What's happening
This bill requires state and local correctional facilities in New York to provide inmate visitation programs, ensuring opportunities for in-person contact and equitable policies for visitors.
Why it matters
Prioritizes inmate well-being and rehabilitation. by promoting personal contact with family, friends, clergy, and volunteers—connections shown to reduce recidivism and support smoother reentry into society after release.
Requires fair and accessible visitation policies. , mandating visiting hours that accommodate people traveling from across New York, and ensuring visit lengths are sufficient to maintain meaningful family and community bonds.
Limits reliance on video visitation. by stating it can supplement, but not replace, in-person visits—addressing concerns about facilities using remote visits to restrict face-to-face contact.
Addresses equity and transparency. by requiring published, fair overcrowding policies that consider the distance visitors travel, aiming to avoid ad hoc or discriminatory restrictions on visitation access.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Expand Prison Visitation Rights
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 32
History
- Referred to crime victims, crime and correction
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.393
- Substituted for A2483
- Referred to ways and means
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 41–19
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.241
- 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.
Expand Prison Visitation Rights
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor David Weprin
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2698
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 establishment of an inmate visitation program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 138-b to read as follows:
§ 138-b. Inmate visitation program. State and local correctional facilities shall provide inmate visitation programs which give inmates opportunities for personal contact with relatives, friends, clergy, volunteers and other persons to promote better institutional adjustment and better community adjustment upon release. Such program shall include, but not be limited to, (a) visiting hours that are reasonably likely to accommodate persons traveling from within the state, (b) visits of sufficient duration so that visitors and inmates will be able to maintain relationship bonds, and (c) a published overcrowding policy that is equitable with due consideration to the distance traveled by the visitor. Video visitation may supplement, but shall not take the place of, in-person visitation. No inmate is to be visited against his or her will by any person.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08552-01-9
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 establishment of an inmate visitation program
Purpose
To establish the inmate visiting program in state and local correctional facilities
Summary of provisions
Section 1 adds a new section 138-b to the correction law establishing a section authorizing inmate visits.
Section 2 provides an effective date.
Justification
Research has shown that inmates who receive visits from family, friends and volunteers are significantly less likely to recidivate than inmates who do not receive visits. DOCCS has long allowed visitation in its facilities, although nothing in law requires them to do so. The benefits of an inmate visitation program include but are not limited to: provid- ing jobs for correctional staff, incentivizing program participation, increasing inmate morale and facility safety, and facilitating reentry through the preservation of family bonds.
This bill ensures that video visitation may not take the place of in-person visitation. The goal of the visitation program is to provide institutional safety, inmate rehabilitation and public safety. This legislation also calls for a policy to be created to facilitate visita- tions during high peak times.
Legislative history
Passed Assembly 2017, ordered to 3d reading 2018
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect one hundred and twenty 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.