BILL NUMBER:  S5561

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the correction law and the executive law, in relation
to certificates upon discharge

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends subdivision 2 of section 205 of the correction law
providing a certificate of relief from disabilities, or a certificate
of good conduct if applicable, to a person granted merit termination
of sentence.

Section 2 amends subdivision 4 of section 259-j of the executive law
providing a certificate of relief from disabilities, or a certificate
of good conduct if applicable, to a person granted discretionary
three-year discharge from community supervision pursuant to
subdivision one of this section.

Section 3 is the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Criminal records result in a host of unintended consequences,
including barriers to reentry so that even when the sentence is served
              

and the parole supervision has been completed successfully, the
barriers remain. These barriers include legal discrimination from
employment, licensure, housing, voting rights, and other aspects of
everyday life. Some post-conviction disabilities can be relieved by
obtaining a "Certificate of Relief from Disabilities" or a
"Certificate of Good Conduct" issued by the Department of Corrections
and Community Supervision. These certificates can demonstrate to
prospective employers and landlords that a formerly incarcerated
person has lived crime free since being released from prison. They can
also be offered as proof to local boards of election that the right to
vote has been restored.

Unfortunately, we have a costly and cumbersome process to issue one of
two different kinds of certificates with different requirements and
waiting periods for differently situated offenders. Under current law,
a person must wait until three years or five years after release from
incarceration before being allowed to apply for a certificate.  At
that point such person has often completed supervision and is no
longer reporting regularly to his or her parole officer, thus
requiring an investigation to be commenced to determine if such person
meets the criteria for receiving a certificate. This bill improves the
process for obtaining these certificates for people who have been
granted early or discretionary discharge from community supervision,
which may only occur when the board of parole is satisfied that
absolute discharge is in the best interests of society and consistent
with public safety. By granting such certificates at the time of early
discharge from supervision for good behavior, the Department is saved
the human and financial resources of a subsequent investigation. This
bill does not increase the number of individuals eligible for either
certificate, but should increase the number of certificates actually
issued. This bill sensibly grants the certificate at the time of
discretionary discharge for those individuals whose extraordinary
performance earned them early discharge from supervision.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF BILL :

This is a new bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None, it should save the State money.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become
law.