Assembly Minority Conference Chair Assemblyman Robert Smullen (R,C-Mohawk Valley and the Adirondacks) voiced strong support for Assembly Bill A.10430, which seeks to implement the recommendations of the state-commissioned HALT Committee. Smullen emphasized that these changes are critical to restoring disciplinary tools for correctional officers (COs) that will reduce violence in facilities and enhance recruitment and retention among COs. 

Smullen cited testimony from Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Commissioner Daniel Martuscello to show that the ongoing crisis demands immediate action. DOCCS still faces 4,600 unfilled correctional officer positions a year after last winter’s workforce demonstrations. The governor currently has no plans to dismiss the 2,600 National Guard troops still stationed in prisons statewide. The costs of using National Guardsmen have surpassed $1 billion, which highlights the failure of the current approach, or lack thereof. Lawmakers are hopeful that A.10430’s targeted reforms would create the conditions for a safe, permanent withdrawal of the National Guard.

“Our state prisons cannot continue operating under this cloud of chaos,” said Smullen. “National Guard troops are filling gaps that should be handled by trained, permanent professionals. The state needs to redirect those resources into a permanent solution by investing $600 million in recruitment and retention for correctional officers. The minimal focus we’ve seen so far has not yielded competitive pay, better incentives, faster hiring or the improved conditions needed to rebuild a workforce. Pouring hundreds of millions month after month into National Guard bills drains taxpayer dollars without addressing the root causes.”

The bill amends the Correction Law with the following key provisions, directly mirroring the HALT Committee’s bipartisan recommendations, which were developed by DOCCS, the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), the Office of Employee Relations (OER), the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Council 82 and the Public Employees Federation(PEF), with input from other stakeholders:

• Expanding misconduct/offenses eligible for segregated confinement.
• Revising definitions to align with penal law crimes, especially regarding all violent felony offenses.
• Permitting short-term segregated confinement for ongoing misbehavior that is not eligible for disciplinary confinement committed in general confinement.
• Reducing subjectivity in determining rioting or escape offenses.
• Allowing short-term protective custody in segregated confinement when no safe housing alternative is available.
• Giving DOCCS flexibility in administering out-of-cell programming and managing repeat offenders.
• Expanding considerations relating to good time allowances.