Bills affecting Formerly incarcerated or family of in New York — 2026 session

Clarifies that employment at any licensee under the cannabis law satisfies employment requirements for parole, probation or other state supervision unless the terms and conditions of said parole, probation, or state supervision explicitly prohibit such employment.

Relates to parole eligibility for certain incarcerated persons age fifty-five or older if they have served at least fifteen years of their sentence or sentences.

Relates to the provision of breast pumps and related collection and storage materials to certain incarcerated nursing birth parents who are confined in or committed to an institution or local correctional facility with or without their child subject to specific time limitations; requires institutions and local correctional facilities to provide pumps and related materials to such incarcerated birth parents, but not beyond the date such child reaches twenty-four months of age except in limited circumstances related to parole; allows children to remain with their incarcerated birth parents in a correctional institution until twenty-four months of age, or longer in certain cases related to parole; requires the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to issue an annual report on data relating to incarcerated birth parents.

Requires the division of criminal justice services to check the wanted felon status and probation or parole violator status of people applying for public assistance.

Relates to the expungement of syringe convictions of criminally possessing a hypodermic instrument.

Strengthens protections for patients regarding sexual misconduct by medical providers; requires medical expert consultants involved in investigations disclose conflicts of interest and to not be under investigation, on warning, or on probation; requires a zero-tolerance policy to be adopted and training to be provided on sexual misconduct by the board for professional misconduct; includes provisions related to the right to have a chaperone; includes sexual misconduct in the definition of professional misconduct.

Eliminates certain court surcharges and fees and probation and parole surcharges and fees; eliminates the requirement that a parolee or releasee receiving a merit termination of sentence be financially able to comply with an order of restitution; eliminates the requirement that a person receiving a discharge of sentence be financially able to comply with an order of restitution and the payment of certain surcharges or fees (Part A); mandates that courts engage in an individualized assessment of a person's financial ability to pay a fine prior to imposing a fine (Part B); eliminates the availability of incarceration as a remedy for a failure to pay a fine, surcharge, or fee, lifts and vacates existing warrants issued solely on a person's failure to timely pay a fine, surcharge or fee and ends existing sentences of incarceration based on such failure (Part C); vacates existing unsatisfied civil judgments based on a person's failure to timely pay a surcharge, or fee (Part D); prohibits the collection of a fine, restitution or reparation from the funds of an incarcerated person; prohibits the payment of court fines, mandatory surcharges, certain fees, restitution, reparation or forfeitures from the earnings of prisoners (Part E); vacates existing unpaid surcharges, DNA databank fees, crime victim assistance fees, sexual offender registration fees, supplemental sex offender victim fees, or probation or parole supervision fees; repeals certain provisions of law relating to restrictions on remitting such fees (Part F).

Requires the district attorney to notify victims by letter of the final disposition of the case within sixty days of such disposition in cases where such final disposition includes a conviction; provides such letter shall also notify victims of their right to make a victim impact statement; allows them to personally appear at parole hearings and make such a statement.

Relates to requiring at least one member of the state board of parole be a formerly incarcerated person.

Provides for findings of the state board of parole necessary for discretionary release of incarcerated individuals on parole.

Relates to the former crime of loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense; expunges criminal records for persons previously convicted of such crime; directs the chief administrator of the courts to provide information regarding such expungement; adds language to identify that the crime of loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense is no longer in law.

Makes life imprisonment without parole mandatory for defendants convicted of murder in the first degree or second degree and the victim is a police officer, peace officer, first responder or correctional officer.

Relates to the provision of breast pumps and related collection and storage materials to certain incarcerated nursing birth parents others who are confined in or committed to an institution or local correctional facility with or without their child subject to specific time limitations; requires institutions and local correctional facilities to provide pumps and related materials to such incarcerated birth parents, but not beyond the date such child reaches twenty-four months of age except in limited circumstances related to parole; allows children to remain with their incarcerated birth parents in a correctional institution until twenty-four months of age, or longer in certain cases related to parole; requires the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to issue an annual report on data relating to incarcerated birth parents.

Requires a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for murder in the first degree, aggravated murder, and murder in the second degree.

Relates to expungement of records for certain juveniles convicted of a nonviolent offense after seven years and satisfactory completion of such person's probation, parole, supervised release and payment of any fines imposed or restitution ordered, whichever is later.

Establishes the parole board accountability act which requires incarcerated individuals who are released on parole, via a vote that is not unanimous, be placed in the community where one of the two board members primarily reside; establishes the procedure of which of the two board member's community the releasee shall be released to.

Provides optional disability coverage for county probation officers.

Allows victim impact statements in New York state be video recorded; requires that the members of the parole board and all presiding commissioners for such hearing review all relevant victim impact statements prior to the conduct of a parole hearing and to sign a written attestation confirming that they have done so.

Requires the notification of a crime victim or witness of the death of the accused if such person dies during pending judicial proceedings or during any period of incarceration, parole or post-release supervision, or when an order of protection exists.

Establishes the reentry assistance program; provides for eligible incarcerated individuals to receive a monthly stipend upon release from a state correctional facility; makes an appropriation of $25,000,000.