Bill Text: NY S00210 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes merit time allowance credits for local correctional facilities for eligible incarcerated individuals.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CRIME VICTIMS, CRIME AND CORRECTION [S00210 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S00210-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 210 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction AN ACT to amend the correction law and the penal law, in relation to establishing merit time allowance credits for local correctional facilities 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 article 24-A 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 24-A 4 MERIT TIME ALLOWANCE CREDITS 5 FOR LOCAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES 6 Section 810. Definitions. 7 811. Merit time allowance credit accrual and application. 8 812. Forfeiture of merit time allowance credit. 9 813. Record keeping. 10 § 810. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall 11 have the following meanings: 12 1. "Credit" means a reduction of twenty-four hours in the amount of 13 time an incarcerated individual must serve in a correctional facility on 14 the incarcerated individual's sentence upon conviction; and 15 2. "Eligible incarcerated individual" means an incarcerated individual 16 in the custody of the sheriff of a local correctional facility who is 17 serving one or more definite sentences of one year or less or who is 18 detained pending trial, sentence or other disposition and who partic- 19 ipates in the merit time allowance credit program established pursuant 20 to this article. 21 § 811. Merit time allowance credit accrual and application. 1. Upon 22 the active participation in an educational, vocational, work, or rehabi- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00245-02-3S. 210 2 1 litative program that has been assigned by the chief administrative 2 officer, an eligible incarcerated individual shall accrue credits 3 applied to his or her sentence in the same manner as jail time credit 4 pursuant to subdivision three of section 70.30 of the penal law. One 5 credit shall accrue for every four days in which the incarcerated indi- 6 vidual successfully participates in the program. 7 2. Accrued credits shall, in accordance with this section, be applied 8 against an eligible incarcerated individual's sentence or, if pre-trial, 9 against the sentence ultimately imposed, and shall diminish the incar- 10 cerated individual's period of imprisonment according to the schedule 11 set forth in subdivision one of this section. 12 3. If an eligible incarcerated individual accrues credits pursuant to 13 subdivision one of this section during a period of pre-trial or pre-sen- 14 tence detention for a felony offense, and is later convicted of and 15 sentenced to a period of imprisonment in a state correctional facility 16 for such a felony offense, the credits accrued by the incarcerated indi- 17 vidual shall be applied by the department as additional jail time credit 18 pursuant to subdivision three of section 70.30 of the penal law to the 19 sentence served by the incarcerated individual for such felony offense. 20 4. All participation by an incarcerated individual in the merit time 21 allowance credit program is voluntary. Except in administrative 22 proceedings concerning the incarcerated individual's opportunity to 23 participate in, or continue to participate in, such a voluntary program 24 administered by a correctional facility, evidence of an incarcerated 25 individual's failure to successfully participate in or complete a merit 26 time allowance credit program, pursuant to this article, shall not be 27 admissible against the incarcerated individual, provided, however, that 28 the incarcerated individual may present information concerning success- 29 ful participation for the purposes of mitigation, where relevant, in any 30 court or proceeding. Upon admission to a local correctional facility, 31 each incarcerated individual shall be notified by the sheriff, in writ- 32 ing, of the existence, criteria and rules governing participation in the 33 merit time allowance credit program. 34 § 812. Forfeiture of merit time allowance credit. 1. Any merit time 35 allowance credit accrued pursuant to the program established pursuant to 36 this article may, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, be with- 37 held, forfeited or cancelled in whole or in part for bad behavior, 38 violation of institutional rules or failure to participate successfully 39 in the program. The sheriff shall notify the incarcerated individual 40 promptly in writing of the reasons for any such determination. 41 2. An incarcerated individual who loses a merit time allowance credit 42 pursuant to subdivision one of this section is eligible for subsequent 43 participation in a merit time allowance credit program at the discretion 44 of the sheriff. 45 § 813. Record keeping. A contemporaneous record shall be kept by the 46 sheriff of all merit time allowance credits an incarcerated individual 47 accrues pursuant to this article. In any case where the sheriff has the 48 duty to deliver an incarcerated individual to the custody of the depart- 49 ment, or a sheriff or similar department in another jurisdiction, wheth- 50 er under an order of sentence and commitment or otherwise, the sheriff 51 shall also deliver to the state correctional facility, sheriff or simi- 52 lar department to which the incarcerated individual is delivered, and to 53 the incarcerated individual, a certified record of merit time allowance 54 credits accrued by the incarcerated individual.S. 210 3 1 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 70.30 of the penal law, as amended by 2 chapter 3 of the laws of 1995, the opening paragraph as amended by chap- 3 ter 1 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 4 3. Jail time. The term of a definite sentence, a determinate sentence, 5 or the maximum term of an indeterminate sentence imposed on a person 6 shall be credited with and diminished by the amount of time the person 7 spent in custody prior to the commencement of such sentence as a result 8 of the charge that culminated in the sentence. In the case of an inde- 9 terminate sentence, if the minimum period of imprisonment has been fixed 10 by the court or by the board of parole, the credit shall also be applied 11 against the minimum period. The credit herein provided shall be calcu- 12 lated from the date custody under the charge commenced to the date the 13 sentence commences and shall not include any time that is credited 14 against the term or maximum term of any previously imposed sentence or 15 period of post-release supervision to which the person is subject. The 16 credit herein provided shall also include any additional merit time 17 allowance credit accrued in a local correctional facility pursuant to 18 article twenty-four-A of the correction law. Where the charge or charges 19 culminate in more than one sentence, the credit shall be applied as 20 follows: 21 (a) If the sentences run concurrently, the credit shall be applied 22 against each such sentence; 23 (b) If the sentences run consecutively, the credit shall be applied 24 against the aggregate term or aggregate maximum term of the sentences 25 and against the aggregate minimum period of imprisonment. 26 In any case where a person has been in custody due to a charge that 27 culminated in a dismissal or an acquittal, the amount of time that would 28 have been credited against a sentence for such charge, had one been 29 imposed, shall be credited against any sentence that is based on a 30 charge for which a warrant or commitment was lodged during the pendency 31 of such custody. 32 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 70.30 of the penal law, as amended by 33 chapter 648 of the laws of 1979, the opening paragraph as separately 34 amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 35 3. Jail time. The term of a definite sentence or the maximum term of 36 an indeterminate sentence imposed on a person shall be credited with and 37 diminished by the amount of time the person spent in custody prior to 38 the commencement of such sentence as a result of the charge that culmi- 39 nated in the sentence. In the case of an indeterminate sentence, if the 40 minimum period of imprisonment has been fixed by the court or by the 41 board of parole, the credit shall also be applied against the minimum 42 period. The credit herein provided shall be calculated from the date 43 custody under the charge commenced to the date the sentence commences 44 and shall not include any time that is credited against the term or 45 maximum term of any previously imposed sentence or period of post-re- 46 lease supervision to which the person is subject. The credit herein 47 provided shall also include any additional merit time allowance credit 48 accrued in a local correctional facility pursuant to article twenty- 49 four-A of the correction law. Where the charge or charges culminate in 50 more than one sentence, the credit shall be applied as follows: 51 (a) If the sentences run concurrently, the credit shall be applied 52 against each such sentence; 53 (b) If the sentences run consecutively, the credit shall be applied 54 against the aggregate term or aggregate maximum term of the sentences 55 and against the aggregate minimum period of imprisonment.S. 210 4 1 In any case where a person has been in custody due to a charge that 2 culminated in a dismissal or an acquittal, the amount of time that would 3 have been credited against a sentence for such charge, had one been 4 imposed, shall be credited against any sentence that is based on a 5 charge for which a warrant or commitment was lodged during the pendency 6 of such custody. 7 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 8 ing the date on which it shall have become a law; provided that the 9 amendments to subdivision 3 of section 70.30 of the penal law made by 10 section two of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion 11 of such subdivision pursuant to subdivision d of section 74 of chapter 3 12 of the laws of 1995, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of 13 section three of this act shall take effect.
