
     7  labor, admitted to a hospital, institution or clinic  for  delivery,  or
     8  recovering after giving birth. Any such personnel as may be necessary to
     9  supervise  the woman during transport to and from and during her stay at
    10  the hospital, institution or clinic shall be provided to ensure adequate
    11  care, custody and control of the  woman,  except  that  no  correctional
    12  staff  shall  be present in the delivery room during the birth of a baby
    13  unless requested by the medical staff supervising such  delivery  or  by
    14  the  woman  giving  birth. The woman shall be permitted to have at least
    15  one support person of her choosing accompany her in  the  delivery  room
    16  and  when  such  woman  is in labor and recovering after giving birth. A
    17  support person shall not need to have visited the woman at a correction-
    18  al facility prior to serving as a support person. A person  may  not  be
    19  denied eligibility to serve as a support person solely on the basis of a
    20  past  criminal  conviction  or  that such person is on probation, condi-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00317-09-1
        S. 399--A                           2
 
     1  tional release, parole or post release supervision. Any decision  by  an
     2  agency  to  deny  a woman's request to have a specific person serve as a
     3  support person shall be made with reasons specified  in  writing  within
     4  five  days of her request and promptly provided to the woman.  A support
     5  person shall be notified immediately after such woman goes  into  labor,
     6  or immediately after a caesarean section or termination is scheduled. If
     7  available,  a  doula,  midwife  or other birthing support specialist may
     8  also assist during labor and  delivery  in  addition  to  at  least  one
     9  support person of the woman's choosing. Any woman confined in a state or
    10  local  correctional  facility  shall  receive  notice  in  writing  in a
    11  language and manner understandable to her about the requirements of this
    12  section upon her admission to such state or local correctional  facility
    13  and again when she is known to be pregnant.  The superintendent or sher-
    14  iff  shall  publish notice of the requirements of this section in promi-
    15  nent locations where medical care is  provided.  The  superintendent  or
    16  sheriff  or  his or her designee shall cause such woman to be subject to
    17  return to such institution or local correctional facility as soon  after
    18  the  birth of her child as the state of her health will permit as deter-
    19  mined by the medical professional  responsible  for  the  care  of  such
    20  woman.  If  such woman is confined in a local correctional facility, the
    21  expense of such accommodation, maintenance and  medical  care  shall  be
    22  paid  by  such woman or her relatives or from any available funds of the
    23  local correctional facility and if  not  available  from  such  sources,
    24  shall  be a charge upon the county, city or town in which is located the
    25  court from which such inmate was committed to  such  local  correctional
    26  facility. If such woman is confined in any institution under the control
    27  of  the  department,  the expense of such accommodation, maintenance and
    28  medical care shall be paid by such woman or her  relatives  and  if  not
    29  available  from such sources, such maintenance and medical care shall be
    30  paid by the state.  In cases where payment of such accommodations, main-
    31  tenance and medical care is assumed by the county,  city  or  town  from
    32  which  such inmate was committed the payor shall make payment by issuing
    33  payment instrument in favor of the agency or  individual  that  provided
    34  such  accommodations  and services, after certification has been made by
    35  the head of the institution to which the inmate  was  legally  confined,
    36  that  the  charges for such accommodations, maintenance and medical care
    37  were necessary and are just, and that the institution has  no  available
    38  funds for such purpose.
    39    2. A child so born may be returned with its mother to the correctional
    40  institution  in  which  the  mother is confined unless the chief medical
    41  officer of the correctional institution shall certify that the mother is
    42  physically unfit to care for the child, in which case the  statement  of
    43  the  said  medical  officer  shall  be  final. A child may remain in the
    44  correctional institution with its mother for such period as seems desir-
    45  able for the welfare of such child, but not after it is one year of age,
    46  provided, however, if the mother is in a state reformatory and is to  be
    47  paroled  shortly after the child becomes one year of age, such child may
    48  remain at the state reformatory until its mother is paroled, but  in  no
    49  case  after  the  child  is  eighteen months old. If a pregnant woman or
    50  mother of a child under the age of eighteen months is incarcerated at  a
    51  state or local correctional facility, the department shall inform her of
    52  her  ability  to  apply to any nursery program run by the department and
    53  the locality. Any woman confined in a state or local correctional facil-
    54  ity shall receive notice in writing in a language and manner understand-
    55  able to her about the requirements of this section upon her admission to
    56  a state or local correctional facility and again when she is known to be
        S. 399--A                           3
 
     1  pregnant. The superintendent or sheriff  shall  publish  notice  of  the
     2  requirements  of  this section in prominent locations where medical care
     3  is provided. The officer in charge of such institution may cause a child
     4  cared  for therein with its mother to be removed from the institution at
     5  any time before the child is one year of  age.  He  or  she  shall  make
     6  provision for a child removed from the institution without its mother or
     7  a  child  born  to a woman inmate who is not returned to the institution
     8  with its mother as hereinafter provided.   He or  she  may,  upon  proof
     9  being  furnished  by  the  father or other relatives of their ability to
    10  properly care for and maintain such child, give the child into the  care
    11  and  custody  of  such  father  or other relatives, who shall thereafter
    12  maintain the same at their own expense. If it  shall  appear  that  such
    13  father  or  other relatives are unable to properly care for and maintain
    14  such child, such officer shall place  the  child  in  the  care  of  the
    15  commissioner  of  public welfare or other officer or board exercising in
    16  relation to children the power of a commissioner of  public  welfare  of
    17  the  county  from  which such inmate was committed as a charge upon such
    18  county. The officer in charge of the correctional institution shall send
    19  to such commissioner, officer or  board  a  report  of  all  information
    20  available  in  regard  to the mother and the child. Such commissioner of
    21  public welfare or other officer or board shall care  for  or  place  out
    22  such  child as provided by law in the case of a child becoming dependent
    23  upon the county.
    24    4. Upon admitting a woman known to be pregnant, or  upon  learning  of
    25  pregnancy status, the chief medical officer of each correctional facili-
    26  ty  housing female inmates, including the medical professional responsi-
    27  ble for each local correctional facility housing female inmates, or such
    28  officer or professional's designee, shall immediately inform such  woman
    29  of  the option of participating in pregnancy counseling services and the
    30  right to abortion services.
    31    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    32  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
    33  ment  and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the imple-
    34  mentation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made by
    35  the department of corrections and community supervision in  consultation
    36  with the department of health on or before such effective date.