Senate Bill S5037A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  5037--A
     Cal. No. 847
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 18, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. SEPULVEDA, BAILEY, BASKIN, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE,
   COONEY,  GIANARIS,  GOUNARDES,  HARCKHAM,  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 -- recommitted to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime
   and Correction in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec.  8  --  reported
   favorably  from  said  committee  and  committed  to  the Committee on
   Finance -- reported favorably from said committee,  ordered  to  first
   and  second  report,  ordered  to a third reading, amended and ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
 
 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-c
 to read as follows:
   § 138-C. 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07456-03-6
 S. 5037--A                          2
 
 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
 TOWARD  THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF VISITS OR DURATION OF VISITATION THAT ANY
 FACILITY MUST OFFER TO INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS BY LAW OR REGULATION.
   3. NO INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL IS TO BE VISITED AGAINST SUCH  INCARCER-
 ATED INDIVIDUAL'S WILL BY ANY PERSON.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.