NY State Senate Bill 2023-S2308

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to crime victims, crime and correction
Jan 19, 2023	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4423
Current Committee:: Senate Crime Victims, Crime And Correction
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§259-c, 259-e & 259-i, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: A9960
2017-2018: S7895, A1909
2019-2020: S743, A5800
2021-2022: S4065, A4452
2025-2026: S1861, A2448

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the use of risk and needs assessments in parole decisions; provides a process permitting incarcerated individuals to correct verifiable factual mistakes or errors in their risk and needs assessments or other non-confidential documents given the board prior to their appearances.

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2308

SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the use of risk and
needs principles in parole decisions

 
PURPOSE:

To clarify the role of risk and needs assessments in parole release
decisions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section subdivision 4 of section 259-c of the executive
law, as amended by section 38-b of subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of
the laws of 2011 to require risk and needs assessments to be utilized by
the parole board in determining whether to release an individual on
parole.

Section 2 amends Section 259-e of the executive law, as amended by chap-

ter 473 of 4 the laws of 2016, to include risk and needs assessments in
institutional parole services. Subdivision 2 requires that an inmate be
given access to look through any assessments, documents, or materials
two months prior to their parole board appearance, to identify factual
errors, and have those errors corrected. Allows for an individual to
appeal the decision, should materials where that individual identified
errors not be corrected before being sent to the parole board.

Subdivision 3 provides that if there is a substantial error identified
in an individual's risk and needs assessment or other reports or docu-
ments provided to the board, which had affected the individual's score
on a risk and needs assessment negatively, and the individual was denied
parole, the individual shall receive a de novo parole interview within
two months of the error being identified.

Section 3 amends 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 by including the incorporation of risk and needs assess-
ments in the factors and procedure to be followed by the parole board in
determining whether an individual should be released on parole.

Section 4 provides for the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2011, the Legislature amended section 259-c(4) of the Executive Law
to mandate that the Board of Parole incorporate risk and needs assess-
ments into their parole release decisions. It was the stated intention
of the Legislature that the Board should use objective risk and needs
principles in determining whether an inmate is rehabilitated and safe to
release. In spite of this clear mandate, the Board decided the change in
the law had no effect on their decision-making practices and declined to
write new rules. When, after almost three years of pressure from advoca-
cy groups and several lawsuits, the Board finally decided to promulgate
formal rules pertaining to the use of risk and needs assessments, it
added the assessments as an eleventh factor for consideration in parole
release rather than an Underlying principle to be incorporated through-
out the decision-making process as required by the change in law. The
rules were insufficient to satisfy the legislative intent or the letter
of the law, and reflected a deep unwillingness on the Board's part to
change the way it operates.

In order to make it clear to the Board that the legislature wants an
objective assessment of risk to underlie all parole decisions, and to
specify that they must consider the case plans and validated risk
assessment instruments administered by the Department of Corrections and
Community Supervision, this bill provides that risk and needs principles
"shall" be used by the Board as the basis for their determination as to
whether or not an inmate can safely be released.  It also provides that
the Board may override such risk assessment but must explain its reasons
for doing so. The bill further specifies that the Board must promulgate
rules and regulations reflecting this change in the law.

Additionally, the bill adds a new subdivision to Executive Law 4 259-e
to provide a process permitting inmates to correct verifiable factual
mistakes or errors in their risk and needs assessments or other non-con-
fidential documents given the Board prior to their appearances.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S4065 of 2021-22: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction.

S743 of 2019-20: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction.

S7895 of 2018: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2308
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 19, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims,  Crime  and
   Correction
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the executive law, in relation to the use of risk and
   needs principles in parole decisions
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  4  of section 259-c of the executive law, as
 amended by chapter 322 of the laws  of  2021,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   4. establish written procedures for its use in making parole decisions
 as  required  by law. Such written procedures shall incorporate risk and
 needs principles to measure  the  rehabilitation  of  persons  appearing
 before  the  board,  the  likelihood  of  success  of  such persons upon
 release, and [assist] SHALL BE USED BY members of  the  state  board  of
 parole  in determining which incarcerated individuals may be released to
 parole supervision. SUCH PRINCIPLES SHALL PROVIDE THE BASIS  UPON  WHICH
 THE  BOARD SHALL DETERMINE IF THERE IS A REASONABLE PROBABILITY THAT, IF
 SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL IS RELEASED, HE OR SHE WILL LIVE AND REMAIN
 AT LIBERTY WITHOUT VIOLATING THE LAW. PROCEDURES WHICH INCORPORATE  RISK
 AND  NEEDS PRINCIPLES SHALL INCLUDE, BUT SHALL NOT BE LIMITED TO, A RISK
 AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT PREPARED PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED TWELVE  OF
 THE  CORRECTION LAW OR OTHER VALIDATED RISK AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT INSTRU-
 MENT ADOPTED BY THE BOARD TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR  NOT  AN  INCARCERATED
 INDIVIDUAL IS LIKELY TO RE-OFFEND UPON RELEASE FROM INCARCERATION.  SUCH
 RISK  AND  NEEDS  ASSESSMENT  SHALL COMPRISE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE OF THE
 INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S RISK OF RE-OFFENSE. SHOULD THE BOARD CHOOSE TO
 OVERRIDE SUCH RISK AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN DECIDING WHETHER  OR  NOT  AN
 INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL WILL LIVE AND REMAIN AT LIBERTY WITHOUT VIOLAT-
 ING THE LAW, ITS DECISION MUST PROVIDE A  DETAILED,  INDIVIDUALIZED  AND
 NONCONCLUSORY  STATEMENT  AS  TO ITS REASONS FOR DEPARTING FROM THE RISK
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04129-01-3

 S. 2308                             2
 
 AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT FINDINGS WHICH SHALL BE SUBJECT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW.
 SUCH OVERRIDE DECISION SHALL NOT BE BASED SOLELY ON INFORMATION RELATING
 TO THE  INSTANT  OFFENSE  AND/OR  THE  PRE-SENTENCING  REPORT  FOR  SUCH
 OFFENSE. PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ELEVEN OF THIS SECTION, THE BOARD SHALL
 AMEND  THE  RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE CONDUCT OF ITS WORK TO REFLECT
 THE PROCEDURES ESTABLISHED BY THIS SUBDIVISION;
   § 2. Section 259-e of the executive law, as amended by chapter 322  of
 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   §  259-e.  Institutional  parole  services.  1.  The  department shall
 provide institutional parole services. Such services shall include prep-
 aration of RISK AND NEEDS ASSESSMENTS, reports and other  data  required
 by  the  state  board  of  parole  in the exercise of its functions with
 respect to release on presumptive release, parole,  conditional  release
 or  post-release  supervision of incarcerated individuals. Additionally,
 the department shall determine which  incarcerated  individuals  are  in
 need  of a deaf language interpreter or an English language interpreter,
 and shall inform the board of such need within a  reasonable  period  of
 time  prior  to an incarcerated individual's scheduled appearance before
 the board.   Employees of the department  who  collect  data,  interview
 incarcerated  individuals  and  prepare  reports  for the state board of
 parole in institutions under the jurisdiction of  the  department  shall
 work  under  the  direct  supervision  of the deputy commissioner of the
 department in charge of program services. Data and reports submitted  to
 the  board  shall  address the statutory factors to be considered by the
 board pursuant to the relevant provisions of section two hundred  fifty-
 nine-i of this article.
   2.  TWO  MONTHS  PRIOR  TO  A PAROLE BOARD APPEARANCE, AN INCARCERATED
 INDIVIDUAL SHALL BE PERMITTED TO  REVIEW  HIS  OR  HER  RISK  AND  NEEDS
 ASSESSMENT, REPORTS AND ANY OTHER NON-CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS TO BE GIVEN
 TO  THE  BOARD  WITH THE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH PREPARING SUCH
 ASSESSMENT, REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS, AND MAY ASK FOR ANY SUCH  ASSESSMENT,
 REPORT  OR  DOCUMENT  PREPARED  BY  THE DEPARTMENT TO BE CORRECTED IF IT
 CONTAINS FACTUAL MISTAKES OR OTHER ERRORS. THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  IMME-
 DIATELY  REVIEW  THE  INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S RECORDS AND ANY EVIDENCE
 OFFERED IN SUPPORT OF  THE  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL'S  CONTENTION  THAT
 THERE  IS  A FACTUAL MISTAKE OR OTHER ERROR IN HIS OR HER RECORDS.  UPON
 CONFIRMATION THAT SUCH MISTAKE OR ERROR HAS BEEN  MADE,  THE  DEPARTMENT
 SHALL IMMEDIATELY CORRECT SUCH MISTAKE OR ERROR PRIOR TO SUBMITTING SUCH
 ASSESSMENT,  RECORD  OR DOCUMENT TO THE BOARD. IF THE DEPARTMENT DECIDES
 NOT TO CORRECT AN ALLEGED MISTAKE OR ERROR, THE INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL
 SHALL  BE  NOTIFIED  OF  HIS  OR  HER RIGHT TO SUBMIT EVIDENCE ABOUT ANY
 UNCORRECTED MISTAKE OR UNCORRECTED ERROR TO THE BOARD AND MAY APPEAL THE
 DECISION WITHIN FIFTEEN DAYS OF THE DEPARTMENT'S DECISION NOT TO CORRECT
 THE MISTAKE OR ERROR. THE COMMISSIONER  SHALL  DECIDE  ANY  SUCH  APPEAL
 WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF RECEIPT OF THE APPEAL, BUT NO LATER THAN TWO WEEKS
 BEFORE  AN  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL'S  SCHEDULED  APPEARANCE BEFORE THE
 PAROLE BOARD.
   3. IF A SUBSTANTIAL MISTAKE OR ERROR EXISTS  IN  THE  RISK  AND  NEEDS
 ASSESSMENT  OR  IN  OTHER REPORTS OR DOCUMENTS PROVIDED TO THE BOARD FOR
 USE AT A PAROLE INTERVIEW AND THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL IS SUBSEQUENT-
 LY DENIED PAROLE, THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL SHALL BE GIVEN A  DE  NOVO
 PAROLE  INTERVIEW  WITHIN TWO MONTHS OF THE DISCOVERY OF SUCH MISTAKE OR
 ERROR. A SUBSTANTIAL MISTAKE OR ERROR FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS  SUBDIVI-
 SION  IS ANY MISTAKE OR ERROR THAT WORSENS THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S
 OVERALL SCORE ON HIS OR HER RISK AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
 S. 2308                             3
 
   § 3. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (c) of  subdivision  2  of  section
 259-i  of  the  executive  law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of
 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   (A)  Discretionary  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 probability
 that, if such incarcerated individual is released, he or she  will  live
 and  remain  at  liberty  without violating the law, and that his or her
 release is not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not  so
 deprecate  the  seriousness  of his or her crime as to undermine respect
 for law. In making the parole release decision,  the  procedures,  RULES
 AND REGULATIONS INCORPORATING RISK AND NEEDS PRINCIPLES adopted pursuant
 to  subdivision four of section two hundred fifty-nine-c of this article
 shall require that the following be considered IF NOT ALREADY TAKEN INTO
 ACCOUNT BY THE RISK AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT: (i) the  institutional  record
 including  program  goals  and  accomplishments,  academic achievements,
 vocational education, training or work assignments, therapy  and  inter-
 actions  with  staff  and incarcerated individuals; (ii) performance, if
 any, as a participant in a  temporary  release  program;  (iii)  release
 plans  including community resources, employment, education and training
 and support services available to the incarcerated individual; (iv)  any
 deportation order issued by the federal government against the incarcer-
 ated individual while in the custody of the department and any recommen-
 dation  regarding deportation made by the commissioner of the department
 pursuant to section one hundred forty-seven of the correction  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 incarcerated individual 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-one of the penal law; (vii) the seriousness
 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 incarcerated individual, the pre-sentence
 probation  report  as well as consideration of any mitigating and aggra-
 vating factors, and activities following arrest  prior  to  confinement;
 and  (viii)  prior  criminal record, including the nature and pattern of
 offenses, adjustment to any previous probation or parole supervision and
 institutional confinement. 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
 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 incarcerated individual
 in consideration of release. A victim or victim's representative who has
 S. 2308                             4
 
 submitted a written request to the department for the transcript of such
 interview shall be provided such transcript as soon as it becomes avail-
 able.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S2308

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee

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2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Zellnor Myrie

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee

Actions

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S2308 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments