Bill Text: NY A10664 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to establishing minimum rules for the treatment of incarcerated people; provides that the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela rules, are hereby incorporated by reference; requires the department of corrections and community supervision shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with such rules.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-24 - referred to correction [A10664 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10664-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10664

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 24, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Aubry) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Correction

        AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to establishing  minimum
          rules for the treatment of incarcerated people

          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  123
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  123.  Minimum  rules  for  the treatment of incarcerated people. 1.
     4  Subject to constitutional and federal law but notwithstanding any  other
     5  section of law, the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treat-
     6  ment  of  prisoners,  also known as the Nelson Mandela rules, are hereby
     7  incorporated by reference into this chapter, including, but not  limited
     8  to:
     9    (a)  a  prohibition against prolonged confinement of more than fifteen
    10  days in segregated confinement, administrative segregation or any  other
    11  form of solitary confinement or social isolation;
    12    (b)  community  standards  for medical and dental care, and a duty for
    13  medical professionals to report when they notice mistreatment  or  abuse
    14  of an incarcerated person;
    15    (c)  the  right of incarcerated people to make confidential complaints
    16  to superintendents and central office staff without fear of  retaliation
    17  or intimidation;
    18    (d) the right to be placed whenever feasible in a correctional facili-
    19  ty  close to a person's home or to the community where he or she expects
    20  to be released;
    21    (e) the right to in-person visits contingent upon the visitor's agree-
    22  ment to be searched if necessary for security purposes;
    23    (f) the right to effective legal aid;
    24    (g) adequate and on-going training for staff;
    25    (h) oversight by an independent agency with right of  entry  into  any
    26  correctional institution at any time, full access to all records and the
    27  ability to interview both staff and incarcerated people at will;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16729-01-0
        A. 10664                            2

     1    (i)  the  right to vocational, educational and rehabilitative programs
     2  as well as re-entry programs and services;
     3    (j) the right to individualized programs of treatment, including indi-
     4  vidual  mental  health  therapy and counseling, based on an individual's
     5  needs, capacity and disposition;
     6    (k) equitable remuneration for work and program assignments; and
     7    (l) protection from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or  punish-
     8  ment by correctional staff.
     9    2. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance
    10  with this section.
    11    §  2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
    12  law.