Bill > S03318

This bill amends the Correction Law to establish visiting policies for incarcerated individuals in state and local correctional facilities. The key provisions include: (1) requiring facilities to provide opportunities for in-person contact visits with relatives, children, friends, clergy, volunteers, and other persons to promote personal transformation and better institutional and community adjustment upon release; (2) mandating visiting hours that accommodate visitors traveling within the state, including evening and weekend hours, and visits of at least one hour in duration; (3) requiring facilities to have an equitable overcrowding policy that considers factors like distance traveled and frequency of visits; and (4) specifying that video conferencing can only supplement, not replace, in-person visits. The bill also states that no incarcerated person shall be visited against their will.