Senate Bill S4406

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Provides the criminal information of certain persons may only be posted on the department of corrections' website for a period not to exceed five years after his or her release

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 08, 2010	advanced to third reading
Feb 02, 2010	2nd report cal.
Feb 01, 2010	1st report cal.76
Jan 06, 2010	referred to crime victims, crime and correction
Jul 16, 2009	committed to rules
May 20, 2009	advanced to third reading amended 4406b
May 19, 2009	2nd report cal.
May 18, 2009	1st report cal.349
May 07, 2009	print number 4406a
May 07, 2009	amend and recommit to crime victims, crime and correction
Apr 22, 2009	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

Votes

- Feb 1, 2010 - Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee Vote
  S4406
  
  Aye
  
  7
  
  Nay
  
  5
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  2
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  
  0
  - - Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee Vote: Feb 1, 2010
      
      aye (7)
      
      Duane
      
      Hassell-Thompson
      
      Kruger
      
      Little
      
      Montgomery
      
      Sampson
      
      Serrano
      
      nay (5)
      
      Foley
      
      Golden
      
      Maziarz
      
      Nozzolio
      
      Winner
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Aubertine
      
      Volker

Bill Amendments

Original

B (Active)

2009-S4406 - Details

2009-S4406 - Summary

Provides the criminal information of certain persons may only be posted on the department of corrections' website for a period not to exceed five years after his or her release.

2009-S4406 - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4406

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to the posting of a
person's information on the department of corrections' website


 PURPOSE :
This bill amends the corrections law by providing that a person's
criminal information may only be posted on the department of
corrections' website for a period of ten years after his or her
sentence expires.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section one amends the Correction law by adding a new section 9 which
provides that any information relating to the conviction of a person
that is posted on the department's website may only be posted on such
web site for a period of up to ten years after such person's release
date. The provisions of this subdivision do not apply to any person
who is convicted of an offense that would make the person ineligible
for merit time under section 803 of the correction law (violent
offenders) or to persons required to register as a sex offender.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The New York State Department of Correctional Services website
provides online access to a person's criminal information. Currently,

there is no limit to how long a person's information will remain
accessible on this online database.

The Department of Correctional Services has a legitimate need to
maintain a website of individuals incarcerated in state prisons.
Victims of crimes may want to ascertain if people who committed crimes
against them are still incarcerated, and family and friends of people
in prison may need a means of determining where their loved ones are
being held. Once a person is released from prison and no longer on
parole or post-release supervision, however, those reasons disappear.
Those individuals who need criminal record information can obtain it
from New York State's Division of Criminal Justice Services, which
provides comprehensive criminal conviction information for individuals
and agencies who are authorized to conduct such requests, and from the
Office of Court Administration, which also provides statewide criminal
conviction information.

Instead, the DOCS information database, available on the Internet as a
free service, is being misused as an inappropriate criminal background
check resource for employers and others. The result of this practice
is that large numbers of qualified job seekers are being denied access
to employment and housing based on information that is often
incomplete and potentially misleading. For example, it contains
information about when a person is eligible for release from parole,
but, because the database is maintained by DOCS and not the Division
of Parole, omits information that the person has been discharged from
parole, leaving the impression that they are still under state
supervision. Moreover, the DOCS database can be accessed by name
alone, making it likely that a person with a common name but no
criminal history might be confused with another person, currently or
formerly incarcerated, with the same name.

Old, incomplete, and misleading information about a person's
incarceration is simply irrelevant once that individual is released
from prison and no longer on parole or post-release supervision.
Given the other options in New York for individuals to obtain complete
criminal history information, the time that a conviction history can
be posted on the DOCS website should be limited, at most, to 10 years
after a person is released from custody.

This bill would not apply to any violent offenders or sex offenders.
Therefore, DOCS would continue to maintain information about violent
offenders and sex offenders on their website and would not be required
to remove such information after 10 years.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
AG393 of 2005-2006 (reported from corrections).
A3070A of 2007-2008 (reported from corrections).

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2009-S4406 - Bill Text download pdf

2009-S4406A - Details

2009-S4406A - Summary

Provides the criminal information of certain persons may only be posted on the department of corrections' website for a period not to exceed five years after his or her release.

2009-S4406A - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4406A

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to the posting of a
person's information on the department of corrections' website


 PURPOSE :
This bill amends the corrections law by providing that a person's
conviction information may be posted on the department of corrections'
website for a period not to exceed ten years after his or her sentence
expires. However, in the case of a person who has been committed to
the department more than once, the department may post conviction
information relating to any prior commitment for a period not to
exceed ten years after his or her sentence expires arising from the
most recent commitment to the department.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section one amends the correction law by adding a new section 9 which
provides that any information relating to the conviction of a person
may be posted on the department's website for a period not to exceed
ten years after the expiration of such person's sentence of
imprisonment and any period of parole or post-release supervision.
However, in the case of a person who has been committed to the
department on more than one occasion, the department may post
conviction information relating to any prior commitment on such

website for a period not to exceed ten years after the expiration of
such person's sentence of imprisonment and any period of parole or
post-release supervision arising from the most recent commitment to
the department.

The foregoing provisions do not apply to any person who is convicted
of an offense that would make the person ineligible for merit time
under section 803 of the correction law (violent offenders) or to
persons required to register as a sex offender.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) website
provides online access to a person's conviction information.
Currently, there is no limit on how long a person's conviction
information will remain posted on this online database.

DOCS has a legitimate need to maintain a website of  individuals
incarcerated in state prisons. Victims of crimes may want to ascertain
if people who committed crimes against them are still incarcerated and
family and friends of people in prison may need a means of determining
where their loved ones are being held. Once a person is released from
prison and is no longer on parole or post-release supervision,
however, those reasons disappear. Those individuals who need criminal
record information can obtain it from New York State's Division of
Criminal Justice Services, which provides comprehensive criminal
conviction information to individuals and agencies who are authorized
to conduct such requests, and from the Office of Court Administration,
which also provides statewide criminal conviction information.

Instead, the DOCS information database, available on the Internet as a
free service, is being misused as an inappropriate criminal background
check resource for employers and others. The result of this practice
is that large numbers of qualified job seekers are being denied access
to employment and housing based on information that is often
incomplete and potentially misleading. For example, it contains
information about when a person is eligible for release from parole
but, because the database is maintained by DOCS and not the Division
of Parole, omits information that the person has been discharged from
parole, leaving the impression that they are still under state
supervision. Moreover, the DOCS database can be accessed by name
alone, making it likely that a person with a common name but no
criminal history might be confused with another person, currently or
formerly incarcerated, with the same name.

Old, incomplete and misleading information about a person's
incarceration is simply irrelevant ten years after that individual has
been released from prison and is no longer on parole or post-release
supervision. Given the other options in New York for individuals to
obtain complete criminal history information, the time that a
conviction history can be posted on the DOCS website should be
limited, at most, to 10 years after a person is released from prison
plus any period of parole or post-release supervision.

This bill would not apply to any violent offenders or sex offenders.
Therefore, DOCS would continue to maintain information about violent
offenders and sex offenders on their website and would not be required
to remove such information after the expiration of the applicable
period.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
AG393 of 2005-2006 (reported from corrections)
A3070A of 2007-2008 (reported from correctional

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2009-S4406A - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 4406--A

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 22, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. HASSELL-THOMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Crime  Victims,
  Crime  and  Correction  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
  reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation  to  the  posting  of  a
  person's information on the department of corrections' website

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 9  to
read as follows:
  S  9.  ACCESS TO INMATE INFORMATION VIA THE INTERNET.  NOTWITHSTANDING
ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY INFORMATION  RELATING  TO  THE
CONVICTION OF A PERSON, EXCEPT FOR A PERSON CONVICTED OF AN OFFENSE THAT
WOULD  MAKE  SUCH  PERSON  INELIGIBLE FOR MERIT TIME UNDER SECTION EIGHT
HUNDRED THREE OF THIS CHAPTER OR AN OFFENSE FOR WHICH REGISTRATION AS  A
SEX  OFFENDER  IS  REQUIRED  AS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION TWO OR THREE OF
SECTION ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT-A OF THIS CHAPTER, THAT IS POSTED  ON  A
WEBSITE  MAINTAINED  BY  OR FOR THE DEPARTMENT, UNDER ARTICLE SIX OF THE
PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, MAY BE POSTED ON SUCH WEBSITE FOR A PERIOD  NOT  TO
EXCEED  TEN  YEARS  AFTER  THE  EXPIRATION  OF SUCH PERSON'S SENTENCE OF
IMPRISONMENT AND ANY  PERIOD  OF  PAROLE  OR  POST-RELEASE  SUPERVISION;
PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT IN THE CASE OF A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN COMMITTED
TO THE DEPARTMENT ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION,  THE  DEPARTMENT  MAY  POST
CONVICTION  INFORMATION RELATING TO ANY PRIOR COMMITMENT ON SUCH WEBSITE
FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED  TEN  YEARS  AFTER  THE  EXPIRATION  OF  SUCH
PERSON'S  SENTENCE  OF IMPRISONMENT AND ANY PERIOD OF PAROLE OR POST-RE-
LEASE SUPERVISION ARISING FROM THE MOST RECENT COMMITMENT TO THE DEPART-
MENT.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
have become a law.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03284-03-9

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides the criminal information of certain persons may only be posted on the department of corrections' website for a period not to exceed five years after his or her release.

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4406B

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to the posting of a
person's information on the department of corrections' website


 PURPOSE :
This bill amends the corrections law by providing that a person's
conviction information may be posted on the department of corrections'
website for a period not to exceed five years after his or her
sentence expires. However, in the case of a person who has been
committed to the department more than once, the department may post
conviction information relating to any prior commitment for a period
not to exceed five years after his or her sentence expires arising
from the most recent commitment to the department.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section one amends the correction law by adding a new section 9 which
provides that any information relating to the conviction of a person
may be posted on the department's website for a period not to exceed
five years after the expiration of such person's sentence of
imprisonment and any period of parole or post-release supervision.
However, in the case of a person who has been committed to the
department on more than one occasion, the department may post
conviction information relating to any prior commitment on such

website for a period not to exceed five years after the expiration of
such person's sentence of imprisonment and any period of parole or
post-release supervision arising from the most recent commitment to
the department.

The foregoing provisions do not apply to any person who is convicted
of an offense that would make the person ineligible for merit time
under section 803 of the correction law (violent offenders) or to
persons required to register as a sex offender.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) website
provides online access to a person's conviction information.
Currently, there is no limit on how long a person's conviction
information will remain posted on this online database.

DOCS has a legitimate need to maintain a website of individuals
incarcerated in state prisons. Victims of crimes may want to ascertain
if people who committed crimes against them are still incarcerated and
family and friends of people in prison may need a means of determining
where their loved ones are being held. Once a person is released from
prison and is no longer on parole or post-release supervision,
however, those reasons disappear. Those individuals who need criminal
record information can obtain it from New York State's Division of
Criminal Justice Services, which provides comprehensive criminal
conviction information to individuals and agencies who are authorized
to conduct such requests, and from the Office of Court Administration,
which also provides statewide criminal conviction information.

Instead, the DOCS information database, available on the Internet as a
free service, is being misused as an inappropriate criminal background
check resource for employers and others. The result of this practice
is that large numbers of qualified job seekers are being denied access
to employment and housing based on information that is often
incomplete and potentially misleading. For example, it contains
information about when a person is eligible for release from parole
but, because the database is maintained by DOCS and not the Division
of Parole, omits information that the person has been discharged from
parole, leaving the impression that they are still under state
supervision. Moreover, the DOCS database can be accessed by name
alone, making it likely that a person with a common name but no
criminal history might be confused with another person, currently or
formerly incarcerated, with the same name.

Old, incomplete and misleading information about a person's
incarceration is simply irrelevant five years after that individual
has been released from prison and is no longer on parole or
post-release supervision. Given the other options in New York for
individuals to obtain complete criminal history information, the time
that a conviction history can be posted on the DOCS website should be
limited, at most, to five years after a person is released from prison
plus any period of parole or post-release supervision.

This bill would not apply to any violent offenders or sex offenders.
Therefore, DOCS would continue to maintain information about violent
offenders and sex offenders on their website and would not be required
to remove such information after the expiration of the applicable
period.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

AG393 of 2005-2006 (reported from corrections)
A3070A of 2007-2008 (reported from corrections)

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 4406--B
    Cal. No. 349

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 22, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. HASSELL-THOMPSON, DIAZ, MONSERRATE -- read twice and
  ordered  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
  Crime Victims, Crime and  Correction  --  committee  discharged,  bill
  amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
  tee -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered  to  first  and
  second  report,  amended on second report, ordered to a third reading,
  and to be reprinted as amended, retaining its place in  the  order  of
  third reading

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  correction law, in relation to the posting of a
  person's information on the department of corrections' website

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 9 to
read as follows:
  S 9. ACCESS TO INMATE INFORMATION VIA THE INTERNET.    NOTWITHSTANDING
ANY  PROVISION  OF  LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY INFORMATION RELATING TO THE
CONVICTION OF A PERSON, EXCEPT FOR A PERSON CONVICTED OF AN OFFENSE THAT
WOULD MAKE SUCH PERSON INELIGIBLE FOR MERIT  TIME  UNDER  SECTION  EIGHT
HUNDRED  THREE OF THIS CHAPTER OR AN OFFENSE FOR WHICH REGISTRATION AS A
SEX OFFENDER IS REQUIRED AS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION  TWO  OR  THREE  OF
SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT-A OF THIS CHAPTER, THAT IS POSTED ON A
WEBSITE MAINTAINED BY OR FOR THE DEPARTMENT, UNDER ARTICLE  SIX  OF  THE
PUBLIC  OFFICERS  LAW, MAY BE POSTED ON SUCH WEBSITE FOR A PERIOD NOT TO
EXCEED FIVE YEARS AFTER THE EXPIRATION  OF  SUCH  PERSON'S  SENTENCE  OF
IMPRISONMENT  AND  ANY  PERIOD  OF  PAROLE  OR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION;
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN THE CASE OF A PERSON WHO HAS  BEEN  COMMITTED
TO  THE  DEPARTMENT  ON  MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, THE DEPARTMENT MAY POST
CONVICTION INFORMATION RELATING TO ANY PRIOR COMMITMENT ON SUCH  WEBSITE
FOR  A  PERIOD  NOT  TO  EXCEED  FIVE YEARS AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF SUCH
PERSON'S SENTENCE OF IMPRISONMENT AND ANY PERIOD OF PAROLE  OR  POST-RE-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03284-05-9

S. 4406--B                          2

LEASE SUPERVISION ARISING FROM THE MOST RECENT COMMITMENT TO THE DEPART-
MENT.
  S  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Find your Senator and share your views on important issues.

Do you support this bill?

Senate Bill S4406

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Actions

Votes

Feb 1, 2010 - Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee Vote

Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee Vote: Feb 1, 2010

Bill Amendments

2009-S4406 - Details

2009-S4406 - Summary

2009-S4406 - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4406 - Bill Text download pdf

2009-S4406A - Details

2009-S4406A - Summary

2009-S4406A - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4406A - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Do you support this bill?

Get Status Alerts for 2009-S4406

Senate Bill S4406

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Actions

Votes

Bill Amendments

2009-S4406 - Details

2009-S4406 - Summary

2009-S4406 - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4406 - Bill Text download pdf

2009-S4406A - Details

2009-S4406A - Summary

2009-S4406A - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4406A - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S4406B (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments