Senate Bill S1628

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1628

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the correction law, in relation to
the transfer of certain inmates

 PURPOSE :

To provide the New York City Commissioner of Correction with the
ability to transfer inmates who have been disciplined for violent
offenses to a State correctional facility

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one of this bill amends the Correction Law by adding a new
section 530. Subdivision one of this new section provides that when an
inmate who has been in the custody of the New York City Commissioner
of Correction for more than one year is subjected to a disciplinary
proceeding for committing an offense defined in subdivision 4 of this
new section, found guilty of such offense, and such finding was not
overturned on appeal, the Commissioner shall apply to the State
Commission of Correction for and be granted a substitute jail order
for such inmate and the inmate will be transferred to a State
correctional facility.

Subdivision two of this new section provides that if an inmate is
transferred to a facility that is over 100 miles from New York City,
              

the inmate will be afforded the opportunity to meet with his or her
counsel at the State correctional facility that is closest to New York
City.

Subdivision three of this new section provides that the New York State
Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision shall determine, in accordance with the Department's
standards, whether New York City will be required to reimburse the
State for the costs of confinement.

Subdivision four of this new section provides the list of offenses for
which this section applies. These offenses are:

- Assault resulting in the physical injury of another person,

- Assault using a weapon, regardless of whether such assault results
in physical injury,

- Possession of a razor outside of the housing area where the inmate
is confined,

- Rape or sexual abuse of another person, and

- Attempted rape or sexual abuse of another person.

Section two of this bill provides that this act shall take effect on
the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.

 CURRENT LAW :

Correction Law section 504 allows the State Commission of Correction
to, upon application, issue a substitute jail order when a jail is
unsafe or unfit for the confinement of some or all of the inmates and
there is no other available jail in the County.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Municipal prisons, such as Riker's Island in New York City, are not
meant to hold any one inmate for more than one year. Many of the
inmates at Riker's Island are there for parole or probation
violations. Frequently, these inmates are at Riker's Island for more
than one year while they await adjudication on their parole or
probation violation charges. Many of these inmates commit criminal
offenses while they are awaiting adjudication.

While Riker's Island does have a disciplinary system to punish those
inmates who commit certain violent criminal offenses while on Riker's
Island, many of these inmates know how to work the system so that the
amount of time that they spend in solitary confinement after being
found guilty is significantly diminished. Once these inmates are
released from solitary confinement, they are able to commit another
violent offense.

This cycle of violence, discipline, and violence after being returned
to the general population needs to end. Even though the Commissioner
of Correction is currently afforded the opportunity to request a
substitute jail order when a jail becomes unsafe for the confinement
of some of the inmates, the Commissioner's ability to make these
requests is hampered because they are subject to the Mayor's approval.

The Commissioner of Correction is in the best position to determine
whether an inmate who has been disciplined for violence poses a threat
to other inmates and Correction Officers. This bill would give the
Commissioner of Correction the ability to obtain a substitute jail
order when an inmate poses a threat to the safety of other inmates at
Riker's Island.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015 - 2016: S.3238 - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction

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