Senate Bill S5037

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Establishes visiting policies for incarcerated individuals

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Assembly 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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2025-S5037 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A4603
Current Committee:
Assembly Ways And Means
Law Section:
Correction Law
Laws Affected:
Add §138-b, Cor L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A7241
2019-2020: S2698, A2483
2021-2022: S2841, A4250
2023-2024: S3318, A6488

2025-S5037 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes visiting policies for incarcerated people, to provide incarcerated people opportunities for personal contact with relatives, friends, clergy, volunteers and other persons to promote better institutional adjustment and better community adjustment upon release.

2025-S5037 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5037 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5037
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 18, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. SEPULVEDA, BAILEY, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE, GIANAR-
   IS, GOUNARDES,  HARCKHAM,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON,  KAVANAGH,  MYRIE,
   RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SANDERS -- 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 correction law, in relation to the establishment  of
   visiting policies for incarcerated individuals
 
   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 138-b
 to read as follows:
   § 138-B. VISITING POLICIES FOR THE INCARCERATED. 1.   STATE AND  LOCAL
 CORRECTIONAL  FACILITIES  SHALL  ESTABLISH  VISITING POLICIES WHICH GIVE
 INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS OPPORTUNITIES FOR IN-PERSON CONTACT WITH  THEIR
 RELATIVES,  CHILDREN,  FRIENDS,  CLERGY, VOLUNTEERS AND OTHER PERSONS TO
 PROMOTE INDIVIDUAL TRANSFORMATION, BETTER INSTITUTIONAL  ADJUSTMENT  AND
 BETTER  COMMUNITY  ADJUSTMENT  UPON RELEASE. SUCH PROGRAM SHALL INCLUDE,
 BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, (A) VISITING HOURS THAT ARE REASONABLY LIKELY  TO
 ACCOMMODATE  PERSONS  TRAVELING FROM WITHIN THE STATE, INCLUDING EVENING
 HOURS STARTING AT SIX O'CLOCK P.M.  AND/OR WEEKEND HOURS, (B) VISITS  OF
 SUFFICIENT  DURATION,  INCLUDING  A MINIMUM OF ONE HOUR AT LOCAL CORREC-
 TIONAL FACILITIES SO THAT VISITORS AND INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS WILL  BE
 ABLE  TO  MAINTAIN  RELATIONSHIP BONDS, AND (C) A PUBLISHED OVERCROWDING
 POLICY THAT IS EQUITABLE WITH DUE CONSIDERATION TO THE DISTANCE TRAVELED
 BY THE VISITOR, THE FREQUENCY OF THE VISITOR'S VISITS, THE  MOST  RECENT
 OCCASION  THAT THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S VISIT WAS TERMINATED DUE TO
 OVERCROWDING, AND ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LIMIT  IN-PER-
 SON VISITS BETWEEN THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS AND THE VISITOR.
   2. VIDEO CONFERENCING MAY SUPPLEMENT, BUT SHALL NOT TAKE THE PLACE OF,
 IN-PERSON  VISITS.  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, VIDEO CONFERENCING
 OR OTHER TECHNOLOGIES THAT ENABLE  REMOTE  VISITATION  SHALL  NOT  COUNT
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07456-01-5

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