Legislation

§ 146. Persons authorized to visit correctional facilities. 1. The
following persons shall be authorized to visit at pleasure all
correctional facilities: The governor and lieutenant-governor,
commissioner of general services, secretary of state, comptroller and
attorney-general, members of the commission of correction, members of
the legislature and their accompanying staff and any employee of the
department as requested by the member of the legislature if the member
requests to be so accompanied, provided that such request does not
impact upon the department's ability to supervise, manage and control
its facilities as determined by the commissioner, judges of the court of
appeals, supreme court and county judges, district attorneys and every
clergyman or minister, as such terms are defined in section two of the
religious corporations law, having charge of a congregation in the
county wherein any such facility is situated. No other person not
otherwise authorized by law shall be permitted to enter a correctional
facility except by authority of the commissioner of correction under
such regulations as the commissioner shall prescribe.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, on each
September thirteenth anniversary date of the nineteen hundred
seventy-one retaking of Attica correctional facility, in the absence of
an emergency situation or other exigent circumstance, the commissioner
shall ensure that any surviving state employees who were held as
hostages and any immediate family members, as that term is defined in
subdivision four of section 120.40 of the penal law, of any of the state
employees who were held hostage for any period by rioting incarcerated
individuals during the period from September ninth through September
thirteenth, nineteen hundred seventy-one, shall be afforded access to
the outside grounds of Attica correctional facility to conduct a private
commemorative ceremony in front of the Attica monument upon which are
inscribed the names of employees who died as a result of the uprising
and subsequent retaking.

3. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
correctional association shall be permitted to access, visit, inspect,
and examine all state correctional facilities with twenty-four hours
advance notice to the department. Up to twelve people may comprise the
visiting party; provided, however, that only four people from the party
may enter a special housing facility or unit at the same time. Prior to
the visitation authorized pursuant to this subdivision, the correctional
association shall provide to the department on, at least, an annual
basis a list of people who will be visiting the facility or facilities,
including names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and their
designation as an employee, board member, or designee in order for the
department to perform prompt background checks. The department may not
place restrictions on such visits and inspections, including during
periods when a facility is locked down or experiencing a facility wide
emergency; provided, however, that the department may restrict access to
a portion of a facility in an emergency situation for the duration of
the emergency. For the purpose of this subdivision, an emergency shall
be determined by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee and
defined as a significant risk to the safety or security of the facility,
or the health, safety or security of staff or incarcerated individuals,
or an event that significantly compromises the operations of the
facility.

b. At the commencement and conclusion of any visits to, or inspections
and examinations of, state correctional facilities, the superintendent
and executive team, to the extent practicable and upon request by the
correctional association, shall meet with the correctional association.
Privately without representatives of the central office present,
representatives of the office of mental health and any other entities or
agencies providing services in a facility shall meet with the
correctional association, upon the correctional association's request
during the course of any visit. The correctional association may meet
privately with the incarcerated individual liaison committee and
representatives of the incarcerated individual grievance resolution
committee or any other organization of incarcerated individuals
recognized by the department.

c. During the course of any such visit, inspection or examination, and
upon consent of the person being interviewed, the correctional
association shall have the power to interview and converse publicly or
confidentially with any correctional employee or administrator, any
incarcerated individual, and any other person providing, supervising, or
monitoring services in a correctional facility, whether or not employed
by such facility. Such interviews shall not be restricted by the
department or the office of mental health or any other agency or
attended by anyone on behalf of the department or the office of mental
health or any other agency, nor shall there be any retaliation or
adverse action taken by the department or other state agency against
anyone who speaks with the correctional association. The department may
not limit the number of individuals the correctional association may
interview or the duration of the interviews, in any manner unreasonable
under the circumstances. The correctional association shall have the
power to conduct private, confidential meetings reasonable in number
under a facility's immediate circumstances at their pleasure and without
notice to the department with incarcerated individuals in housing units
and in attorney visiting rooms or other rooms in the facility in which
their conversations will remain confidential. No department employee may
attend or listen to any such meeting without the consent of the
correctional association.

d. The correctional association may request and receive from the
department information and data as will enable the correctional
association to carry out its functions, powers and duties.

The correctional association shall have access to the following
information and records on a quarterly basis:

(i) individuals admitted into custody, which shall contain, at
minimum, individual-level records of all individuals admitted to
custody, including the individual's department ID, demographic
information, admission type, reception facility name and housing unit,
reception date, sentencing, and crime information;

(ii) individuals under custody, which shall contain, at minimum,
individual-level records of all individuals presently under custody,
including the individual's department ID, demographic information,
current facility name and housing unit, date of original and latest
reception at the facility, out counts, sentencing and crime information,
and parole eligibility and relevant dates;

(iii) individuals released from custody, which shall contain, at
minimum, individual-level records of all individuals released from
custody, including the individual's department ID, demographic
information, releasing facility name and housing unit, release date,
release county, sentencing and crime information, and parole eligibility
and relevant dates;

(iv) individuals on parole, which shall contain, at minimum,
individual-level records of all individuals on parole, including the
individual's department ID, demographic information, discharging
facility name and housing unit, start and release date, sentencing and
crime information, custody status, and voting pardon status;

(v) programming, education, vocational, and work assignment
requirements, enrollment, and fulfillment, which shall contain, at
minimum, individual-level records of all individuals under custody,
including the individual's department ID, programs mandated by the
department, and indicators of whether the individual is not enrolled, is
on the waitlist, or has already completed any such requirement;

(vi) departmental staffing levels, which shall contain, at minimum,
facility-level records of budgeted fill level, recommended staffing
level, and actual filled items split by job category, including
aggregate data on staff on leave, and on the average of daily closed
posts for each quarter;

(vii) deaths, which shall contain, at minimum, individual-level
records of all individuals who died while under custody, including the
individual's department ID, date and time of death, date of report,
demographic information, facility name and housing unit at time of
death, location of terminal incident, reported immediate cause of death,
and an indicator of whether an autopsy was performed;

(viii) unusual incidents, which shall contain, at minimum,
report-level information for all unusual incidents, as defined by the
department at the current time, including the incident code, the name
and code of the facility where the incident took place, the date and
time of the incident, the location within the facility, the name and
code of the categories and subcategories indicated in the report, the
roles of all individuals involved in the report (including incarcerated
and nonincarcerated individuals), the weapons used by each individual,
if applicable, the type of force applied by department staff on each
individual, if applicable, and the degree of injury to staff and
incarcerated individuals;

(ix) disciplinary charges and penalties, which shall contain, at
minimum, charge-level information for all disciplinary incidents,
including: the incarcerated individual's department ID and facility
name; the location, date, and time of the incident; the tier, code, and
description of each charge; the date of the hearing; and the outcome and
penalty associated with each charge; and

(x) grievances and appeals, which shall contain, at minimum,
grievance-level information for all grievances filed with the
department, including those resolved informally, including: the
incarcerated individual's department ID; ID, date filed, category, type,
and facility of the grievance; and the outcomes and outcome dates for
all reviews, including those by the incarcerated grievance resolution
committee, superintendent, and central office review committee.

e. The correctional association shall periodically, but not less than
every five years, conduct inspections of each state correctional
facility, prioritized based on the correctional association's assessment
of systemic issues, and issue reports and recommendations to the
governor, the legislature and the public about the conditions and issues
at correctional facilities. When preparing such formal reports and
recommendations, the correctional association shall submit a tentative
copy of such report and recommendations to the commissioner. The
commissioner may submit a written response to such tentative report
within sixty days of the receipt thereof, including a plan of action for
addressing the findings and recommendations. When the correctional
association thereafter submits its final report and recommendations, it
shall contain a complete copy of the response, if any, submitted to the
tentative report and recommendations.

f. The correctional association may send written and/or electronic
surveys or questionnaires to people in custody or employees concerning
conditions of confinement, working conditions, or other subjects within
the scope of their mission without prior approval of the department.
People incarcerated shall be permitted to confidentially complete and
return to the correctional association such surveys either in written
format or electronically. The correctional association may also receive
free confidential phone calls and emails from incarcerated individuals
and/or set up a confidential hotline for individuals to use if they
choose to contact them. Physical mail received and sent to the
correctional association is defined as privileged correspondence, and
any and all processing controls, allowances for limited free postage,
and advances of incarcerated individual funds for postage shall apply to
privileged correspondence received and sent to the correctional
association. For the purposes of this section, identical incoming blank
surveys and questionnaires shall not be defined as privileged
correspondence.

g. The access, visits, and inspection of state correctional facilities
by the correctional association pursuant to this subdivision shall be
undertaken solely in furtherance of the correctional association's
lawful powers, duties and obligations, and information obtained pursuant
to these powers shall be used solely in furtherance of the correctional
association's mission. Employees, board members and designees shall be
required to sign an acknowledgement of the foregoing as a condition of
entry into a correctional facility pursuant to this subdivision.