S 5817: Relates to temporary release eligibility for judicially-ordered comprehensive alcohol and substance abuse treatment.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5817 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SEPULVEDA, COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction AN ACT to amend the correction law and the penal law, in relation to temporary release eligibility for judicially-ordered comprehensive alcohol and substance abuse treatment The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 851 of the correction law, as 2 amended by section 228 of chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 2. "Eligible incarcerated individual" means: a person confined in an 5 institution who is eligible for release on parole or who will become 6 eligible for release on parole or conditional release within two years 7 or who has completed a judicially-ordered substance abuse treatment 8 program in a state correctional facility pursuant to subdivision six of 9 section 60.04 of the penal law. Provided, however, that a person under 10 sentence for an offense defined in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 11 one of section 70.02 of the penal law, where such offense involved the 12 use or threatened use of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument shall 13 not be eligible to participate in a work release program until [he or 14 she] such person is eligible for release on parole or who will be eligi- 15 ble for release on parole or conditional release within eighteen months. 16 Provided, further, however, that a person under a determinate sentence 17 as a second felony drug offender for a class B felony offense defined in 18 article two hundred twenty of the penal law, who was sentenced pursuant 19 to section 70.70 of such law, shall not be eligible to participate in a 20 temporary release program until the time served under imprisonment for 21 [his or her] such person's determinate sentence, including any jail time 22 credited pursuant to the provisions of article seventy of the penal law, 23 shall be at least eighteen months. In the case of a person serving an EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10290-01-5 
 S. 5817 2 1 indeterminate sentence of imprisonment imposed pursuant to the penal law 2 in effect after September one, nineteen hundred sixty-seven, for the 3 purposes of this article parole eligibility shall be upon the expiration 4 of the minimum period of imprisonment fixed by the court or where the 5 court has not fixed any period, after service of the minimum period 6 fixed by the state board of parole. If an incarcerated individual is 7 denied release on parole, such incarcerated individual shall not be 8 deemed an eligible incarcerated individual until [he or she] such incar- 9 cerated individual is within two years of [his or her] their next sched- 10 uled appearance before the state parole board. In any case where an 11 incarcerated individual is denied release on parole while participating 12 in a temporary release program, the department shall review the status 13 of the incarcerated individual to determine if continued placement in 14 the program is appropriate. No person convicted of any escape or 15 absconding offense defined in article two hundred five of the penal law 16 shall be eligible for temporary release. Further, no person under 17 sentence for aggravated harassment of an employee by an incarcerated 18 individual as defined in section 240.32 of the penal law for, any homi- 19 cide offense defined in article one hundred twenty-five of the penal 20 law, for any sex offense defined in article one hundred thirty of the 21 penal law, or for an offense defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 22 of the penal law shall be eligible to participate in a work release 23 program as defined in subdivision three of this section. Nor shall any 24 person under sentence for any sex offense defined in article one hundred 25 thirty of the penal law be eligible to participate in a community 26 services program as defined in subdivision five of this section. 27 Notwithstanding the foregoing, no person who is an otherwise eligible 28 incarcerated individual who is under sentence for a crime involving: (a) 29 infliction of serious physical injury upon another as defined in the 30 penal law or (b) any other offense involving the use or threatened use 31 of a deadly weapon may participate in a temporary release program with- 32 out the written approval of the commissioner. The commissioner shall 33 promulgate regulations giving direction to the temporary release commit- 34 tee at each institution in order to aid such committees in carrying out 35 this mandate. 36 The governor, by executive order, may exclude or limit the partic- 37 ipation of any class of otherwise eligible incarcerated individuals from 38 participation in a temporary release program. Nothing in this paragraph 39 shall be construed to affect either the validity of any executive order 40 previously issued limiting the participation of otherwise eligible 41 incarcerated individuals in such program or the authority of the commis- 42 sioner to impose appropriate regulations limiting such participation. 43 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 851 of the correction law, as amended by 44 section 228-b of chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 45 follows: 46 2. "Eligible incarcerated individual" means: a person confined in an 47 institution who is eligible for release on parole or who will become 48 eligible for release on parole or conditional release within two years 49 or who has completed a judicially-ordered substance abuse treatment 50 program in a state correctional facility pursuant to subdivision six of 51 section 60.04 of the penal law. Provided, that a person under a deter- 52 minate sentence as a second felony drug offender for a class B felony 53 offense defined in article two hundred twenty of the penal law, who was 54 sentenced pursuant to section 70.70 of such law, shall not be eligible 55 to participate in a temporary release program until the time served 56 under imprisonment for [his or her] such person's determinate sentence, 
 S. 5817 3 1 including any jail time credited pursuant to the provisions of article 2 seventy of the penal law, shall be at least eighteen months. In the case 3 of a person serving an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment imposed 4 pursuant to the penal law in effect after September one, nineteen 5 hundred sixty-seven, for the purposes of this article parole eligibility 6 shall be upon the expiration of the minimum period of imprisonment fixed 7 by the court or where the court has not fixed any period, after service 8 of the minimum period fixed by the state board of parole. If an incar- 9 cerated individual is denied release on parole, such incarcerated indi- 10 vidual shall not be deemed an eligible incarcerated individual until [he 11 or she] such incarcerated individual is within two years of [his or her] 12 their next scheduled appearance before the state parole board. In any 13 case where an incarcerated individual is denied release on parole while 14 participating in a temporary release program, the department shall 15 review the status of the incarcerated individual to determine if contin- 16 ued placement in the program is appropriate. No person convicted of any 17 escape or absconding offense defined in article two hundred five of the 18 penal law shall be eligible for temporary release. Nor shall any person 19 under sentence for any sex offense defined in article one hundred thirty 20 of the penal law be eligible to participate in a community services 21 program as defined in subdivision five of this section. Notwithstanding 22 the foregoing, no person who is an otherwise eligible incarcerated indi- 23 vidual who is under sentence for a crime involving: (a) infliction of 24 serious physical injury upon another as defined in the penal law, (b) a 25 sex offense involving forcible compulsion, or (c) any other offense 26 involving the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon may participate 27 in a temporary release program without the written approval of the 28 commissioner. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations giving 29 direction to the temporary release committee at each institution in 30 order to aid such committees in carrying out this mandate. 31 The governor, by executive order, may exclude or limit the partic- 32 ipation of any class of otherwise eligible incarcerated individuals from 33 participation in a temporary release program. Nothing in this paragraph 34 shall be construed to affect either the validity of any executive order 35 previously issued limiting the participation of otherwise eligible 36 incarcerated individuals in such program or the authority of the commis- 37 sioner to impose appropriate regulations limiting such participation. 38 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 851 of the correction law, as added by 39 section 228-d of chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 40 follows: 41 2. "Eligible incarcerated individual" means a person confined in an 42 institution where a work release program has been established who is 43 eligible for release on parole or who will become eligible for release 44 on parole within one year or who has completed a judicially-ordered 45 substance abuse treatment program in a state correctional facility 46 pursuant to subdivision six of section 60.04 of the penal law. 47 § 4. Subdivision 6 of section 60.04 of the penal law, as amended by 48 section 120 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is 49 amended to read as follows: 50 6. Substance abuse treatment. When the court imposes a sentence of 51 imprisonment which requires a commitment to the state department of 52 corrections and community supervision upon a person who stands convicted 53 of a controlled substance or marihuana offense, the court may, upon 54 motion of the defendant in its discretion, issue an order directing that 55 the department of corrections and community supervision enroll the 56 defendant in the comprehensive alcohol and substance abuse treatment 
 S. 5817 4 1 program in an alcohol and substance abuse correctional annex as defined 2 in subdivision eighteen of section two of the correction law, provided 3 that the defendant will satisfy the statutory eligibility criteria for 4 participation in such program. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions 5 of this subdivision, any defendant to be enrolled in such program pursu- 6 ant to this subdivision shall be governed by the same rules and regu- 7 lations promulgated by the department of corrections and community 8 supervision, including without limitation those rules and regulations 9 establishing requirements for completion and those rules and regulations 10 governing discipline and removal from the program. Such defendant shall 11 be deemed eligible for temporary release pursuant to subdivision two of 12 section eight hundred fifty-one of the correction law upon completion of 13 such program. No such period of court ordered corrections based drug 14 abuse treatment pursuant to this subdivision shall be required to extend 15 beyond the defendant's conditional release date. 16 § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 17 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 18 2 of section 851 of the correction law made by section one of this act 19 shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision and 20 section pursuant to subdivision (c) of section 46 of chapter 60 of the 21 laws of 1994 and section 10 of chapter 339 of the laws of 1972, as 22 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section two of this act 23 shall take effect; provided, further, that the amendments to subdivision 24 2 of section 851 of the correction law made by section two of this act 25 shall expire on the same date as subdivision (c) of section 46 of chap- 26 ter 60 of the laws of 1994, section 10 of chapter 339 of the laws of 27 1972, and section 5 of chapter 554 of the laws of 1986, as amended, when 28 upon such date the provisions of section three of this act shall take 29 effect.