Bill Text: NY A05939 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Assembly Bill 5939

Introduced

Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-12-08 - approval memo.39 [A05939 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05939-Introduced.html




                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5939

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     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:

     1    Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new  section  134
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  134.  Religious  dietary  requirements.  1.  The commissary at each
     4  correctional facility shall provide food options  for  purchase  through
     5  the  facility  commissary  that  satisfy  the  requirements of religious
     6  dietary needs of the incarcerated individuals housed  at  the  facility,
     7  including,  but  not  limited  to  halal  foods and kosher foods.   Food
     8  options available pursuant to this  subdivision  shall  conform  to  the
     9  standards  typically  associated  with  the particular religious dietary
    10  requirements; provided, however, that if one or more incarcerated  indi-
    11  viduals  housed at the facility requires food products that conform to a
    12  higher religious dietary standard, such  products  shall  also  be  made
    13  available  through the commissary upon request of the individual requir-
    14  ing such options.
    15    2. Each correctional facility shall provide food options for  purchase
    16  from vending machines located in the visitor's area of the facility that
    17  satisfy  the requirements of religious dietary needs of the incarcerated
    18  individuals housed at the facility, including, but not limited to  halal
    19  foods and kosher foods.
    20    3.  For  food  options  available through both the commissary and from
    21  vending machines, the prices  for  food  options  that  conform  to  the
    22  requirements  of  this  section  shall be comparable to the cost of food
    23  options that do not conform to the requirements of this section.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    25  have become a law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08752-05-3