What's happening
This bill requires unredacted reports on inmate deaths, except for confidential medical or behavioral health information, to be shared more broadly.
Why it matters
Increases transparency and accountability. by ensuring that unredacted reports (excluding only protected medical and behavioral health information) about inmate deaths are shared with a broader set of oversight bodies and stakeholders, not just the internal commission.
May reveal patterns or systemic issues. in correctional facilities, since more detailed and less-redacted information will be available to external recipients—potentially leading to stronger oversight and reform recommendations to prevent future deaths.
Limits the ability to withhold information. , establishing that redactions can only be made to comply with state and federal confidentiality laws, which could reduce the risk of officials using broad or vague privacy claims to obscure details about deaths in custody.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Open Inmate Death Reports
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 32
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Substituted by A4336
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.630
- 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.
Require Full Inmate Death Reports
Signed by Governor · Sponsor David Weprin
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2692
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 28, 2019
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 the report the correction medical review board is required to issue regarding the death of any inmate
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 47 of the correction law, as added by chapter 865 of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
(d) Upon review of the cause of death and circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate, the board shall submit its report thereon to the commission and to the recipients of the annual report pursuant to subdivision seventeen of section forty-five of this article and, where appropriate, make recommendations to prevent the recurrence of such deaths to the commission and the administrator of the appropriate correctional facility. Such report shall not be redacted except as otherwise required to protect confidential medical records and behavioral health records in accordance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08549-01-9
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 the report the correction medical review board is required to issue regarding the death of any inmate
Purpose
This bill provides that the State Commission of Correction shall only redact its death review to the extent required by state and federal law to protect confidential medical and behavioral health records.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends Correction Law (47) (1) (d). Section 2 provides an effective date.
Justification
The Assembly and Senate have legislative oversight of state and local correctional facilities. The State Commission of Correction conducts reviews of all inmate deaths in New York correctional facilities and writes reports on the reviews. When the legislature seeks copies of the death reviews, the reports are so heavily redacted it is often impossi- ble to tell what happened or why an inmate died. Instead of redacting words or phrases, entire paragraphs and complete pages are routinely blacked out in the reports provided to members of the legislature. This bill would limit redaction of such reports to the requirements of HIPPA and other laws concerning confidentiality of medical and mental health information. All other information would remain unredacted in the report so that the legislature could understand what is happening in New York correctional facilities in order to perform its duties.
Fiscal implications
None
Local fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.