Bill > S06500

This bill establishes a merit time allowance credit program for local correctional facilities in New York, allowing eligible incarcerated individuals to reduce their sentences by participating in educational, vocational, work, or rehabilitative programs. Under this program, an incarcerated individual can earn one credit (reducing their sentence by 24 hours) for every four days of successful program participation. An "eligible incarcerated individual" is defined as someone serving a sentence of one year or less or detained pending trial, who voluntarily participates in these programs. The credits can be applied against the individual's current sentence or, if they are pre-trial, against their eventual sentence. If an individual accrues credits during pre-trial detention for a felony and is later sentenced to a state correctional facility, those credits will be applied as additional jail time credit. The sheriff of the local correctional facility has discretion to withhold or cancel credits for bad behavior or failure to successfully participate in the program, and must keep a contemporaneous record of all credits earned. The bill aims to incentivize positive behavior and participation in rehabilitative programs by offering inmates the opportunity to reduce their time in custody.

Justice

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S6500