Bill Text: NY S08851 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits certain public entities from receiving net earnings from inmate labor; prohibits compelling inmates to provide labor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-29 - REFERRED TO RULES [S08851 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08851-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8851

                    IN SENATE

                                      July 29, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to inmate labor

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

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section 170 of the correction law, as
     2  added by chapter 256 of the laws of 2010, is amended and a new  subdivi-
     3  sion 4 is added to read as follows:
     4    3.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law,  an inmate may be
     5  permitted to leave the institution under guard  to  voluntarily  perform
     6  work  for  a  nonprofit  organization. As used in this section, the term
     7  "nonprofit organization" means an organization operated exclusively  for
     8  religious, charitable, or educational purposes, no part of the net earn-
     9  ings  of  which  inures  to  the  benefit  of the state of New York, the
    10  government of the United States or to any state of the United States, or
    11  political subdivision thereof, any public  corporation  or  eleemosynary
    12  association  or  corporation  funded in whole or in part by any federal,
    13  state or local funds or any private shareholder or individual.
    14    4. (a) No inmate shall be compelled to provide labor  against  his  or
    15  her  will  by  actual  force,  threats  of force, threats of punishment,
    16  threats of legal coercion or by any scheme, plan or pattern intended  to
    17  cause  the  inmate  to  believe that, if the inmate did not provide such
    18  labor, that inmate or another person would suffer physical, emotional or
    19  mental harm.
    20    (b) Any inmate alleging a violation of this subdivision shall,  within
    21  ten  years  after  the  acts  alleged  to have violated this subdivision
    22  occurred, have a cause of action in any court of  appropriate  jurisdic-
    23  tion  for damages, including punitive damages, and for injunctive relief
    24  and such other remedies as may be appropriate together with all  reason-
    25  able attorney's fees and costs.
    26    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    27  have become a law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD17022-01-0