Requires that the custody and supervision of state and local inmates be exercised by certain police officers and peace officers; prohibits private ownership or operation of state or local correctional facilities.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4484B
SPONSOR: Ortiz (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the correction law, in relation to
custody and supervision of persons in state and local correctional
facilities
PURPOSE OF THE BILL: To specifically preserve as a non-transferable
governmental responsibility the duty to maintain custody and supervision
of persons committed or sentenced to state and local correctional facil-
ities by prohibiting the replacement of state and local correction offi-
cers by private guards.
JUSTIFICATION: In the effort forced upon state and local governments
to cut operating costs, some are turning to the privatization of pris-
ons. Inevitably, hungry, bottom line adventurers appear ready to take
the public money. The Immigration and Naturalization Service recently
canceled a contract with a private company after an investigation by
I.N.S. found that as part of the process of cutting costs, the govern-
ment had on its hands untrained $8.00 an hour guards, totally unaware of
their responsibilities in an emergency. Furthermore, an analysis shows
that where a private system is run fairly well, there are little or no
savings to the government. Nor do we know how well privatization will
function in time of crisis. At the same time, we must not forget that
private employees are not subject to the Taylor Law.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: The correction law is amended by
adding two new sections 120 and 121 to provide that the duty of main-
taining the custody and supervision of persons detained or confined in a
correctional facility shall be performed by peace officers who shall be
in the competitive, non-competitive or exempt class of the civil service
of New York state as determined by the state or applicable local civil
service commission. This duty shall not be delegated, transferred or
assigned.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: Because this bill
simply codifies existing practice, there are no costs associated with
its enactment.
EXISTING LAW: While the sheriff or commissioner of correction is
responsible for the detention and custody of inmates, existing statutes
do not specifically prohibit the hiring of private guards.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 1996- A.8696/S. 5965-B - Passed the Assem-
bly, substituted for the Senate companion, ordered to third reading and
then recommitted to Rules.
1997/98 - A.401/S. 5558 - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and
Correction.
1999/00 - A.9008-A/S.7073 - Referred to Corrections, Reported, Referred
to Rules: Passed Assembly and Senate, Vetoed by the Governor Veto memo
#86.
2001/02 - A.6190/S.7826 - Referred to Corrections, Reported, Referred to
Rules: Passed Assembly: Died in Senate, returned to Assembly; Committed
to Rules; Sub. for S.7826, passed Assembly, Delivered to Senate, Passed
Senate, Vetoed by Governor.
2003/04 - A.7428-A Vetoed by Governor Memo #185. 2005/06 - A.830-B
Vetoed by Governor Memo #243.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after
it which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4484--B
2007-2008 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 2, 2007
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, BRADLEY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
COLTON, GOTTFRIED, HOYT, JACOBS, JOHN, MAYERSOHN, WEISENBERG -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Correction -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amend-
ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to custody and super-
vision of persons in state and local correctional facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding two new sections
2 120 and 121 to read as follows:
3 § 120. Custody and supervision of persons in correctional facilities.
4 1. Except as provided in subdivisions two, three and four of this
5 section, the duty of maintaining the custody and supervision of persons
6 detained or confined in a correctional facility as defined in subdivi-
7 sion four of section two of this chapter, including a drug treatment
8 campus as defined in subdivision twenty of section two of this chapter,
9 or a local correctional facility as defined in subdivision sixteen of
10 section two of this chapter shall be performed solely by police officers
11 designated in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (j) or (m) of
12 subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law or
13 peace officers designated in subdivision twenty-five of section 2.10 of
14 the criminal procedure law, which persons, whether employed full-time or
15 part-time, shall be in the competitive, non-competitive or exempt class
16 of the civil service of New York state as determined by state law or by
17 the state or applicable local civil service commission.
18 2. Nothing in this section shall limit in any way the authority of the
19 commissioner, or any county or the city of New York, to enter into any
20 contract authorized by subdivision eighteen of section two, section
21 seventy-two-a, section seventy-three, section ninety-five, article
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00534-03-7
A. 4484--B 2
1 five-A or article twenty-six of this chapter, or to limit the responsi-
2 bility of the state division of parole to supervise inmates or parolees
3 while away from an institution pursuant to section seventy-two-a,
4 section seventy-three or article twenty-six of this chapter or while
5 confined at a drug treatment campus as defined in subdivision twenty of
6 section two of this chapter.
7 3. Subdivision one of this section shall be inapplicable to any person
8 who is or may be employed in a correctional facility as defined in
9 subdivision four of section two of this chapter or a local correctional
10 facility as defined in subdivision sixteen of section two of this chap-
11 ter or who contracts or may contract to provide services at such a
12 correctional facility, who, in either case, is (a) not a correction
13 officer or deputy sheriff, and (b) does not have, as their primary job
14 responsibility, the duty of maintaining the supervision of persons
15 detained or confined in a correctional facility but who provides such
16 supervision as a secondary, ancillary or incidental part of their prima-
17 ry employment responsibilities. An employee who meets the criteria
18 provided by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision may include, but
19 not be limited to, food service, janitorial or maintenance staff of such
20 a correctional facility or persons who provide health care, substance
21 abuse treatment, counseling, religious, educational or vocational
22 services at such a correctional facility.
23 4. Nothing in this section shall preclude an elected or appointed
24 sheriff, the commissioner of correction of the city of New York, the
25 commissioner of the Westchester county department of correction, or any
26 other municipal official in the unclassified service, as determined by
27 state law or by the state or applicable local civil service commission,
28 from maintaining the custody and supervision of persons detained or
29 confined in a local correctional facility as defined in subdivision
30 sixteen of section two of this chapter.
31 § 121. Private ownership or operation of correctional facilities.
32 Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions two, three and four of
33 section one hundred twenty of this article or in federal law, the
34 private operation or management of a correctional facility as defined in
35 subdivision four of section two of this chapter or a local correctional
36 facility, as defined in subdivision sixteen of section two of this chap-
37 ter, the private ownership or operation of a facility for housing state
38 or local inmates or the private ownership or operation of a facility for
39 the incarceration of other state's inmates is prohibited.
40 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
41 have become a law.
