Bill > A06651

This bill changes the legal standard of proof for evidentiary and disciplinary hearings in the correction law from "substantial evidence" to "preponderance of the evidence". In legal terms, "substantial evidence" is a lower standard that means there is enough relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion, while "preponderance of the evidence" means that a fact is more likely true than not (over 50% likelihood). Specifically, the bill amends Section 137 of the correction law to explicitly state that all evidentiary and disciplinary hearings shall use the preponderance of evidence standard, and it also updates Section 7803 of the civil practice law and rules to reflect this change. The new standard will make it easier for parties to prevail in these types of hearings, as they will only need to show that their version of events is more probable than not, rather than meeting the higher burden of substantial evidence. The bill will take effect 90 days after becoming law, giving institutions time to adapt to the new evidentiary standard.

Justice

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A6651