The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4231--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 1, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  WEPRIN,  GOTTFRIED, EPSTEIN, LAVINE, TAYLOR,
   DE LA ROSA, D. ROSENTHAL,  SIMON,  HEVESI,  FERNANDEZ,  CARROLL,  KIM,
   AUBRY,  COOK,  PERRY, O'DONNELL, BARRON, REYES, L. ROSENTHAL, PRETLOW,
   WALKER, SEAWRIGHT, QUART,  FAHY,  HUNTER,  CRUZ,  PICHARDO,  ABINANTI,
   DICKENS,  FRONTUS, MAMDANI, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, MITAYNES, KELLES, BURDICK,
   ANDERSON, RODRIGUEZ, MEEKS, SEPTIMO, FORREST,  NIOU,  CAHILL,  BURGOS,
   DAVILA,  ZINERMAN,  RAMOS, GALLAGHER, McDONALD, CLARK, PEOPLES-STOKES,
   BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SAYEGH, LUPARDO, JACOBSON, GLICK, SOLAGES, JACKSON,
   HYNDMAN, DARLING --  read  once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on
   Correction  --  reported  and  referred  to  the Committee on Codes --
   committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to findings of the state
   board of parole necessary for discretionary  release  of  incarcerated
   persons on parole
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph (A) of  paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision  2  of
 section  259-i  of  the  executive law, as amended by chapter 130 of the
 laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   (A) [Discretionary release] RELEASE on parole shall [not]  be  granted
 [merely  as a reward for good conduct or efficient performance of duties
 while confined but after considering if there is a reasonable probabili-
 ty that, if such inmate is released, he will live and remain at  liberty
 without violating the law, and that his release is not incompatible with
 the  welfare of society and will not so deprecate the seriousness of his
 crime as to undermine  respect  for  law]  TO  ANY  INCARCERATED  PERSON
 APPEARING BEFORE THE BOARD WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR RELEASE ON PAROLE, UNLESS
 THE  PAROLE CASE RECORD DEMONSTRATES THERE IS A CURRENT AND UNREASONABLE
 RISK THE PERSON WILL VIOLATE THE LAW IF RELEASED AND SUCH RISK CANNOT BE
 MITIGATED BY PAROLE SUPERVISION. In making the [parole release decision]
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD07240-03-1

 A. 4231--A                          2
 
 DETERMINATION AS TO WHETHER A PERSON POSES A  CURRENT  AND  UNREASONABLE
 RISK  OF  VIOLATING THE LAW IF RELEASED, the procedures adopted pursuant
 to subdivision four of section two hundred fifty-nine-c of this  article
 shall  require  that the following be considered: (i) [the institutional
 record including program goals and  accomplishments,  academic  achieve-
 ments,] ANY AND ALL EVIDENCE OF REHABILITATION AND REFORM, INCLUDING BUT
 NOT  LIMITED  TO  SELECTION  FOR  PARTICIPATION  IN  A TEMPORARY RELEASE
 PROGRAM, PARTICIPATION IN OTHER PROGRAMMING, THERAPEUTIC SUPPORT, COMMU-
 NITY SERVICE, OR vocational education, AND ANY training or work  assign-
 ments  THAT  THE  DEPARTMENT  MADE AVAILABLE TO THE INCARCERATED PERSON,
 [therapy and interactions with] AND STATEMENTS OF  SUPPORT  FROM  staff,
 VOLUNTEERS  and [inmates] OTHER INCARCERATED PERSONS; (ii) [performance,
 if any, as a participant in a temporary release program; (iii)]  release
 plans,  including  SUPPORT FROM FAMILY MEMBERS AND community [resources]
 NETWORKS, employment,  [education]  EDUCATIONAL  and  training  OPPORTU-
 NITIES,  CLINICAL, THERAPEUTIC AND OTHER REENTRY SERVICES, and ANY OTHER
 AVAILABLE support services [available to the inmate]; [(iv)]  (III)  any
 deportation  order issued by the federal government against the [inmate]
 INCARCERATED PERSON while in the  custody  of  the  department  and  any
 recommendation  regarding  deportation  made  by the commissioner of the
 department pursuant to section one hundred forty-seven of the correction
 law; (IV) THE LENGTH OF THE DETERMINATE SENTENCE TO WHICH THE  INCARCER-
 ATED  PERSON WOULD BE SUBJECT HAD HE OR SHE RECEIVED A SENTENCE PURSUANT
 TO SECTION 70.70 OR SECTION 70.71 OF   THE    PENAL  LAW  FOR  A  FELONY
 DEFINED  IN ARTICLE TWO HUNDRED TWENTY OR ARTICLE TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO
 OF THE PENAL LAW; (v) any current or prior statement made to  the  board
 by  the  crime  victim  or  the victim's representative, where the crime
 victim is deceased or is mentally or physically incapacitated; (vi) [the
 length of the determinate sentence to which the inmate would be  subject
 had  he  or she received a sentence pursuant to section 70.70 or section
 70.71 of the penal law for a felony defined in article two hundred twen-
 ty or article two hundred twenty-one of the penal law; (vii)] the  seri-
 ousness  of  the offense with due consideration to the type of sentence,
 length of sentence and recommendations  of  the  sentencing  court,  the
 district  attorney,  the  attorney for the [inmate] INCARCERATED PERSON,
 the pre-sentence probation report as well as consideration of any  miti-
 gating and aggravating factors, and activities following arrest prior to
 confinement;  and  [(viii)]  (VII)  prior criminal record, including the
 nature and pattern of offenses, adjustment to any previous probation  or
 parole supervision and institutional confinement. IN CONSIDERING WHETHER
 THERE IS A CURRENT AND UNREASONABLE RISK THE PERSON WILL VIOLATE THE LAW
 IF RELEASED AND SUCH RISK CANNOT BE MITIGATED BY PAROLE SUPERVISION, THE
 BOARD  SHALL  NOT BASE THEIR DETERMINATION SOLELY OR PRIMARILY ON ANY OR
 ALL OF THE FACTORS CONTAINED  IN  CLAUSES  (V)  THROUGH  (VII)  OF  THIS
 SUBPARAGRAPH.  THE  BOARD SHALL EXPLAIN IN WRITING IN DETAILED, INDIVID-
 UALIZED, AND NON-CONCLUSORY TERMS THE BASIS  FOR  A  DENIAL  OF  PAROLE,
 INCLUDING  HOW  THE  PAROLE  CASE RECORD AND THE ENUMERATED FACTORS WERE
 CONSIDERED AND WEIGHED. The board  shall  provide  toll  free  telephone
 access  for  crime  victims.  In  the  case of an oral statement made in
 accordance with subdivision one of section 440.50 of the criminal proce-
 dure law, the parole board member shall present a written report of  the
 statement  to  the  parole  board. A crime victim's representative shall
 mean the crime victim's closest surviving  relative,  the  committee  or
 guardian of such person, or the legal representative of any such person.
 Such  statement  submitted  by the victim or victim's representative may
 include  information  concerning  threatening  or  intimidating  conduct

 A. 4231--A                          3
 
 toward  the victim, the victim's representative, or the victim's family,
 made by the person sentenced and occurring after  the  sentencing.  Such
 information  may include, but need not be limited to, the threatening or
 intimidating conduct of any other person who or which is directed by the
 person  sentenced.  Any  statement by a victim or the victim's represen-
 tative made to the board shall be maintained by the  department  in  the
 file  provided  to the board when interviewing the [inmate] INCARCERATED
 PERSON in consideration of release. A victim or victim's  representative
 who has submitted a written request to the department for the transcript
 of  such  interview  shall  be  provided  such  transcript as soon as it
 becomes available.
   § 2. The board shall report quarterly in writing to the governor,  the
 temporary  president  of  the senate, the minority leader of the senate,
 the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, and to
 the chairpersons of the assembly committee on correction and the  senate
 committee  on  crime victims, crime and correction on denials of parole.
 Written reports shall include the number of  individuals  denied  parole
 release  each  month,  the  articulated  reasons  for  each  denial, the
 assigned commissioners in each case and a record  of  their  votes,  and
 demographic  information  on  each applicant denied including race, sex,
 facility, and crime of conviction.  Reports  shall  exclude  information
 that  would  identify  the  individual. Reports required by this section
 shall be made available to  the  public  and  posted  quarterly  on  the
 websites maintained by the board of parole.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.