What's happening
This bill updates the definition of "serious mental illness" for inmates to match the mental hygiene law's definition.
Why it matters
Ensures consistency and clarity. by aligning the definition of "serious mental illness" for inmates with the established mental hygiene law, which can reduce confusion and discrepancies between agencies and legal processes.
May broaden or narrow eligibility. for certain protections or services in correctional settings, since the new definition could differ from the previously detailed list of specific diagnoses, potentially impacting who qualifies for specialized mental health care or alternatives to segregated confinement.
Reflects current clinical standards. by moving away from an outdated, diagnosis-specific approach (like referencing the DSM’s Axis I categories) to a more modern legal and clinical definition, which can help keep policy in step with evolving mental health understanding.
Could impact inmate rights and conditions. , as the legal threshold for what constitutes a "serious mental illness" will determine which inmates are identified for mental health interventions, influencing their treatment, housing, and disciplinary procedures in correctional facilities.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Update Mental Illness Definition
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to crime victims, crime and correction
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.
Align Prison Mental Health Definitions
In Senate Committee · Mental Health And Developmental Disabilities · Sponsor Jeffrion Aubry
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8750
IN SENATE
May 10, 2018
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- 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, in relation to inmates with a serious mental illness
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (e) of subdivision 6 of section 137 of the correction law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
(i) he or she [has a current diagnosis of, or is diagnosed at the initial or any subsequent assessment conducted during the inmate's segregated confinement with, one or more of the following types of Axis I diagnoses, as described in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and such diagnoses shall be made based upon all relevant clinical factors, including but not limited to symptoms related to such diagnoses:
(A) schizophrenia (all sub-types),
(B) delusional disorder,
(C) schizophreniform disorder,
(D) schizoaffective disorder,
(E) brief psychotic disorder,
(F) substance-induced psychotic disorder (excluding intoxication and withdrawal),
(G) psychotic disorder not otherwise specified,
(H) major depressive disorders, or
(I) bipolar disorder I and II] is a person with a serious mental illness, as defined in subdivision fifty-two of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law;
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08337-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to inmates with a seri- ous mental illness
Purpose
This bill changes the definition of serious mental illness in the correction law to match the definition in the mental hygiene law.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends subparagraph i of paragraph e of subdivision 6 of section 137 of the correction law.
Section 2 provides an effective date.
Justification
The Office of Mental Health provides mental health services for inmates incarcerated in DOCCS facilities. Mental units within prisons are considered satellite units of OMH under the commissioner of OMH. For simplicity and consistency, the definition of serious mental illness should be the same throughout the state no matter where OMH is operat- ing. As the practice and understanding of psychiatry and psychology change, the list compiled during the negotiations in a settlement agree- ment that was codified into law should not outweigh professional opin- ions and diagnoses of mental illness. Additionally, inmates who are seriously mentally ill under the State's accepted definition of such mental illness should not be placed in solitary confinement because of the limitations of a statute in the correction law.
Fiscal implications
minimal
Legislative history
A.9559 passed the Assembly in 2016.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.