S 6500: Establishes merit time allowance credits for local correctional facilities for eligible incarcerated individuals.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6500 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- 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 establishing merit time allowance credits for local correctional facilities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new article 24-A 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 24-A 4 MERIT TIME ALLOWANCE CREDITS 5 FOR LOCAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES 6 Section 810. Definitions. 7 811. Merit time allowance credit accrual and application. 8 812. Forfeiture of merit time allowance credit. 9 813. Record keeping. 10 § 810. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall 11 have the following meanings: 12 1. "Credit" means a reduction of twenty-four hours in the amount of 13 time an incarcerated individual must serve in a correctional facility on 14 the incarcerated individual's sentence upon conviction; and 15 2. "Eligible incarcerated individual" means an incarcerated individual 16 in the custody of the sheriff of a local correctional facility who is 17 serving one or more definite sentences of one year or less or who is 18 detained pending trial, sentence or other disposition and who partic- 19 ipates in the merit time allowance credit program established pursuant 20 to this article. 21 § 811. Merit time allowance credit accrual and application. 1. Upon 22 the active participation in an educational, vocational, work, or rehabi- 23 litative program that has been assigned by the chief administrative EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10940-01-5 
 S. 6500 2 1 officer, an eligible incarcerated individual shall accrue credits 2 applied to their sentence in the same manner as jail time credit pursu- 3 ant to subdivision three of section 70.30 of the penal law. One credit 4 shall accrue for every four days in which the incarcerated individual 5 successfully participates in the program. 6 2. Accrued credits shall, in accordance with this section, be applied 7 against an eligible incarcerated individual's sentence or, if pre-trial, 8 against the sentence ultimately imposed, and shall diminish the incar- 9 cerated individual's period of imprisonment according to the schedule 10 set forth in subdivision one of this section. 11 3. If an eligible incarcerated individual accrues credits pursuant to 12 subdivision one of this section during a period of pre-trial or pre-sen- 13 tence detention for a felony offense, and is later convicted of and 14 sentenced to a period of imprisonment in a state correctional facility 15 for such a felony offense, the credits accrued by the incarcerated indi- 16 vidual shall be applied by the department as additional jail time credit 17 pursuant to subdivision three of section 70.30 of the penal law to the 18 sentence served by the incarcerated individual for such felony offense. 19 4. All participation by an incarcerated individual in the merit time 20 allowance credit program is voluntary. Except in administrative 21 proceedings concerning the incarcerated individual's opportunity to 22 participate in, or continue to participate in, such a voluntary program 23 administered by a correctional facility, evidence of an incarcerated 24 individual's failure to successfully participate in or complete a merit 25 time allowance credit program, pursuant to this article, shall not be 26 admissible against the incarcerated individual, provided, however, that 27 the incarcerated individual may present information concerning success- 28 ful participation for the purposes of mitigation, where relevant, in any 29 court or proceeding. Upon admission to a local correctional facility, 30 each incarcerated individual shall be notified by the sheriff, in writ- 31 ing, of the existence, criteria and rules governing participation in the 32 merit time allowance credit program. 33 § 812. Forfeiture of merit time allowance credit. 1. Any merit time 34 allowance credit accrued pursuant to the program established pursuant to 35 this article may, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, be with- 36 held, forfeited or cancelled in whole or in part for bad behavior, 37 violation of institutional rules or failure to participate successfully 38 in the program. The sheriff shall notify the incarcerated individual 39 promptly in writing of the reasons for any such determination. 40 2. An incarcerated individual who loses a merit time allowance credit 41 pursuant to subdivision one of this section is eligible for subsequent 42 participation in a merit time allowance credit program at the discretion 43 of the sheriff. 44 § 813. Record keeping. A contemporaneous record shall be kept by the 45 sheriff of all merit time allowance credits an incarcerated individual 46 accrues pursuant to this article. In any case where the sheriff has the 47 duty to deliver an incarcerated individual to the custody of the depart- 48 ment, or a sheriff or similar department in another jurisdiction, wheth- 49 er under an order of sentence and commitment or otherwise, the sheriff 50 shall also deliver to the state correctional facility, sheriff or simi- 51 lar department to which the incarcerated individual is delivered, and to 52 the incarcerated individual, a certified record of merit time allowance 53 credits accrued by the incarcerated individual. 54 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 70.30 of the penal law, as amended by 55 chapter 3 of the laws of 1995, the opening paragraph as amended by chap- 56 ter 1 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 
 S. 6500 3 1 3. Jail time. The term of a definite sentence, a determinate sentence, 2 or the maximum term of an indeterminate sentence imposed on a person 3 shall be credited with and diminished by the amount of time the person 4 spent in custody prior to the commencement of such sentence as a result 5 of the charge that culminated in the sentence. In the case of an inde- 6 terminate sentence, if the minimum period of imprisonment has been fixed 7 by the court or by the board of parole, the credit shall also be applied 8 against the minimum period. The credit herein provided shall be calcu- 9 lated from the date custody under the charge commenced to the date the 10 sentence commences and shall not include any time that is credited 11 against the term or maximum term of any previously imposed sentence or 12 period of post-release supervision to which the person is subject. The 13 credit herein provided shall also include any additional merit time 14 allowance credit accrued in a local correctional facility pursuant to 15 article twenty-four-A of the correction law. Where the charge or charges 16 culminate in more than one sentence, the credit shall be applied as 17 follows: 18 (a) If the sentences run concurrently, the credit shall be applied 19 against each such sentence; 20 (b) If the sentences run consecutively, the credit shall be applied 21 against the aggregate term or aggregate maximum term of the sentences 22 and against the aggregate minimum period of imprisonment. 23 In any case where a person has been in custody due to a charge that 24 culminated in a dismissal or an acquittal, the amount of time that would 25 have been credited against a sentence for such charge, had one been 26 imposed, shall be credited against any sentence that is based on a 27 charge for which a warrant or commitment was lodged during the pendency 28 of such custody. 29 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 70.30 of the penal law, as amended by 30 chapter 648 of the laws of 1979, the opening paragraph as separately 31 amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 32 3. Jail time. The term of a definite sentence or the maximum term of 33 an indeterminate sentence imposed on a person shall be credited with and 34 diminished by the amount of time the person spent in custody prior to 35 the commencement of such sentence as a result of the charge that culmi- 36 nated in the sentence. In the case of an indeterminate sentence, if the 37 minimum period of imprisonment has been fixed by the court or by the 38 board of parole, the credit shall also be applied against the minimum 39 period. The credit herein provided shall be calculated from the date 40 custody under the charge commenced to the date the sentence commences 41 and shall not include any time that is credited against the term or 42 maximum term of any previously imposed sentence or period of post-re- 43 lease supervision to which the person is subject. The credit herein 44 provided shall also include any additional merit time allowance credit 45 accrued in a local correctional facility pursuant to article twenty- 46 four-A of the correction law. Where the charge or charges culminate in 47 more than one sentence, the credit shall be applied as follows: 48 (a) If the sentences run concurrently, the credit shall be applied 49 against each such sentence; 50 (b) If the sentences run consecutively, the credit shall be applied 51 against the aggregate term or aggregate maximum term of the sentences 52 and against the aggregate minimum period of imprisonment. 53 In any case where a person has been in custody due to a charge that 54 culminated in a dismissal or an acquittal, the amount of time that would 55 have been credited against a sentence for such charge, had one been 56 imposed, shall be credited against any sentence that is based on a 
 S. 6500 4 1 charge for which a warrant or commitment was lodged during the pendency 2 of such custody. 3 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 4 ing the date on which it shall have become a law; provided that the 5 amendments to subdivision 3 of section 70.30 of the penal law made by 6 section two of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion 7 of such subdivision pursuant to subdivision d of section 74 of chapter 3 8 of the laws of 1995, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of 9 section three of this act shall take effect.