Bill Text: NY A03317 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the segregated confinement of inmates with serious mental illness.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to correction [A03317 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A03317-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3317
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 27, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  RICHARDSON  -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Correction
        AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to limiting  the  segre-
          gated  confinement  of persons in a correctional facility with serious
          mental illness
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Paragraphs  (c),  (d),  (e)  and  (f) of subdivision 6 of
     2  section 137 of the correction law are relettered  paragraphs  (e),  (f),
     3  (g)  and  (h)  and  two  new paragraphs (c) and (d) are added to read as
     4  follows:
     5    (c) Inmates shall not be  in  segregated  confinement  for  reason  of
     6  discipline,  detention,  administrative segregation, protective custody,
     7  keeplock, or any other reason for admission, unless they have engaged in
     8  highly dangerous or serious escape-related behavior  while  incarcerated
     9  in that facility;
    10    (d) Confinement in segregated confinement shall be limited to not more
    11  than  thirty days, except for an inmate whose behavior exposes a pattern
    12  of extreme violence or danger to himself or others  and,  provided  that
    13  for  those  confined  longer  than  thirty days, there shall be a review
    14  every thirty days by an independent review board, to  be  known  as  the
    15  inmate's  special  housing  unit  review  council  to  determine whether
    16  continued segregated confinement is warranted and necessary. Such  coun-
    17  cil  shall  be  composed of seven members appointed by the governor with
    18  the advice and consent of the senate. One member shall  be  an  attorney
    19  admitted  to  practice  law  in this state, one member shall be a mental
    20  health professional, one member  shall  be  a  criminal  justice  expert
    21  appointed  from within employees of the state university system, and one
    22  member shall be a former inmate;
    23    § 2. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (f) of subdivision 6 of section 137
    24  of the correction law, as added by chapter 1 of the  laws  of  2008  and
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05591-04-7
        A. 3317                             2
     1  such  paragraph  as relettered by section one of this act, is amended to
     2  read as follows:
     3    (i)  Except  as  set  forth in clause (E) of subparagraph (ii) of this
     4  paragraph, the department, in consultation  with  mental  health  clini-
     5  cians,  shall  divert  to a residential mental health treatment unit, or
     6  shall  remove  inmates  with  serious  mental  illness  from  segregated
     7  confinement,  whether  such  serious mental illness, as defined in para-
     8  graph [(e)] (g) of this subdivision, [from segregated confinement, where
     9  such confinement could potentially be for a period in excess  of  thirty
    10  days,  to  a  residential  mental  health  treatment unit] preceded such
    11  confinement or developed during the course of such confinement.  Nothing
    12  in this paragraph shall be deemed to prevent  the  disciplinary  process
    13  from  proceeding in accordance with department rules and regulations for
    14  disciplinary hearings.
    15    § 3. Section 500-k of the correction law, as amended by chapter  2  of
    16  the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
    17    §  500-k.  Treatment  of inmates. Subdivisions five and six of section
    18  one hundred thirty-seven of this chapter, except  paragraphs  [(d)]  (f)
    19  and [(e)] (g) of subdivision six of such section, relating to the treat-
    20  ment  of  inmates  in  state  correctional  facilities are applicable to
    21  inmates confined in county jails; except that  the  report  required  by
    22  paragraph  [(f)] (h) of subdivision six of such section shall be made to
    23  a person designated to receive such report in the rules and  regulations
    24  of  the  state  commission of correction, or in any county or city where
    25  there is a department of [correction] correctional services, to the head
    26  of such department.
    27    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    28  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
    29  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    30  tation  of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made on or
    31  before such date.