What's happening
This bill allows Greene County to partner with a neighboring county to share jail facilities, operations, and inmate housing.
Why it matters
Could improve jail conditions or services. by allowing Greene County to combine resources with a neighboring county, potentially leading to better facilities, more efficient operations, and improved inmate management.
May result in cost savings for taxpayers. since counties could share the financial burden of construction, maintenance, and operations instead of duplicating these efforts separately.
Clarifies legal and jurisdictional issues. by specifying that a shared jail is officially recognized as the county jail for both Greene and the partner county, ensuring that courts and law enforcement can operate without confusion.
Could impact where inmates are held and where hearings occur. , which might affect travel distances for families, attorneys, and officials, as well as how parole violations and other legal processes are administered.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Let Counties Share Jails
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to local government
- Print number 6267a
- Amend (t) and recommit to local government
- Referred to local government
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.
Share County Jail Facilities
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Joseph Lentol
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6267--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 31, 2019
Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT in relation to authorizing Greene county to enter into an agreement with a contiguous county to share the construction, financing, improvement, maintenance and/or housing of persons in the custody of the sheriff of a county jail
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. (a) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, Greene county may enter into an agreement with a contiguous county to share the construction, financing, improvement, maintenance and/or housing of persons in the custody of the sheriff of a county jail. Any such shared county jail shall be physically located in Greene county or such contiguous county. Any agreement made pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with the provisions of article 5-G of the general municipal law. For the purposes of this section, the term "contiguous county" shall, with respect to counties, mean and include "contiguous" as described (with respect to towns and villages) in subdivision 4 of section 750 of the general municipal law.
(b) A shared county jail established pursuant to this section shall be considered the county jail of Greene county and such contiguous county for the purposes of any relevant provision of law and be considered a local correctional facility, as such term is defined in subdivision 16 of section 2 of the correction law, for all purposes.
(c) For purposes of subdivision 2 of section 70.20 of the penal law and any other relevant provision of the criminal procedure law and any other law, such shared county jail shall be considered to be located in Greene county and such contiguous county and be considered the county jail of the county for all courts located in Greene county and such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13047-03-9
S. 6267--A 2
contiguous county. Further, a person taken into custody pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 259-i of the executive law may be incarcerated in such shared county jail for an arrest occurring in Greene county or such contiguous county and, if a local revocation hearing is to be held pursuant to paragraph (e) of such subdivision 3, the location of such shared county jail shall be considered in determining whether such facility is reasonably near the place of the alleged violation or arrest.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act in relation to authorizing Greene county to enter into an agreement with a contiguous county to share the construction, financing, improvement, maintenance and/or housing of persons in the custody of the sheriff of a county jail
Justification
In February 2018, the New York State Commission of correction issued a report to Governor Cuomo in which it deemed the Greene County Jail in Catskill one as the five most problematic jails in New York State. Constructed in the early 1900s, the report noted the extensive physical deterioration of the facility and recommended that it be replaced. The following April, inmates were transferred to jails in surrounding coun- ties and the facility was closed. In September, the Greene County Legis- lature voted to approve the construction of a $47 million dollar jail. Since then, citing the expense of the new facility and increased cost to local tax payers, some residents have called instead for the creation of a regional jail to be shared with a neighboring county.
New York State and County law require that each county maintain a jail, but it is unclear as to whether each county must maintain its own facil- ity or whether paying into a regional facility would satisfy the legal requirement. This measure would authorize Green County to enter into an agreement with a neighboring county to share the construction, financ- ing, improvement and/or maintenance of a county jail.
Historically low, the Greene County inmate population will likely shrink further under the State's new bail reform laws. Allowing the County to share the expense of housing inmates with a neighboring county will ease the tax burden on local residents now and in the future, as well as allow the money earmarked for the project to be used in other useful ways.
Prior legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.