Bill Text: NY A01031 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the department of corrections and community supervision to test a program of supplying inmates with tablets for educational and recreational means.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to correction [A01031 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01031-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1031

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. WALKER, SIMON, WEPRIN -- read once and referred
          to the Committee on Correction

        AN ACT directing the department of corrections and community supervision
          to test a program of supplying inmates with  tablets  for  educational
          and recreational means

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Legislative finding. The bureau of  prisons  offers  secure
     2  email  service to all federal inmates nationwide. County jails in numer-
     3  ous states have found that  granting  inmates  access  to  tablets  with
     4  educational  and  recreational  programs  including secure email reduces
     5  idle time, improves morale and increases inmate productivity. Therefore,
     6  the legislature finds that it would be beneficial for the department  of
     7  corrections  and  community  supervision operate a pilot program to test
     8  the benefit of providing secure email and other electronic  programs  to
     9  inmates.
    10    §  2.  The  department  of corrections and community supervision shall
    11  develop and implement a pilot program to test the benefit of  a  tablet-
    12  based  portfolio  of  educational  and  recreation programs, including a
    13  secured email program, to improve inmate communication with his  or  her
    14  family,  attorney,  community  members  and  organizations, and with the
    15  department itself. Such pilot program shall include no fewer than thirty
    16  non-internet based tablet devices providing a secure email communication
    17  program in addition  to  educational  and  recreational  programs  which
    18  consider  the  unique  needs  and circumstances of the inmate population
    19  including factors related to health,  age,  education,  religion,  voca-
    20  tional  training and other determining characteristics as the department
    21  may deem appropriate. One year after the department shall have commenced
    22  the pilot program the department shall issue a report  to  the  governor
    23  and the legislature on the impact of the pilot program on facility safe-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04595-01-3
        A. 1031                             2

     1  ty,  inmate  behavior and performance, and other indicators of the value
     2  of providing such tablet-based devices in the correctional setting.
     3    §  3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
     4  law.