S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  2949--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 18, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. RITCHIE, HELMING -- 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 adequate staffing  at
   correctional facilities
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 112 of the correction law, as amended by section 19
 of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   §  112.  Powers  and  duties  of commissioner relating to correctional
 facilities  and  community  supervision.   1.   The   commissioner   [of
 corrections  and  community supervision] shall have the superintendence,
 management and control of the correctional facilities in the  department
 and  of the inmates confined therein, and of all matters relating to the
 government, discipline, policing, contracts and fiscal concerns thereof.
 HE OR SHE SHALL HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT ADEQUATE STAFFING
 EXISTS AT EVERY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION  THREE  OF
 THIS  SECTION. He or she shall have the power and it shall be his or her
 duty to inquire into all matters connected with said correctional facil-
 ities. He or she shall make such rules and regulations, not in  conflict
 with  the statutes of this state, for the government of the officers and
 other employees of the department assigned to said  facilities,  and  in
 regard to the duties to be performed by them, and for the government and
 discipline  of each correctional facility, as he or she may deem proper,
 and shall cause such rules and regulations to be recorded by the  super-
 intendent  of  the  facility, and a copy thereof to be furnished to each
 employee assigned to the facility. He or  she  shall  also  prescribe  a
 system of accounts and records to be kept at each correctional facility,
 which  system  shall be uniform at all of said facilities, and he or she
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD05026-05-7

 S. 2949--A                          2
 
 shall also make rules and regulations for a record  of  photographs  and
 other means of identifying each inmate received into said facilities. He
 or  she  shall  appoint and remove, subject to the civil service law and
 rules,  subordinate  officers  and other employees of the department who
 are assigned to correctional facilities.
   2. The commissioner shall have the management and control  of  persons
 released  on  community  supervision and of all matters relating to such
 persons' effective reentry into the community, as well as all  contracts
 and  fiscal  concerns thereof. The commissioner shall have the power and
 it shall be his or her duty to inquire into all matters  connected  with
 said  community  supervision. The commissioner shall make such rules and
 regulations, not in conflict with the statutes of this  state,  for  the
 governance  of  the  officers  and  other  employees  of  the department
 assigned to said community supervision, and in regard to the  duties  to
 be  performed  by  them,  as he or she deems proper and shall cause such
 rules and regulations to be  furnished  to  each  employee  assigned  to
 perform  community  supervision. The commissioner shall also prescribe a
 system of accounts and records to be kept, which shall be  uniform.  The
 commissioner  shall  also  make  rules  and  regulations for a record of
 photographs and other means  of  identifying  each  inmate  released  to
 community supervision. The commissioner shall appoint officers and other
 employees of the department who are assigned to perform community super-
 vision.
   3.  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTABLISH A STAFFING PLAN FOR ALL UNIFORMED
 AND NON-UNIFORMED EMPLOYEES. WITH REGARD TO UNIFORMED STAFF, THE COMMIS-
 SIONER SHALL ESTABLISH A STAFFING PLAN WHICH SHALL INCLUDE, BUT  NOT  BE
 LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING FACTORS:
   (A)  THE  NUMBER  OF  TOTAL  SECURITY  POSTS  THAT  MUST BE STAFFED BY
 CORRECTION OFFICERS AND CORRECTIONAL SERGEANTS BY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.
 THESE POSTS SHALL BE DELINEATED BY THOSE THAT ARE  NECESSARY  FIVE  DAYS
 PER WEEK AND SEVEN DAYS PER WEEK.
   (B) THE STAFFING PLAN SHALL REQUIRE THAT EVERY POST BE STAFFED USING A
 RATIO  OF AT LEAST 1.75 CORRECTION OFFICERS FOR EVERY SEVEN DAY POST AND
 A RATIO OF AT LEAST 1.25 CORRECTION OFFICERS FOR  EACH  FIVE  DAY  POST.
 NOTHING  IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE DEEMED TO AUTHORIZE A REDUCTION IN
 THE RATIO OF OFFICERS IN FACILITIES WHICH ALREADY MAINTAIN A RATIO OF AT
 LEAST 1.75 OFFICERS AND 1.25 OFFICERS FOR SEVEN DAY POSTS AND FIVE  DAYS
 POSTS, RESPECTIVELY.
   (C) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROVIDE A COPY OF SUCH STAFFING PLAN TO THE
 CHAIRS   OF   THE  SENATE  FINANCE,  SENATE  CRIME  VICTIMS,  CRIME  AND
 CORRECTION, ASSEMBLY WAYS AND MEANS AND ASSEMBLY  CORRECTION  COMMITTEES
 BY  DECEMBER  THIRTY-FIRST  OF EACH YEAR. SUCH REPORT SHALL ALSO PROVIDE
 DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING HOW THE  STAFFING  PLAN  WAS  IMPLEMENTED
 DURING THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. THIS INFORMATION SHALL INCLUDE:
   (I)  THE  NUMBER  OF CORRECTION OFFICERS AND SERGEANTS BY CORRECTIONAL
 FACILITY THAT THE STAFFING PLAN REQUIRED AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF
 CORRECTION OFFICERS AND SERGEANTS THAT WERE  AVAILABLE  BY  CORRECTIONAL
 FACILITY  DURING  THE  CURRENT  FISCAL YEAR. IN THE EVENT THE DEPARTMENT
 DEVIATED FROM THE STAFFING PLAN, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROVIDE  DETAILS
 ON  WHY  THE  STAFFING  PLAN WAS NOT IMPLEMENTED AS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO
 THIS SECTION;
   (II) THE NUMBER OF POSTS INCLUDED IN THE STAFFING PLAN FOR EACH FACIL-
 ITY THAT HAVE BEEN CLOSED ON A DAILY  BASIS,  BY  CORRECTIONAL  FACILITY
 SECURITY CLASSIFICATION (MINIMUM, MEDIUM AND MAXIMUM);

 S. 2949--A                          3
 
   (III)  THE  NUMBER  OF  SECURITY POSITIONS NOT FILLED AND THOSE ELIMI-
 NATED, BY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SINCE TWO THOUSAND ONE COMPARED  TO  THE
 NUMBER OF INMATES INCARCERATED IN EACH SUCH FACILITY; AND
   (IV)  A  BREAKDOWN  BY  CORRECTIONAL  FACILITY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
 (MINIMUM, MEDIUM, AND MAXIMUM) OF THE STAFF HOURS OF OVERTIME WORKED, BY
 YEAR SINCE TWO THOUSAND ONE AND THE ANNUAL AGGREGATE  COSTS  RELATED  TO
 THIS  OVERTIME.  IN ADDITION, SUCH REPORT SHALL BE DELINEATED BY CORREC-
 TIONAL FACILITY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION, THE ANNUAL NUMBER  OF  SECURITY
 POSITIONS  ELIMINATED,  THE  NUMBER  OF CLOSED POSTS AND AMOUNT OF STAFF
 HOURS OF OVERTIME ACCRUED AS WELL AS THE OVERALL  OVERTIME  EXPENDITURES
 THAT RESULTED.
   4. The commissioner may require reports from the superintendent or any
 other officer or employee of the department assigned to any correctional
 facility  or  to perform community supervision in relation to his or her
 conduct as such officer or employee, and shall have the power to inquire
 into any improper conduct which may be alleged to have been committed by
 any person at any correctional facility or in the course of his  or  her
 performance  of  community  supervision,  and  for that purpose to issue
 subpoenas to compel the attendance  of  witnesses,  and  the  production
 before him or her of books, writings and papers. A subpoena issued under
 this section shall be regulated by the civil practice law and rules.
   [4.]  5. The commissioner and the chair of the parole board shall work
 jointly to develop and implement, as soon as  practicable,  a  risk  and
 needs  assessment  instrument or instruments, which shall be empirically
 validated, that would be administered to inmates upon reception  into  a
 correctional facility, and throughout their incarceration and release to
 community supervision, to facilitate appropriate programming both during
 an  inmate's  incarceration  and  community supervision, and designed to
 facilitate the successful integration of inmates into the community.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
 tive  date  is  authorized  and  directed to be made and completed on or
 before such effective date.