Protects the rights of people in prisons, jails and forensic facilities; limits the use of cell or segregated confinement; grants access to tablets, visitation, and certain items.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8364
SPONSOR: Forrest TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to the rights of people
in prisons, jails, and forensic facilities
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill aims to accomplish two goals: (1) to clearly place the rights
of, incarcerated people and their families in New York within the frame-
work and protections of international human rights law and norms, and
(2) to correct, clarify, and establish certain specific protections
relating to how incarcerated individuals and their families are treated
within New York's prisons, jails, and secure forensic facilities,
including relating to visitation, use of segregated confinement, •clUe
process rights, packages, and other matters.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 states the name by which the bill shall be known, which is the
"Rights Behind Bars; Protecting the Rights of People in Prisons, Jails,
and Forensic Facilities, and Their Loved Ones, in New York State Act.".
Section 2 sets forth, in five parts, the legislative findings and
intent: PART A recognizes the systematic lack of human rights
protections for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones in New
York, and the necessity for the legislature to clarify rights that exist
under New York law but are not consistently followed, to close gaps in
existing law, and to enshrine into New York law well-established princi-
ples and obligations under international human rights law.
PART B cites a sampling of relevant studies, reports, and legal deci-
sions which support the need for this legislation.
PART C cites relevant provisions of the New York and U.S. consti-
tutions, as well as key portions of international human rights law docu-
ments relating to the rights of incarcerated people, including the
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant
of Civil and Political Rights, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of
Prisoners, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the United Nations Standing Mini-
mum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules.)
PART D focuses on particular sections of the Mandela Rules which provide
guidance as to the treatment of people who are incarcerated, including,
Rule 3 (prohibiting, generally, actions which "aggravate the suffering
inherent" in cutting people off from the outside world and depriving
them of their liberty), Rule 4 (requiring that incarceration be used to
"ensure the reintegration
of incarcerated persons into society upon
release"), Rule 5 (requiring carceral facilities to "minimize any
differences between prison life and life at liberty that tend to lesson
.. the respect due to their dignity as human beings"), Rule 58.1 requir-
ing that people be allowed regular communication with family and
friends, Rule 22 requiring the rights of people in prison to nutritious
and wholesome food, and Rule 82 prohibiting any use of force against an
incarcerated person that is not strictly necessary."
PART E notes specific areas which have arisen in recent years in New
York correctional facilities, including systemic violations of the HALT
Solitary Confinement Law, improper and unjustified restrictions on pack-
ages, visits, and mail, staff abuse and brutality, and other issues, and
states the intent of the legislation, namely, to clarify and enforce the
human rights of incarcerated individuals in New York.
Section 3 amends correction law section 2 by the addition of eleven
paragraphs which define the following terms: "contact visit", "visitor",
"cell", "cell confinement", "out-of-cell", "congregate recreation",
"core programs", "represented", "personal property", "secure facility",
and "incarcerated individual."
Section 4 amends correction law section 2 (23) through the addition of
three paragraphs: (a) allows cell confinement beyond seventeen hours per
day for medical or mental health treatment only with determination that
such confinement is medically necessary, b) renders any such confinement
null if not medically necessary and if the environment is not as least
restrictive as appropriate, and (c) sets forth items and activities
incarcerated to which persons in such medically necessary confinement
must have access.
Section 5 amends correction law section 2 (33) related to the phrase
"special populations" to make clear via examples what is already
required under settled law per the HALT Solitary Confinement Law that
all people with mental health diagnosis, on the mental health caseload,
with any intellectual, developmental, or cognitive impairment, with
traumatic brain injury or organic brain syndrome, who have been on the
mental health case-load or had a mental health diagnosis within the
previous year, or who have had a diagnosis of intellectual, develop-
mental, cognitive, physical, or sensorial disability with the previous
year are protected. In addition, this section clarifies and extends the
prohibition of imposing segregated confinement on individuals who are
pregnant or in the post-partum recovery period or are caring for a
child.
Section 6 amends correction law section 137 (3) by requiring incarcerat-
ed individuals be provided: weather appropriate clothing, sufficient
quality of a variety of fresh food to meet Department of Health guide-
lines, adequate mealtimes, and applicable wheelchair assistance.
Section 7 amends correction law section 137 (5) by barring any use of
force by staff against an incarcerated person except as a last resort
after exhausting de-escalation techniques and where no alternatives
exist to prevent imminent physical harm to another person, major proper-
ty damage that raises an imminent safety or security risk, or escape.
Even when authorized, staff shall only use the minimum amount of force
required. This section also specifically bans the use of steel batons,
prohibits retaliation, forbids staff from providing any false informa-
tion in any official report, and makes all staff mandatory reporters of
any observed misconduct by other staff.
Section 8 amends correction law section 137 (6) law by the addition of
sever. paragraphs:
(p) outlines visitation rights; including allowance for four in-person
visitors every day for at least several hours per incarcerated individ-
ual, access to showers prior to a visit, and related visitor rights.
q) allows incarcerated individuals to receive packages in a timely
manner, by mail or visitors, and eliminates any requirement that pack-
ages be from or delivered by vendors.
(r) emphasizes HAIT's requirement of out-of-cell time and group program-
ming by providing all incarcerated persons, apart from those in segre-
gated confinement, access to at least fourteen hours of out-of-cell time
per day, congregate programming and activities, and recreation.
(s) requires that any correspondence incarcerated individuals receive
must be delivered in its original form.
(t) gives all incarcerated individuals access to anything technological-
ly available, including use of personal tablets or devices, and free use
of functions within that device to increase general connections and
accessibility. This provision also requires that all personal phone
calls and e-mails be free.
(u) ensures commissaries are financially accessible and contain nutri-
tious options.
(v) permits incarcerated individuals to bring state court actions for
any violations of this section.
Section 9 amends correction law section 137 (6)(j)(ii) by adding two new
clauses: (A) clarifying that time spent in certain locations does not
'constitute "out-of-cell" time, such as a "recreation area' contiguous
to a cell, and (B) requiring that if a person voluntarily chooses not to
participate in congregate out-of-cell time, they shall be offered access
to comparable individual programming, recreation, and individual time
away from their cells.
Section 10 amends correction law 137 (6)(j)(v) by requiring that indi-
viduals in residential rehabilitation units have access to the same
programs available to the general population.
Section 11 amends correction law section 137 (6)(j)(vii) prohibiting the
use of restraints when indiViduals are participating in out-of-cell
activities unless an individualized assessment is made at the time of or
immediately following an incident that the use of restraints are
required for the individual due to an imminent risk of serious physical
injury to self or others. The assessment must be memorialized in writ-
ing. A new subsection A requires the use of the least restrictive
restraint possible for no more than the necessary amount of time. A new
subsection B limits the use of restraints to the day applied unless a
determination based on concrete evidence finds the contrary necessary. A
new subsection C provides limits and regulations to continued use of
restraints.
Section 12 amends correction law section 137(6)(k) by the addition of
three new subparagraphs:
(v) sets specific limits to segregated confinement and residential reha-
bilitation unit times, regardless of the number of charges associated
with the incident at hand.
(vi) requires that any imposition of a disciplinary sanction must be
based on a finding of guilt of the charged act or acts by clear and
convincing evidence.
(vii) requires hearing officers to engage in a meaningful fact-finding
process, with detailed statements of evidence and reasons why the incar-
cerated individual's evidence or defense was credited or rejected.
Section 13 amends correction law section 137 (6)(1) by the addition of
five new subparagraphs:
(i) provides for notice of the rights to representation for persons'
facing placement in segregated confinement or an RRU.
(ii) requires people incarcerated and their representation, if applica-
ble, to be provided all evidence relating to their charge and/or hearing
as quickly as possible and no later than forty-eight hours prior to said
hearing.
(iii) lists the rights incarcerated people and their representatives, if
applicable, have during hearings.
(iv) requires a recording of all disciplinary hearings, and for such to
be provided to the incarcerated person and their representative, if
applicable.
(v) allows for time spent in segregated confinement or a residential
rehabilitation unit preceding a hearing to be credited as either the
sanction imposed or as good time behavior allowance time, contingent on
the outcome.
Section 14 amends correction law section 137 (6)(o) by establishing the
information that must be included in published monthly reports from the
department. The amendment also outlines a detailed list of data and
factors which must be included in said reports.
Section 15 contains a severability clause.
Section 16 provides that the provisions of this act shall take effect
thirty days after becoming law.
JUSTIFICATION:
This "Rights Behind Bars" bill was developed by the sponsors in close
collaboration with experts in the functioning of New York's jails and
prisons, including legal experts, formerly incarcerated individuals,
families of incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals, currently
incarcerated individuals, and advocacy organizations focused on the
rights of people behind bars in New York State. In addition, the Senate
sponsor, who is the Chair of the Standing Committee on Crime Victims,
Crime and Correction, has a significant amount of direct contact with
incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people and their families and
loved ones, based on numerous in-person visits to correctional facili-
ties throughout the State and, further, based on the high level of tele-
phone calls and letters the Senator's office receives from incarcerated
or formerly incarcerated individuals or their families.
All of this input led inescapably to two conclusions relating to the
rights of people behind bars: (1) there are numerous important issues
where the law of New York State is either not as clear as it could be or
is not being implemented properly, to the detriment of people who are
most directly impacted by incarceration, and (2) a more comprehensive
vision, framework, and approach is needed in this State to ensure that
the rights of people behind bars are protected.
This bill, therefore, addresses, clarifies, and corrects numerous
specific issues in New York - e.g., visitation rights, mail and package
access, programming, excessive and unjustified uses of force by staff,
misuse of segregated confinement, due process rights, food and meals,
and more. In addition, in order to provide the appropriate overall
framework for understanding and protecting the rights of people behind
bars in New York, this bill also places these rights within a comprehen-
sive framework established by international human rights law:
This bill is both pragmatic in addressing a number of specific issues
that frequently arise in New York's jails and prisons and is visionary
in emphasizing the human rights of those behind bars and recognizing
that New York is significantly out-of-compliance with accepted norms and
rules 0.f international human rights law as applicable to people held in
custody.
The enactment of this bill is essential.
All New Yorkers have a right to expect that people held in custody are
treated fairly, as human beings, and are not subjected to brutality,
racism, denials of rights, interferences with visits or other forms of
contact with the outside world, and are provided meaningful access to
the programs and educational resources needed in order to return to
their communities safely.
In addition, New Yorkers should be, and are, shocked by the huge amounts
of money the State is ordered to pay out in settlements and court
verdicts in cases relating, among other things, to brutality from
correctional staff. As this bill was being finalized for filing, for
example, word came of a $9.25 million verdict against the New York pris-
on system in a case of a man killed by the use by correctional staff of
unnecessary and excessive force in one of the State's prisons. This
court verdict is not unique, though it is large.
The sponsors submit that if this bill were enacted, it would go a long
way towards improving conditions within New York's jails and prisons,
would result in significantly reduced violence, would make a huge
difference in the preparation of individuals for successful re-entry to
the community, and would improve family ties and relationships. All of
this would have an impact on enhancing the human rights and human digni-
ty of all. It would also result in significant cost savings for the
State.
RACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
The long-standing racial disparities in New York's jails and prison
systems are well-documented. The significant over-representation of
people of color in New York's jails and prisons means, regardless of any
other factors, that people of color are disproportionately subjected to
violations of their basic human rights. When the actual and overt racism
experienced by many people in jail and prison is also taken into
account, it is clear that the continued failure of New York State to
properly protect the safety, dignity, and human rights of incarcerated
people is a major crisis with deep racial components.
The enactment of this bill, with its corrections and clarifications of
many specific issues as well as its placement of these issues within the
larger framework of international human rights law, would have a signif-
icant impact on reducing the racism experienced by so many in the jails
and priscns of this state.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined. Implementation of these amendments will decrease
instances of human rights violations, thereby significantly reducing
litigation and judgments against the state. In addition, by reducing the
trauma commonly experienced by people who are incarcerated, this bill
will further save the state and localities money by significantly reduc-
ing recidivism.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8364
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
December 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FORREST, BURDICK, GALLAGHER, MAMDANI, SHRESTHA --
read once and referred to the Committee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to the rights of people
in prisons, jails, and forensic facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "rights behind bars; protecting the rights of people in prisons,
3 jails, and forensic facilities, and their loved ones, in New York state
4 act".
5 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
6 declares:
7 A. Incarcerated individuals, their families, and loved ones have human
8 rights. The legislature finds that New York's prisons and jails system-
9 atically fail to recognize and protect the human rights of incarcerated
10 individuals, their families, and their loved ones. While some of these
11 rights are protected by the law and constitution of New York State, and
12 the law and constitution of the United States, it is well-documented
13 that the rights protected under existing law are often not recognized in
14 practice and that there are gaps in existing law. The intent of this
15 act is to: (i) make clear some of the rights that already exist under
16 New York law but are not being consistently followed, (ii) close some of
17 the gaps in existing law, and (iii) enshrine into New York State law
18 some of the well-established principles and obligations under interna-
19 tional human rights law.
20 B. Numerous recent studies, reports, and court decisions have docu-
21 mented systemic, widespread, and persistent human rights violations in
22 New York's correctional facilities. These include: NYS Inspector General
23 Lucy Lang, Racial Disparities in the Administration of Discipline in New
24 York State Prisons, November 2022; Neff, Santo, and Meagher, How A 'Blue
25 Wall' Inside New York State Prisons Protects Abusive Guards, The Mars-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13213-04-3
A. 8364 2
1 hall Project in partnership with the New York Times, May 2023; Neff,
2 Santo, and Meagher, In New York Prisons Guards Who Brutalize Prisoners
3 Rarely Get Fired, The Marshall Project in partnership with the New York
4 Times, May 2023; Law, V., The Worst Prison in New York State, Prison
5 Legal News, March 2022; Gelardi and Brown, State Prisons Are Routinely
6 Violating New York's Landmark Solitary Confinement Law, New York Focus,
7 September 2022; Bryant, 19 People Have Died From NYC Jails in 2022, The
8 Vera Project, December 2022; Weill-Greenberg, Disabled and Abandoned in
9 New York State Prisons, The Nation, October 2021; Marcius, Hundreds of
10 Women Set to Sue New York Over Allegations of Prison Sex Abuse, New York
11 Times, November 2022; Monitor's Reports in Nunez, et al. v. NYC Depart-
12 ment of Correction, et al., 11-cv-05845 (LTS) (SDNY) (multiple reports
13 issued by Court-appointed Monitor as part of the settlement of a class
14 action lawsuit relating to conditions in NYC jails on Rikers Island,
15 starting in 2016 and continuing to the present); and Post-Visit Briefing
16 Reports issued periodically by the Correctional Association of New York
17 ("CANY") pursuant to their statutory authority to conduct monitoring
18 visits in NYS prisons (Nine Post-Visit Briefings were issued by CANY
19 from June 2021 through December 2022. Among the findings during this
20 period were that 45% of incarcerated individuals interviewed reported
21 witnessing or experiencing verbal, physical, or sexual abuse by prison
22 staff, and 36% reported witnessing or experiencing racialized abuse by
23 prison staff.).
24 C. Some of the human rights of incarcerated individuals in New York
25 State are protected by provisions in the New York State Constitution,
26 including, Article I, sections 5 (prohibiting cruel and unusual punish-
27 ment), 6 (right to due process), 8 (right to speak freely), 11 (guaran-
28 teeing equal protection of the laws), and 12 (prohibiting unreasonable
29 searches and seizures); the United States Constitution, including the
30 1st Amendment (free speech), 4th Amendment (prohibition of unreasonable
31 searches and seizures), 8th Amendment (prohibition of cruel and unusual
32 punishments), and 14th Amendment (guaranteeing equal protection of the
33 law and due process of law). However, these provisions and laws do not
34 go far enough to protect the rights of people incarcerated in New York.
35 The intent of this act, in part, is to incorporate into New York law
36 additional human rights protections for incarcerated people as enshrined
37 in key documents included in the body of international human rights law,
38 including, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, recognizing
39 basic human rights applicable to all people, including, in Article 5,
40 the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or
41 degrading treatment or punishment; the International Covenant of Civil
42 and Political Rights, including Article 7 (No one shall be subjected to
43 torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment), and
44 Article 10 (All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with
45 humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person);
46 the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (General Assembly
47 Resolution 45/111); the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
48 Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the United Nations Stand-
49 ard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela
50 Rules); and other applicable and binding principles of international
51 human rights law.
52 D. The fundamental approach of international human rights law to the
53 treatment of people in prison is expressed in Rule 3 of the Mandela
54 Rules, which recognizes that "imprisonment and other measures that
55 result in cutting off persons from the outside world are afflictive by
56 the very fact of taking from these persons the right of self-determina-
A. 8364 3
1 tion by depriving them of their liberty. Therefore the prison system
2 shall not, except as incidental to justifiable separation or the mainte-
3 nance of discipline, aggravate the suffering inherent in such a situ-
4 ation." In turn, Rule 4 requires that incarceration must be used to
5 "ensure the reintegration of such persons into society upon release so
6 that they can lead a law-abiding and self-supporting life" and Rule 5
7 thus requires prisons and jails to "minimize any differences between
8 prison life and life at liberty that tend to lessen the responsibility
9 of the {incarcerated people} or the respect due to their dignity as
10 human beings."
11 To effectuate these rights, the Mandela Rules require, among other
12 protections, that incarcerated people be allowed regular communication
13 with their family and friends, including through visits and through
14 writing, telecommunication, electronic means, and digital means (Rule
15 58.1), that people in prison have a right to "food of nutritional value
16 adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared
17 and served", and that any use of force against an incarcerated individ-
18 ual be "no more than is strictly necessary" (Rule 82). They also estab-
19 lish basic rights related to access to programming and treatment,
20 connections to community entities, and restrictions on the use of
21 restraints.
22 E. In keeping with these legislative findings, this act aims to clear-
23 ly recognize and establish the broad human rights framework that
24 protects all incarcerated individuals in New York State. This act
25 specifically addresses certain issues that have arisen in New York pris-
26 ons and jails in recent years. That has included: violations of the
27 HALT Solitary Confinement Law; restrictions on packages, visits, and
28 mail; staff abuse and brutality; and denials of other basic rights.
29 In regard to some of these issues, the law is already clear, but New
30 York's prisons and jails are not consistently following it. For example,
31 despite clarity concerning who qualifies as disabled under the HALT
32 Solitary Confinement Law, and who, therefore, cannot be placed in segre-
33 gated confinement, the NYS Department of Corrections and Community
34 Supervision has consistently placed people with disabilities in segre-
35 gated confinement. The intent of the amendments to paragraph (c) of
36 subdivision 33 of section 2 of the correction law made by section five
37 of this act is not to define disability, which is already in the law,
38 but rather to make clear via examples what is already required. Similar-
39 ly, while the correction law is already clear that people facing possi-
40 ble placement in segregated confinement or facing Tier III tickets must
41 have access to meaningful representation, including by any lawyer or law
42 student; that hearing officers must conduct individualized assessments
43 of the fact to determine if the allegations meet the threshold require-
44 ments for placement in segregated confinement or alternatives; and that
45 people in alternative disciplinary units must have access to out-of-cell
46 time in group settings, access to core programs available in the general
47 population; and a presumption against the use of restraints unless an
48 individualized determination is made finding a significant and unreason-
49 able risk, prisons and jails are not complying with these provisions and
50 so this act reiterates and clarifies these requirements.
51 This act is not intended as an all-inclusive compendium of the human
52 rights protections afforded to people in jail or prison under interna-
53 tional law, as the intent is to correct and clarify certain specific
54 rights within the overall human rights framework. Among other
55 protections, this act aims to ensure that people have a right to visit
56 with their loved ones, to have regular communication with their loved
A. 8364 4
1 ones, to receive care packages from their loved ones, to have access to
2 healthy and nutritious food, to be free from staff brutality and retali-
3 ation, to be free from the torture of prolonged solitary confinement,
4 and to have access to real and meaningful out-of-cell group programming
5 and engagement. Recognition of these basic human rights will alleviate
6 suffering of incarcerated individuals, strengthen ties with families and
7 communities, better prepare people for release, increase safety in pris-
8 ons and jails and in outside communities, and unequivocally establish as
9 the policy of the State of New York that brutality, racism, sexual
10 abuse, harassment, and denials of access to family and loved ones have
11 no place in New York's jails and prisons and will not be tolerated.
12 § 3. Section 2 of the correction law is amended by adding eleven new
13 subdivisions 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45 to read as
14 follows:
15 35. "Contact visit" means a visit between an incarcerated individual
16 and one or more visitors in a visiting room or equivalent space in which
17 the incarcerated individual and their visitor are in the same unob-
18 structed space as each other without physical barriers between the
19 incarcerated individual and their visitor or visitors, that is conducive
20 to meaningful social interaction and activity, and with the ability to
21 interact freely with their visitor, including but not limited to the
22 ability to communicate freely, hold hands, hug, kiss, have other appro-
23 priate physical contact, purchase and share food and drinks from the
24 vending machine, and take photographs together.
25 36. "Visitor" means any individual who comes to visit a person incar-
26 cerated in a correctional facility or secure facility, including, but
27 not limited to, a family member, friend, advocate, or loved one.
28 37. "Cell" means any room, area or space that is used or is intended
29 to be used by an incarcerated individual for sleep, or that is not a
30 shared space conducive to meaningful congregate social interaction among
31 many people in a group setting where an individual is held for any
32 purpose.
33 38. "Cell confinement" means being in a cell.
34 39. "Out-of-cell" means being in a space outside of, and in an area
35 away from, a cell, in a group setting with other people all in the same
36 shared space without physical barriers between people that is conducive
37 to meaningful and congregate social interaction and activity.
38 40. "Congregate recreation" means out-of-cell recreation in a group
39 setting with other people all in the same shared space that takes place
40 outside, weather permitting, in an open yard without being caged or
41 covered, and when weather does not permit or when an incarcerated indi-
42 vidual so chooses, in a non-caged gymnasium or equivalent.
43 41. "Core programs" means any and all programs that can be assigned by
44 a department program committee, any and all required department
45 programs, and any and all programs that are considered for purposes of
46 good time, merit time, other time allowance, parole release, or other
47 release mechanisms. Core programs shall include, but not be limited to,
48 academic classes, vocational programs, transitional services, alcohol
49 and substance abuse treatment, aggression replacement training, sex
50 offense counseling and treatment, and any other assigned or required
51 programs.
52 42. "Represented" means an incarcerated individual having an attorney
53 (licensed in any jurisdiction of the United States), law student with
54 supervision by any attorney regardless of whether the attorney is affil-
55 iated with a law school, paralegal, or other incarcerated individual
56 provide representation at any and all stages of a hearing and appeal,
A. 8364 5
1 including but not limited to opening and closing statements, presenta-
2 tion of evidence, calling and questioning witnesses, cross-examining
3 witnesses, reading of the disposition, sentencing, and appeal, with the
4 choice by the incarcerated individual and their representative of either
5 having the representative physically present at any and all stages of
6 the hearing in the same room and/or participating through videoconfer-
7 ence.
8 43. "Personal property" means any and all property that has been
9 lawfully in the possession of an incarcerated individual, including but
10 not limited to, for the purposes of state correctional facilities all
11 items listed in department directive forty-nine hundred thirteen as of
12 June fourteenth, two thousand twenty-two and for purposes of local
13 correctional facilities and secure facilities all items permitted under
14 applicable rules and regulations to each facility as of October twenti-
15 eth, two thousand twenty-three. If a person has a static tablet,
16 personal property includes a static tablet and the person shall be able
17 to use that tablet, in addition to any other tablet, for purposes of
18 making phone calls, emails, and other uses. If a person is at a facility
19 that allows televisions, personal property includes televisions.
20 Personal property shall also include typewriters, assistive devices,
21 approved electronic devices, books-on-tape players, and any other prop-
22 erty that an incarcerated individual has lawfully had in their
23 possession.
24 44. "Secure facility" means (a) all forensic mental health facilities,
25 including those that hold people pursuant to section 330.20 or 730.50 of
26 the criminal procedure law or 14 NYCRR Part 57, and including but not
27 limited to the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center, Kirby Forensic
28 Psychiatric Center, Rochester Regional Forensic Unit, and Northeast
29 Regional Forensic Unit; (b) all secure treatment facilities, as defined
30 in subdivision (o) of section 10.03 of the mental hygiene law, including
31 but not limited to the Central New York Psychiatric Center and St.
32 Lawrence Psychiatric Center; and (c) all secure mental health facilities
33 holding people pursuant to section four hundred two or five hundred
34 eight of this chapter.
35 45. "Incarcerated individual" means any person confined in a state or
36 local correctional facility or secure facility.
37 § 4. Subdivision 23 of section 2 of the correction law is amended by
38 adding three new paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) to read as follows:
39 (a) A person may only be placed in cell confinement beyond seventeen
40 hours a day for purposes of medical or mental health treatment if a
41 licensed medical professional determines that the cell confinement
42 itself is medically necessary to carry out the medical or mental health
43 treatment, such as for purposes of suicide watch, medical isolation, or
44 medical quarantine. Such determination shall be documented in writing
45 and shall be reviewed and reauthorized by a licensed medical profes-
46 sional at least once every forty-eight hours.
47 (b) A person may only be held in such confinement pursuant to para-
48 graph (a) of this subdivision for as limited a time as medically neces-
49 sary, as exclusively determined by medical or mental health staff, and
50 in the least restrictive environment that is medically appropriate, as
51 determined exclusively by medical or mental health staff.
52 (c) Cell confinement pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision
53 shall be in an appropriate space conducive to medical or mental health
54 treatment. While in such confinement a person shall at least have access
55 to: (i) a tablet pursuant to paragraph (t) of subdivision six of section
56 one hundred thirty-seven of this chapter unless a licensed medical
A. 8364 6
1 professional determines that access to a tablet would be harmful to the
2 person based on medical or mental health-related reasons; (ii) his or
3 her full complement of property unless a licensed medical professional
4 determines that access to a particular item is inappropriate for medical
5 or mental health-related reasons; and (iii) core programs and other
6 programming and engagement available to people incarcerated in the
7 general population but done in a manner consistent with the medical and
8 mental health treatment being received, such as at a physical distance
9 determined appropriate by medical or mental health staff.
10 § 5. Subdivision 33 of section 2 of the correction law, as added by
11 chapter 93 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
12 33. "Special populations" means any person: (a) twenty-one years of
13 age or younger; (b) fifty-five years of age or older; (c) with a disa-
14 bility as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision twenty-one of section
15 two hundred ninety-two of the executive law, including but not limited
16 to: (i) all people with any mental health diagnosis; (ii) all people on
17 the office of mental health caseload currently; (iii) all people with
18 any intellectual, developmental, or cognitive diagnosis; (iv) all people
19 with any physical disability diagnosis or mobility impairment; (v) all
20 people with any sensorial disability diagnosis; and (vi) all people with
21 traumatic brain injury or organic brain syndrome; (d) who had been on
22 the office of mental health caseload, or had any mental health diagno-
23 sis, within the previous year; (e) who had a diagnosis of intellectual,
24 developmental, cognitive, physical, or sensorial disability within the
25 previous year; or [(d)] (f) who is pregnant, in the first [eight] twelve
26 weeks of the post-partum recovery period after giving birth, experienc-
27 ing a miscarriage, or terminating a pregnancy, or longer if medically
28 necessary, or caring for a child in a correctional institution pursuant
29 to [subdivisions] subdivision two or three of section six hundred eleven
30 of this chapter.
31 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 137 of the correction law, as amended by
32 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
33 3. Each incarcerated individual shall be entitled to clothing suited
34 to the season and weather conditions, including but not limited to
35 appropriate winter weather clothing, multiple layers of clothing, and
36 the ability to wear personal clothing under state issued clothing when
37 going to programs, recreation, visits, facility medical, or medical
38 trips when the temperature is forty-five degrees or below, and to a
39 sufficient quantity of quality, wholesome and nutritious food, including
40 a full range and variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, consistent with
41 nutritional guideline requirements developed by the department of
42 health. Medically necessary diets, including but not limited to diabetic
43 and heart health diets, and religious diets, shall be provided and be of
44 comparable quality and variety as general population meals.
45 (a) Each incarcerated individual shall be afforded sufficient time to
46 eat their meals, including that all people shall be provided at least
47 twenty minutes after receiving their food to eat during meal times and
48 that any person who requires additional time due to age or disability
49 shall be provided sufficient additional time. Each incarcerated individ-
50 ual shall be allowed to bring leftover food out of the mess hall in a
51 small bowl. To the extent practicable, the clothing and bedding of
52 incarcerated individuals shall be manufactured and laundered in insti-
53 tutions in the department.
54 (b) Each incarcerated individual who uses a wheelchair shall be
55 provided an assistant to help push the wheelchair if the person who uses
56 the wheelchair chooses to have such an assistant.
A. 8364 7
1 § 7. Subdivision 5 of section 137 of the correction law, as amended by
2 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 5. No incarcerated individual in the care or custody of the department
4 shall be subjected to degrading treatment[, and no]. No officer [or],
5 other employee of the department, or other government employee shall
6 [inflict any blows whatever] use force upon any incarcerated individual,
7 [unless in self defense, or to suppress a revolt or insurrection. When
8 any incarcerated individual, or group of incarcerated individuals, shall
9 offer violence to any person, or do or attempt to do any injury to prop-
10 erty, or attempt to escape, or resist or disobey any lawful direction,
11 the officers and employees shall use all suitable means to defend them-
12 selves, to maintain order, to enforce observation of discipline, to
13 secure the persons of the offenders and to prevent any such attempt or
14 escape] except as a last resort after exhausting de-escalation tech-
15 niques and where there are no practical alternatives available to
16 prevent: (i) imminent physical harm to other incarcerated individuals,
17 staff, visitors, or other persons; (ii) major property damage that rais-
18 es an imminent safety and security risk; or (iii) escape. When the use
19 of force is authorized, officers and employees shall always use the
20 minimum amount necessary to defend themselves, to secure the persons of
21 incarcerated individuals, to prevent imminent physical harm, to prevent
22 major property damage that raises an imminent safety and security risk,
23 and to prevent an escape. Any force used shall be proportional to the
24 threat encountered. Contractors and volunteers are prohibited from ever
25 using force.
26 (a) All officers, department employees, and government employees work-
27 ing or operating in a correctional facility shall be prohibited from
28 using excessive and unnecessary force, force after control of an incar-
29 cerated individual has been established, and all high impact force,
30 including but not limited to (i) strikes or blows to the head, face,
31 groin, neck, kidneys, and spinal column, (ii) kicks, and (iii) choke
32 holds, carotid restraint holds, and other neck restraints except where a
33 person is in imminent danger of death or equivalent level of serious
34 bodily injury and where lesser means are impractical or ineffective.
35 (b) No officer, other employee of the department, or other government
36 employee working or operating in a correctional facility shall carry or
37 use a steel baton. Any use of other batons, chemical spray, or any other
38 weapons shall comply with all provisions of this subdivision.
39 (c) No officer, other employee of the department or the office of
40 mental health, or other government employee working or operating in a
41 correctional facility or secure facility shall carry out, nor cause
42 others to carry out, any form of retaliation against any person incar-
43 cerated in a correctional facility or confined in a secure facility for
44 reporting misconduct, reporting an incident, raising a complaint, filing
45 a grievance, filing a lawsuit, taking other legal action, communicating
46 with the media, lawmakers, the Correctional Association of New York, an
47 attorney, an advocate, any investigative body or any other person or
48 entity, otherwise exercising or asserting the rights of incarcerated or
49 confined individuals or asserting responsibilities of staff or the
50 department, taking any other similar action, or supporting another
51 incarcerated or confined individual in taking any of the actions in this
52 paragraph.
53 (d) No officer, other employee of the department or the department of
54 mental health, or other government employee working or operating in a
55 correctional facility or secure facility shall provide any false infor-
56 mation on a misbehavior report, unusual incident report, use of force
A. 8364 8
1 report, or any other document, and all officers, employees, and govern-
2 ment employees working or operating in a correctional facility or secure
3 facility shall have a duty to report, and provide all relevant informa-
4 tion regarding, any and all observed misconduct by another officer,
5 employee, or person working or operating in a correctional facility or
6 secure facility.
7 § 8. Subdivision 6 of section 137 of the correction law is amended by
8 adding seven new paragraphs (p), (q), (r), (s), (t), (u) and (v) to read
9 as follows:
10 (p) (i) All persons incarcerated in a correctional facility or secure
11 facility shall have the right to in-person contact visits with up to
12 four visitors at a time, every day of the week for many hours per day.
13 Visitation shall be allowed at all correctional facilities and secure
14 facilities, seven days a week, every day of the year. The number,
15 length, and frequency of visits by each visitor may be limited only as
16 necessary to accommodate all visitors who arrive during scheduled visit-
17 ing times, and any such limitations shall never infringe upon the mini-
18 mum visit requirements in this paragraph. Multiple sets of visitors
19 shall be allowed to visit an incarcerated individual at different times
20 on the same day, and a visitor shall be allowed to visit multiple incar-
21 cerated individuals at different times on the same day. If a visitor
22 leaves the correctional facility, they shall have the ability to return
23 to the facility that day to participate in a visit, including either
24 with the same incarcerated individual originally visited or a different
25 incarcerated individual.
26 (ii) Neither the department nor the office of mental health may
27 restrict an incarcerated individual's visits as a disciplinary measure
28 or for any other reason, nor may either agency deny or restrict a visi-
29 tor's ability to visit so long as the person visited agrees to the
30 visit.
31 (iii) Each correctional facility and secure facility shall process
32 visitors and bring down people in such facilities to a visit as expe-
33 ditiously as possible, including ensuring that the visited person and
34 their visitor are able to be together starting within one hour of the
35 visitor arriving at the facility, unless the visited person voluntarily
36 chooses to take more time to come for the visit. All visitors waiting
37 for a visit shall have basic needs met while waiting, including but not
38 limited to being able to wait inside, being able to comfortably sit, and
39 having access to drinking water and bathroom facilities.
40 (iv) No drug detecting dogs may be used inside of any visiting rooms
41 or other areas where a visited person is meeting with their visitor.
42 (v) Videoconferencing may supplement, but shall not take the place of,
43 in-person visits.
44 (vi) Each incarcerated individual shall be provided the opportunity to
45 take a shower before any visit.
46 (q) All persons in a correctional facility or a secure facility shall
47 have the right to receive packages from any person through direct mail,
48 during a visit to a correctional facility or secure facility, or by mail
49 from commercial sources. The department shall not require that packages
50 be purchased from or delivered by a vendor, shall not require that pack-
51 ages that are purchased or delivered from a vendor come from a partic-
52 ular vendor or vendors, and shall not restrict the ability of a person
53 to directly send items to an incarcerated individual through the facili-
54 ty package room or directly deliver items to an incarcerated individual
55 through the visiting process. The department shall provide for prompt
56 delivery to incarcerated individuals of all packages, including prompt
A. 8364 9
1 delivery of perishable food items to avoid expiration or spoilage. All
2 packages shall be delivered to incarcerated individuals within forty-
3 eight hours from the time the package arrives at the facility, except
4 that all packages that are brought on a visit shall be delivered to the
5 incarcerated individual on the same day as the visit. If any item in a
6 package is disallowed, the incarcerated individual shall have the option
7 to, within fourteen days of receiving written notice that the item is
8 disallowed, donate the item to the charitable organization of their
9 choosing, return the item via the visiting room, or return the item via
10 mail at their own expense. Items that may be part of packages shall
11 include, but not be limited to the following items, and any restrictions
12 on the particular packaging of any such items must be reasonably and
13 directly related to a significant safety or security concern:
14 (i) food utensils and food items, without any limit on the number of
15 pounds or items, including but not limited to fresh fruits and vegeta-
16 bles, coffee and beverages, dried coffee cream, bread, pouched food,
17 canned food, candy, cheese, condiments, meats, nuts, oatmeal and cereal,
18 pastries, raisins and dried fruit, cooked or cured or smoked seafood,
19 and snacks;
20 (ii) personal cosmetics and personal hygiene products, including but
21 not limited to soap, shampoo, deodorant, and feminine hygiene items;
22 (iii) seasonally appropriate indoor and outdoor clothing and footwear;
23 (iv) legal, writing, and art supplies, including but not limited to
24 stationery, writing and drawing implements, and typewriters;
25 (v) educational supplies, including but not limited to notebooks,
26 rulers, and calculators appropriate for primary, secondary and post-sec-
27 ondary education;
28 (vi) new and used books, magazines and other publications;
29 (vii) items for use in recreation and physical exercise;
30 (viii) accessories for tablet computers and other electronic devices
31 permitted in facilities;
32 (ix) religious articles, including but not limited to prayer rugs and
33 books, religious headgear, and pendants; and
34 (x) tobacco products.
35 (r) All persons incarcerated in a correctional facility or secure
36 facility, other than those in segregated confinement, shall have access
37 to at least fourteen hours of out-of-cell time per day, including access
38 to at least seven hours of daily out-of-cell congregate programming and
39 activities and access to at least two hours of congregate recreation.
40 (s) All persons incarcerated in a correctional facility or secure
41 facility shall have the right to receive correspondence in its original,
42 and not photocopied, form, including but not limited to letters, cards,
43 photographs, postcards, legal mail, and other correspondence.
44 (t) All persons incarcerated in a correctional facility or secure
45 facility shall have access to an internet-connected or similarly
46 equipped tablet or other device that allows for free personal phone
47 calls and free emails, as well as access to law library resources,
48 programming, music, games, videos, movies, and other applications.
49 Incarcerated individuals shall have access to free personal phone calls
50 and free emails at least four hours per day. Beyond the four-hour mini-
51 mum, a facility may provide additional access to the tablet and addi-
52 tional access to personal phone calls and emails, and all personal phone
53 calls and emails shall be free for the person initiating and the person
54 receiving the communication.
55 (u) All correctional facilities and secure facilities shall operate a
56 commissary or canteen. The prices of items sold at each commissary or
A. 8364 10
1 canteen shall take into account the minimum wages people incarcerated
2 are earning and shall be at least sixty percent below the current market
3 rate for such items, as based upon the cost of similar items for sale in
4 the same region as the correctional facility. Each commissary and
5 canteen shall be fully stocked and shall include quality wholesome and
6 nutritious food, including a full range and variety of fresh fruits and
7 vegetables.
8 (v) Any person incarcerated in a correctional facility or secure
9 facility shall have a right to bring in state court an action based on
10 any violation of this section or the regulations prescribed under these
11 sections to: (i) enjoin such violation; (ii) obtain a declaratory judg-
12 ment; (iii) recover for money damages; and (iv) any other appropriate
13 relief determined by the court.
14 § 9. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (j) of subdivision 6 of section
15 137 of the correction law is amended by adding two new clauses (A) and
16 (B) to read as follows:
17 (A) Time spent in any of the following locations shall not constitute
18 out-of-cell time: (1) on a tier or walkway outside of a cell or groups
19 of cells; (2) in a recreation area contiguous to a cell; (3) in a recre-
20 ation area without a group of many people afforded simultaneous access
21 to the same shared space without physical barriers and conducive to a
22 meaningful congregate social interaction; or (4) any space without a
23 group of many people afforded simultaneous access to the same shared
24 space without physical barriers and conducive to meaningful congregate
25 social interaction.
26 (B) If an incarcerated individual voluntarily chooses not to partic-
27 ipate in congregate out-of-cell time, congregate recreation, or congre-
28 gate programming, they shall be offered access to comparable individual
29 programming, individual recreation, and individual time away from their
30 cell where they sleep. Voluntarily declining to participate in congre-
31 gate out-of-cell time, congregate recreation, or congregate programming
32 shall be done in writing or by videotape.
33 § 10. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph (j) of subdivision 6 of section
34 137 of the correction law, as amended by section 4 of part NNN of chap-
35 ter 59 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
36 (v) An incarcerated [person] individual in a residential rehabili-
37 tation unit shall have access to core programs and work assignments
38 [comparable to core programs and types of work assignments in general
39 population] available in general population, and shall receive the same
40 credit for participation in such programs as they would in general popu-
41 lation for purposes of their program requirements and for purposes of
42 good time, merit time, other time allowance, parole release, or consid-
43 eration for other release mechanisms. Such incarcerated [persons] indi-
44 viduals shall also have access to additional out-of-cell, trauma-in-
45 formed therapeutic programming aimed at promoting personal development,
46 addressing underlying causes of problematic behavior resulting in place-
47 ment in a residential rehabilitation unit, and helping prepare for
48 discharge from the unit and to the community.
49 § 11. Subparagraph (vii) of paragraph (j) of subdivision 6 of section
50 137 of the correction law, as added by chapter 93 of the laws of 2021,
51 is amended to read as follows:
52 (vii) Restraints shall not be used when incarcerated [persons] indi-
53 viduals are participating in out-of-cell activities within a residential
54 rehabilitation unit, residential mental health treatment unit, step-down
55 unit, correctional alternative rehabilitation unit, protective custody,
56 and any other similar unit, unless an [individual] individualized
A. 8364 11
1 assessment is made at the time of, or immediately following, an incident
2 involving the person in question that restraints are required for that
3 specific person in question because of a significant and unreasonable
4 risk [to the safety and security] of imminent serious physical injury to
5 self, other incarcerated [persons] individuals or staff based on
6 concrete evidence of such risk by that person. Such individualized
7 assessments shall be memorialized in writing, with a written explanation
8 as to why, including providing concrete evidence relied on to determine
9 that, restraints were required for the specific person in question to
10 prevent a significant and unreasonable risk of imminent serious physical
11 injury.
12 (A) Where restraints are imposed, the least restrictive form of
13 restraints shall be used, for no longer than necessary to abate such
14 imminent harm.
15 (B) Restraints shall not continue to be used beyond the day they were
16 applied unless a determination is made at a subsequent due process hear-
17 ing, with all of the protections of subdivision one of this section,
18 that restraints remain necessary to abate a significant and unreasonable
19 risk of imminent serious physical injury to self, other incarcerated
20 individuals, or staff, based on concrete evidence of such risk.
21 (C) Any continuing use of restraints shall be reviewed daily, in writ-
22 ing, and discontinued once there is no longer a risk of imminent injury.
23 Continued use of restraints may only be authorized for at most a seven-
24 day period.
25 § 12. Paragraph (k) of subdivision 6 of section 137 of the correction
26 law is amended by adding three new subparagraphs (v), (vi) and (vii) to
27 read as follows:
28 (v) No incarcerated individual shall receive a sanction of more than
29 fifteen days of segregated confinement time nor more than sixty days of
30 time in a residential rehabilitation unit, residential mental health
31 treatment unit, or any other disciplinary confinement unit for any inci-
32 dent, regardless of how many charges are associated with that incident.
33 (vi) To impose a disciplinary sanction, a hearing officer must find an
34 incarcerated individual guilty of the charged act or acts by clear and
35 convincing evidence.
36 (vii) All hearing officers shall engage in a meaningful fact finding
37 process. If a hearing officer imposes a sanction of segregated confine-
38 ment beyond three days or any time in a residential rehabilitation unit,
39 the hearing officer shall detail in writing in their decision the
40 specific ways in which the act or acts the incarcerated individual was
41 found guilty of met all of the requirements of subparagraph (ii) of this
42 paragraph. The disposition or determination shall include a statement of
43 evidence, which includes the testimony of each witness and a statement
44 of reasons why the incarcerated individual's evidence or defense was
45 credited or rejected.
46 § 13. Paragraph (l) of subdivision 6 of section 137 of the correction
47 law is amended by adding five new subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
48 and (v) to read as follows:
49 (i) Each person facing the possibility of placement in segregated
50 confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit shall be informed in
51 writing and verbally, including before they appear for a disciplinary
52 hearing and then again on the hearing record, that they are permitted to
53 be represented at their disciplinary hearing, shall be provided the
54 opportunity to seek representation, and may bring their chosen represen-
55 tative into the hearing at any time prior to the disposition of their
56 hearing.
A. 8364 12
1 (ii) For all disciplinary hearings, incarcerated individuals and,
2 where applicable, their representatives shall be provided, as soon as
3 possible and no later than forty-eight hours prior to the start of a
4 hearing, all evidence relevant to their disciplinary charge and/or hear-
5 ing, including but not limited to the misbehavior report, any and all
6 exculpatory evidence, any use of force or unusual incident reports
7 concerning the incident, any to-from memoranda concerning the incident,
8 any staff reports or accounts, any witness statements, any information
9 relied upon from a confidential source subject to security redactions,
10 any medical records related to the incident, any related contraband
11 receipts, any other written materials concerning the incident, any
12 related photographs, and audio and video recordings of or related to the
13 incident.
14 (iii) For all disciplinary hearings, incarcerated individuals and,
15 where applicable, their representatives shall have the right during a
16 hearing to provide opening and closing statements, request and receive
17 evidence, conduct a meaningful investigation, call and question
18 witnesses, cross-examine witnesses, and present evidence.
19 (iv) All disciplinary hearings shall be recorded and such recordings
20 shall be provided to the incarcerated individual and his or her repre-
21 sentative, if applicable.
22 (v) If a person is held in segregated confinement or a residential
23 rehabilitation unit prior to a hearing, any time spent in segregated
24 confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit prior to the hearing
25 shall: (A) if the person is found guilty of an eligible charge under
26 subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision, be credited
27 toward any sanction to segregated confinement or residential rehabili-
28 tation unit imposed; and (B) if the person is not found guilty of an
29 eligible charge under subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdi-
30 vision, be credited as additional good time behavior allowance time
31 under section eight hundred three of this chapter.
32 § 14. Paragraph (o) of subdivision 6 of section 137 of the correction
33 law, as amended by section 6 of part NNN of chapter 59 of the laws of
34 2021, is amended to read as follows:
35 (o) The department shall publish monthly reports on its website, with
36 semi-annual and annual cumulative reports, of the total number of beds
37 at each facility, including the number of beds held vacant for use as
38 quarantine, and the total number of people who are in, separately list-
39 ed: general population; segregated confinement [and the total number of
40 people who are in]; residential rehabilitation units; step-down
41 programs; residential mental health treatment units, including but not
42 limited to behavioral health units, residential mental health units,
43 therapeutic behavior units, intermediate care programs, and transitional
44 intermediate care programs; protective custody; administrative segre-
45 gation; reception, shock incarceration; I-ASAT; close supervision units;
46 special needs units; assessment and program preparation units; residen-
47 tial crisis treatment units; intensive intermediate care programs,
48 correctional alternative rehabilitation units, units for the cognitively
49 impaired, and any and all other designated units within the prison
50 system where out-of-cell time is restricted in any way, on the first day
51 of each month and the total number of placements in each location during
52 the preceding month. The reports shall provide a breakdown of the
53 number of people and placements, separately listed, in [segregated
54 confinement and in residential rehabilitation] each of the aforemen-
55 tioned units, separately listed, by: (i) age; (ii) race; (iii) gender;
56 (iv) mental health treatment level; (v) special health accommodations or
A. 8364 13
1 needs; (vi) need for and participation in substance use disorder,
2 academic, vocational, transitional services, aggression replacement
3 training, sex offense counseling and treatment, and all other mandatory
4 programs, separately listed; (vii) pregnancy status; (viii) continuous
5 length of stay in [residential treatment units] each type of unit, as
6 well as length of stay in the past sixty days; (ix) number of days [in
7 segregated confinement] and hours per day, of participation in out-of-
8 cell group programming; (x) a list of all incidents resulting in sanc-
9 tions of segregated confinement, including all substantiated charges
10 related to each incident, by facility, unit, amount of segregated
11 confinement and residential rehabilitation unit time imposed for the
12 sanction, and date of occurrence; (xi) [the number of incarcerated
13 persons in segregated confinement by] facility; [and] (xii) the number
14 of [incarcerated persons in residential rehabilitation units by facili-
15 ty] incidents of self-harm, suicide attempts, and suicide by facility,
16 unit, and date of occurrence; (xiii) the number of deaths by facility
17 and unit, cause of death, and date of occurrence; (xiv) the number of
18 sanctions taking away a person's privileges or services, separately
19 listed and including but not limited to, visitation, packages, corre-
20 spondence, phone calls, tablets, cell shield, programs, recreation,
21 commissary, out-of-cell time, food, restitution, forfeiture of funds,
22 loss of good time, family reunion program, and imposed work task; and
23 (xv) staff uses of force, by facility, unit, date of occurrence, level
24 of injury to incarcerated individuals and staff, and outcome of any
25 disciplinary or other action taken.
26 § 15. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application
27 of any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not
28 affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act,
29 or of any other application of any provision of this act, which can be
30 given effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the
31 provisions and applications of this act are severable.
32 § 16. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
33 have become a law.
