Raise Inmate Pay

Section 2 is the effective date.

Justification

Most inmates in New York state prisons receive a payment of sixty cents per day for the work that they perform, including staffing the prison libraries and kitchens, acting as clerks and assistants for programs throughout the facility, working as classroom aides and peer tutors, hospice aids and janitors. Inmates assigned to Corcraft industrial jobs make a little more money than other inmates, around a dollar eighty per day, for manufacturing furniture and goods for use by state agencies. Unassigned inmates who cannot perform work because of illness or disa- bility receive a stipend of forty-five cents per day. The inmates perform vital services within the prison system, while developing work ethic and gaining some experience that they can use when they re-enter society.

Although some inmates receive money from their families, many others are entirely dependent upon the money they earn from their prison work assignments. The money that they earn goes in part to pay restitution and court fees and in part to buy commissary purchases or catalog purchases like ethnic food supplies, books, personal hygiene items and other necessities and small luxuries, or gifts for their children or other family members. Even though the wages are low, they act as a real incentive for the inmate population to engage in productive activities.

New York's inmates earn among the lowest wages in any correctional system in the country. An inmate in New York making sixty cents a day must work four hours and forty minutes to buy a stamp. Commissary prices rise every year, but inmate compensation has remained the same for decades. The last time inmates in New York received a pay increase was in 1993. While it would not be practical or appropriate to pay inmates minimum wage for the work they perform, they should be able to make modest commissary purchases with the money that they earn. Most inmates come from poor families, so even small amounts of money are a welcome addition to their personal economy and provide real relief to their families who may otherwise sacrifice visits or telephone contact with their incarcerated family members in order to send them money.

In drafting this bill, we looked to other states to see how much they pay inmates for their labor. We matched New York inmate wages to those of New Jersey, our nearest neighbor. New Jersey pays a minimum of one dollar twenty cents per day, exactly twice the wage paid by New York. This bill adopts New Jersey's minimum and provides for cost of living raises every five years. New York inmates, the majority of whom are people of color, should not be treated as free labor and should earn a wage comparable to that of inmates in other states. A small labor surcharge could be added to state purchases of Corcraft items in order to cover the increase and to more accurately reflect the cost of production without relying on underpaying inmates for their labor.

Legislative history

Assembly 03/27/18 reported referred to ways and means, reintroduced 2019. New bill in the Senate.

Fiscal implications

Approximately 2.75 million dollars per year

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act will take effect on year after it becomes law.