Bill > S07137

This bill establishes a comprehensive emergency management release plan for correctional facilities during a state disaster emergency, creating a nine-member advisory board responsible for developing recommendations for releasing incarcerated individuals. The advisory board will include representatives from various state agencies, formerly incarcerated individuals, correctional officers, emergency planning experts, and a constitutional rights attorney, who will work together to create protocols for potential emergency releases. The bill outlines specific eligibility criteria for release, which include factors such as age (over 55), medical vulnerability, terminal or chronic illness, being a primary caregiver, pregnancy, having completed a significant portion of one's sentence, and being unlikely to pose a substantial risk of violence. The advisory board must visit each correctional facility every three years, evaluate facility-specific needs, and develop recommendations for safe release processes, evacuation procedures, and maintaining the wellbeing of incarcerated individuals during emergencies. The Department of Corrections must develop and implement these emergency management plans within one year of receiving the advisory board's recommendations, and must provide detailed reports to the governor, advisory board, and legislature within 48 hours of a declared emergency, including information about released individuals and potential fiscal savings. Notably, individuals released under this emergency plan cannot be returned to custody simply because the state of emergency has ended.

Justice

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S7137