Legislation

As our jails are flooded with ICE detainees, JUST joins allies in calling on our New York State’s lawmakers to support and pass:

  • New York for All, S.2235/A3506, which would stop local sheriffs and police from acting as ICE agents, send an email to your representatives here
  • Dignity Not Detention S316/A4181,   gets our jails out of the business holding ICE detainees

and particularly for ICE detainees,

JUST collaborates with the Jails Justice Network which is advocating for three key bills:

SCOC EXPANSION & REFORM – A2315 (Gallagher) / S856 (Salazar)

Status: in 2024 it passed the Senate, cleared the Assembly Committee on Correction, and was on the floor calendar for an Assembly vote, but the session ended before it could be voted upon.

What it does:

  • Adds 6 new members to the 3 current slots (all appointed by the Governor)
    • 2 nominated by the NY Assembly,1 formerly incarcerated and the other with a public health background.
    • 2 nominated by the NY Senate, one with a mental health professional and the other a lawyer with a background in criminal defense or prisoner rights litigation.
    • 2 nominated by the Correctional Association of NY.

Why it should be enacted:

  • Currently, the SCOC has vast powers to regulate jails but does not do so effectively.
    • Commissioners are almost always former sheriffs or correctional administrators.
    • The SCOC regularly gives jails variances to violate even its weak standards.
    • It denies almost every grievance.
    • Its reports on deaths only arrive 2 or more years later and are heavily redacted.
    • It forces jails to be staffed for their maximum capacity, even though many are half-empty, inflating jail staff and budgets and sometimes causing forced overtime and stress for jail staff
    • It pressures counties to expand their jails.
  • The SCOC needs to be more representative of the wide range of jail stakeholders.
  • With the new members, the SCOC can prioritize the human rights of incarcerated persons, rather than mostly serving the interests of sheriffs.

COUNTY & STATE LEGISLATOR ACCESS TO COUNTY JAILS – A2119 (Weprin) / S1892 (Jackson) 2023-24 #s

Status: in 2024 it passed the Senate, with a unanimous vote in committee, but was not acted upon by the Assembly Committee on Correction.

What it does:     

  • Allows state legislators to bring staff with them when they visit jails (currently they can visit but can’t take staff, whereas in prisons they can bring staff).
  • Allows county legislators to visit the jail(s) of their own county, with their staffs (currently they have no access except what the sheriff wishes to give)

(“Visit” means go anywhere inside – basically, inspect)

Why it should be enacted:

  • To give county legislators the information and oversight powers they need to make good decisions about jail funding, which they are responsible for.
  • To increase the frequency and usefulness of jail visits by state legislators (without staff as notetakers and witnesses their visits are hobbled, making them reluctant to inspect jails)
  • To increase transparency, giving the public information about what is going on in the jails operated in their name.
  • To deter abuse and increase pressure for better jail conditions, policies, practices, and programs.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN JAILS AND PRISONS – A4319 (Gallagher)  / S3279 (Brouck) 

Status: The bill is in committee in both chambers. Ongoing discussions with the Division of Human Rights are expected to lead to inserting more procedural details and providing for additional staffing.

What it does:

  • Defines carceral institutions in NY as places of public accommodation, bringing them under NY’s strong human rights law …
  • Thus empowering the Division of Human Rights to investigate and act upon complaints of violations from people incarcerated in prisons and jails.*

Why it should be enacted:

  • Basic human rights belong by right to every person: no exceptions.
  • Racism, discrimination against women and gay/lesbian/transgender people, and disability rights violations are rampant in prisons and jails.
  • Current prison and jail grievance systems are not effective tools for remedying these violations.
  • The Division of Human Rights has the values and tools needed to address these issues.

10 Apr 2025