New York State Assembly

Bill No.:  

 
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A09163 Actions:

BILL NO	A09163
01/29/2016	referred to correction
02/25/2016	reported referred to codes
03/01/2016	reported
03/03/2016	advanced to third reading cal.424
03/07/2016	substituted by s6695
	S06695 AMEND= MONTGOMERY
	02/05/2016	REFERRED TO RULES
	02/08/2016	ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.147
	02/25/2016	PASSED SENATE
	02/25/2016	DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
	02/25/2016	referred to correction
	03/07/2016	substituted for a9163
	03/07/2016	ordered to third reading cal.424
	03/07/2016	passed assembly
	03/07/2016	returned to senate
	03/11/2016	DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
	03/21/2016	SIGNED CHAP.17

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A09163 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A9163
 
SPONSOR: Perry

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to the restraint of
pregnant female prisoners during childbirth; and to amend a chapter of
the laws of 2015 amending the correction law relating to the restraint
of female prisoners during childbirth, as proposed in legislative bills
numbers A.6430-A and S.983-A
 
 
PURPOSE:
 
To strengthen the prohibition against shackling women prisoners during
labor.
 
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
 
Section 1 amends Correction Law § 611 to clarify the exception to the

rule against shackling  women in labor and to expand the anti-shackling
law to include any pregnant woman or woman during a postpartum period of
8 weeks.
 
Section 2 provides an effective date.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
In 2009 the State Legislature amended section 611 of the correction law
to specify that women prison and jail inmates who are in labor cannot be
shackled during transport to the place where they will give birth or
during labor, delivery and recovery absent extraordinary circumstances.
In spite of this legislation, incarcerated women are still sometimes
being shackled illegally during transport, labor and delivery. The
intention of this bill is to strengthen and expand the prohibition and
to limit the kind of restraint that may be used on an inmate who falls
into the extraordinary circumstances exception to wrist restraints in
front of the body and to require preapproval of the use of restraints by

the superintendent of a prison or a county sheriff except in case of an
emergency where the need to restrain a pregnant woman arises during
transport. The bill also requires an annual report to the legislature
and/or the Commission of Correction about the circumstances under which
women are shackled pursuant to the extraordinary circumstances excep-
tion.
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
 
none
 
 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
 
none
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
On the sixtieth day after the bill shall become a law.

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