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Assembly Bill A5939

Signed By Governor

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Requires religious dietary food options in prison commissaries and visitor's areas

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Archive: Last Bill Status - Signed by Governor

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2023-A5939 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S4748
Law Section:
Correction Law
Laws Affected:
Add §134, Cor L

2023-A5939 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires commissaries at correctional facilities to provide food options for purchase through the commissary that satisfy the requirements of halal, kosher and other religious dietary needs of the incarcerated individuals housed at the facility; requires correctional facilities to provide food options for purchase from vending machines located in the visitor's area of the facility that satisfy the requirements of halal, kosher and other religious dietary needs of the incarcerated individuals housed at the facility; and requires that the cost of such food options be comparable to food options that are ordinarily available.

2023-A5939 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5939
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 24, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  EICHENSTEIN -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Correction
 
 AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to  requiring  religious
   dietary food options in prison commissaries and visitor's areas
 
   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  134
 to read as follows:
   §  134.  RELIGIOUS  DIETARY  REQUIREMENTS.  1.  THE COMMISSARY AT EACH
 CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SHALL PROVIDE FOOD OPTIONS  FOR  PURCHASE  THROUGH
 THE  FACILITY  COMMISSARY  THAT  SATISFY  THE  REQUIREMENTS OF RELIGIOUS
 DIETARY NEEDS OF THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS HOUSED  AT  THE  FACILITY,
 INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO  HALAL  FOODS AND KOSHER FOODS.   FOOD
 OPTIONS AVAILABLE PURSUANT TO THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  CONFORM  TO  THE
 STANDARDS  TYPICALLY  ASSOCIATED  WITH  THE PARTICULAR RELIGIOUS DIETARY
 REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IF ONE OR MORE INCARCERATED  INDI-
 VIDUALS  HOUSED AT THE FACILITY REQUIRES FOOD PRODUCTS THAT CONFORM TO A
 HIGHER RELIGIOUS DIETARY STANDARD, SUCH  PRODUCTS  SHALL  ALSO  BE  MADE
 AVAILABLE  THROUGH THE COMMISSARY UPON REQUEST OF THE INDIVIDUAL REQUIR-
 ING SUCH OPTIONS.
   2. EACH CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SHALL PROVIDE FOOD OPTIONS FOR  PURCHASE
 FROM VENDING MACHINES LOCATED IN THE VISITOR'S AREA OF THE FACILITY THAT
 SATISFY  THE REQUIREMENTS OF RELIGIOUS DIETARY NEEDS OF THE INCARCERATED
 INDIVIDUALS HOUSED AT THE FACILITY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO  HALAL
 FOODS AND KOSHER FOODS.
   3.  FOR  FOOD  OPTIONS  AVAILABLE THROUGH BOTH THE COMMISSARY AND FROM
 VENDING MACHINES, THE PRICES  FOR  FOOD  OPTIONS  THAT  CONFORM  TO  THE
 REQUIREMENTS  OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL BE COMPARABLE TO THE COST OF FOOD
 OPTIONS THAT DO NOT CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08752-05-3

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