What's happening
This bill requires that inmates be allowed a phone call and family notification before being transferred to another correctional facility, with exceptions for safety.
Why it matters
Strengthens family connections and transparency. By mandating that inmates (with rare exceptions) are allowed a phone call and that their next of kin or personal representative is notified before a transfer, the bill helps families stay informed and maintain contact during a potentially stressful and disruptive event.
Promotes accountability in corrections. The requirement for a contemporaneous written document when calls are denied due to safety concerns creates a record and oversight mechanism, making it harder for authorities to arbitrarily deny communication rights and encouraging justifiable decisions.
Considers both inmate rights and institutional safety. The bill acknowledges that there are exceptional circumstances where communication might endanger staff or other inmates, balancing the need for transparency and humane treatment with the realities of correctional facility security.
Reduces uncertainty and stress for inmates. Knowing that they can notify loved ones before being moved may ease some of the anxiety and confusion associated with transfers, which can be sudden and disorienting, thereby supporting inmate mental health and adjustment.
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Who cares
Inmates facing transfer
The bill would allow them at least one personal phone call immediately before transfer, except when exceptional circumstances create an unacceptable safety or security risk.
Inmates’ next of kin and personal representatives
The department would have to notify them electronically immediately before an inmate’s transfer.
State corrections officials and facility staff
They would have to arrange pre-transfer calls and document any denial based on exceptional safety or security circumstances in a contemporaneous written record.
Headline styles
Inmate Calls Before Transfer
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Print number 8966a
- Amend and recommit to rules
- 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.
Let Inmates Call Before Transfer
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Walter T. Mosley
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8966--A
IN SENATE
June 8, 2018
Introduced by Sen. HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to allowing a telephone call prior to an inmate's transfer
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 23 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 254 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
1. The commissioner shall have the power to transfer inmates from one correctional facility to another. Whenever the transfer of inmates from one correctional facility to another shall be ordered by the commissioner, the superintendent of the facility from which the inmates are transferred shall take immediate steps to make the transfer. The transfer shall be in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department for the safe delivery of such inmates to the designated facility. [Within] Immediately prior to the transfer, the department shall electronically notify the inmate's next of kin or personal representative of the transfer and the inmate shall be allowed to make at least one personal phone call, except under exceptional circumstances when to do so would create an unacceptable risk to the safety and security of inmates or staff. When a call is not permitted due to exceptional circumstances, the department shall so indicate in a contemporaneous written document. Additionally, within twenty-four hours of arriving at the facility to which an inmate is transferred, he or she shall be allowed to make at least one personal phone call, except when to do so would create an unacceptable risk to the safety and security of inmates or staff. If security precautions prevent the inmate from making such call, a staff member designated by the superintendent of the facility shall make a call to a person of the inmate's choice unless the inmate declines to have such a call made.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16015-05-8
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to allowing a telephone call prior to an inmate's transfer
Purpose
To provide that state inmates transferred to a new correctional facility are able to call their families prior to being transferred and the department will send an electronic notice to the next of kin or personal representative.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 23 of the correction law.
Section 2 provides an effective date.
Justification
Inmates are routinely transferred from one facility to another for a variety of reasons. Immediately before transfer they are locked down for a few days, then are sent by bus to their new facility. The bus may take several days to arrive at the new facility, since it usually makes other stops along the way. Once an inmate reaches the new facility he or she is not placed in general population right away but spends some time in a special housing area.
Unfortunately, many family members and loved ones take trips and spend money in order visit the inmate, just to be turned away upon arrival because their loved one has been transferred to a new facility. DOCCS does not tell family members when an inmate is being transferred and since the inmates are locked down, they cannot phone home. Allowing an inmate to call home prior to being transferred can help relieve the stress that inmates and their families feel around the time of transfer and can make the transition to a new prison easier. Family members can avoid the financial burden of visiting the wrong facility and/or sending packages that may become lost in the mail. The electronic notice ensures that the next of kin or personal representative is notified in case they missed the call.
This bill follows current DOCCS practice of allowing an inmate to phone home once the transfer is completed but expands that practice by permit- ting inmates to call their loved ones immediately prior to being trans- ferred too.
Fiscal implications
None. Inmates call their families collect.
Local fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth after it shall have become a
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.