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Who cares
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Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to certificates upon discharge
In Senate Committee · Crime Victims, Crime And Correction · Sponsor Diana Richardson
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the correction law and the executive law, in relation to certificates upon discharge
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends subdivision 2 of section 205 of the correction law providing a certificate of relief from disabilities, or a certificate of good conduct if applicable, to a person granted merit termination of sentence.
Section 2 amends subdivision 4 of section 259-j of the executive law providing a certificate of relief from disabilities, or a certificate of good conduct if applicable, to a person granted discretionary three-year discharge from community supervision pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
Section 3 is the effective date.
Justification
Criminal records result in a host of unintended consequences, including barriers to reentry so that even when the sentence is served and the parole supervision has been completed successfully, the barriers remain. These barriers include legal discrimination from employment, licensure, housing, voting rights, and other aspects of everyday life. Some post-conviction disabilities can be relieved by obtaining a "Certificate of Relief from Disabilities" or a "Certificate of Good Conduct" issued by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. These certificates can demonstrate to prospective employers and landlords that a formerly incarcerated person has lived crime free since being released from prison. They can also be offered as proof to local boards of election that the right to vote has been restored.
Unfortunately, we have a costly and cumbersome process to issue one of two different kinds of certificates with different requirements and waiting periods for differently situated offenders. Under current law, a person must wait until three years or five years after release from incarceration before being allowed to apply for a certificate. At that point such person has often completed supervision and is no longer reporting regularly to his or her parole officer, thus requiring an investigation to be commenced to determine if such person meets the criteria for receiving a certificate. This bill improves the process for obtaining these certificates for people who have been granted early or discretionary discharge from community supervision, which may only occur when the board of parole is satisfied that absolute discharge is in the best interests of society and consistent with public safety. By granting such certificates at the time of early discharge from supervision for good behavior, the Department is saved the human and financial resources of a subsequent investigation. This bill does not increase the number of individuals eligible for either certificate, but should increase the number of certificates actually issued. This bill sensibly grants the certificate at the time of discretionary discharge for those individuals whose extraordinary performance earned them early discharge from supervision.
Legislative history of bill
This is a new bill.
Fiscal implications
None, it should save the State money.
Effective date
This bill shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.