What's happening
This bill requires parole board administrative appeal findings and recommendations to be published online and provided to correctional facility law libraries.
Why it matters
Increases transparency and accountability. by requiring not just the final decisions, but also the findings and recommendations from parole board administrative appeals to be made publicly available, allowing the public, advocates, and researchers to scrutinize the parole process in greater detail.
Improves access to legal information for incarcerated individuals. by mandating that these findings and recommendations are provided to correctional facility law libraries quarterly, helping inmates and their advocates better understand and navigate the parole appeals process.
Extends the publication deadline. for making these materials available online from 60 days to 120 days, potentially giving authorities more time to prepare and redact sensitive information, but also delaying access for those awaiting such information.
Shifts responsibility for providing records. from the parole board to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which could impact how these materials are distributed and accessed, and may affect institutional workflows and accountability.
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Who cares
People in prison pursuing parole appeals
The bill would make administrative appeal findings and recommendations available through quarterly electronic or print copies at correctional facility law libraries.
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
The department would have to supply those quarterly copies and provide individual findings and recommendations upon written request.
Parole attorneys and advocates
The bill would require findings and recommendations to appear in a publicly accessible, word-searchable database within 120 days rather than 60 days, while removing the cumulative subject matter index requirement.
Headline styles
Publish Parole Appeals Online
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Signed chap.44
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.619
- Substituted for A8960
- Referred to correction
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 59–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.61
- 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.
Publish Parole Appeals Online
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor David Weprin
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7333
IN SENATE
January 5, 2018
Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring board of parole administrative appeal findings and recommendations to be published on a website and provided to correctional facility law libraries
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 259-i of the executive law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2017, amending the executive law relating to requiring parole decisions to be published on a website, as proposed in legislative bills numbers A. 3053 and S. 3982, is amended to read as follows:
(c) All board of parole administrative appeal [decisions] findings and recommendations shall be published within [sixty] one hundred twenty days of the determination on a publicly accessible website that includes a word-searchable database [and cumulative subject matter index of such decisions. Such subject matter index shall be published annually in print form and distributed to all correctional facility libraries]. The department of corrections and community supervision shall provide electronic or print copies of such findings and recommendations to all correctional facility law libraries on a quarterly basis. Copies of such individual [appeal decisions and subject matter index] findings and recommendations shall also be made available upon written request to the [board] department of corrections and community supervision. Information which would reveal confidential material that may not be released pursuant to federal or state law shall be redacted from any such website[, decision and index] or findings and recommendations.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2017, amending the executive law relating to requiring parole decisions to be published on a website, as proposed in legislative bills numbers A.3053 and S.3982, takes effect.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06681-03-8
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring board of parole administrative appeal findings and recommenda- tions to be published on a website and provided to correctional facility law libraries
Purpose
To amend paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 259-i of the Execu- tive Law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2017, amending the Execu- tive Law relating to requiring parole decisions to be published on a website, as proposed in legislative bills S.3982 and A.3053
Summary of provisions
Section 1 provides that all Board of Parole administrative appeal find- ings and recommendations shall be published within one hundred twenty days on a publicly accessible website and requires DOCCS to provide electronic and print copies of such recommendations to all correctional facility law libraries on a quarterly basis.
Section 2 contains the effective date.
Existing law
A chapter of the laws of 2017, as proposed in legislative bills 5.3982 and A.3053 provides that parole decisions shall be published within sixty days and a subject matter index shall be published annually in print form.
Justification
The chapter amendment requires publication of administrative appeal findings and recommendation and provides a more administratively feasi- ble time frame for publication.
Legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
Unknown
Local fiscal implications
None
Effective date
Same date and same manner as the effective date of a chapter of the laws of 2017 as proposed in S.3982 and A.3053.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.