Crime Committee Report e.indd - New York State Senate

S.4643 HASSELL-THOMPSON
You Can Vote When You Come Home
This bill would restore voting rights to parolees, to facilitate community reintegration and
participation in the civic process, rather than requiring a parolee to wait until he or she has
been discharged from parole or reached the maximum expiration date of the sentence.
The bill amends subdivision two of section 5-106 of the Election Law to restore voting rights
to individuals who have been released to community supervision from New York state sentences
imposed as a result of New York felony convictions. Election Law §5-106(2) bars a person convicted
of a New York felony from voting or registering to vote, and also, as currently drafted, restores
voting rights when the person is either discharged from parole or reaches the maximum
expiration date of his or her sentence. This bill would restore voting rights while the person is
serving the community supervision portion of the sentence, so that he or she can exercise the
civic responsibility of voting. Sections two and three of the bill make similar changes to subdivisions
three and four of EL§5-1 06, which deal respectively with federal felony convictions and
felony convictions in other states. The bill requires the Division of Parole to make voter registration
forms available to parolees.
S.1294 MONTGOMERY, ONORATO
College Discrimination
This legislation seeks to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting colleges from denying
formerly incarcerated individuals admittance to college based solely on their incarceration.
S.3438-B
MONTGOMERY, HASSELL-THOMPSON, KRUEGER, OPPENHEIMER, PARKER,
SCHNEIDERMAN, SERRANO, VOLKER
Domestic Violence Merit Time
This bill allows inmates who can demonstrate that they are victims of domestic violence who
were subjected to substantial physical, sexual or psychological abuse inflicted by a member
of their same family or household as that term is defined in section 530.11 of the criminal
procedure law or a member of the person’s immediate family as that term is defined in section
120.40 of the penal law, and that the commission of the offense was a direct result of such
abuse, to be eligible to earn a merit time allowance. The bill further allows such inmates who
are serving an indeterminate term to be eligible for presumptive release. Inmates serving a sentence
for a sex offense or an act of terrorism are not eligible for the merit time or presumptive
release provided for in the bill.
This bill also makes a conforming change to the work release statute to allow inmates who
are victims of domestic violence who commit their crime as a result of abuse to be eligible for
work release. The bill requires the Department of Correctional Services to consult with the Office
for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, in implementing the provisions of the bill.
S.4793 MONTGOMERY, ESPADA, HASSELL-THOMPSON
GED Legislation
This legislation requires the Department of Correctional Services to establish academic programs
to prepare inmates to complete the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and provides
inmates with an opportunity to complete a GED prior to release on parole, conditional release,
post release supervision or presumptive release.
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New York State Senate