Page 21 - This Year in Albany 2025

Other Bills Passed (Continued)
Corrections Reform Package
S.8415 (Salazar) / A.8871 (Dilan)
CSEA Position: No objection
This legislation was passed in the wake of the murder of
Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility, which drew
scrutiny to use-of-force incidents and conditions inside
New York’s prisons. In the weeks that followed, thousands
of corrections officers engaged in an unauthorized strike,
citing unsafe working conditions and calling for the repeal of the
HALT Act, which limits the use of solitary confinement.
CSEA has been working with the State Legislature to enact policies that
protect everyone in these facilities, including by engaging with the HALT Act
Reform Committee, which is set to release recommended changes to this law in the coming
months.
This legislation includes several changes to the way correctional facilities operate, including:
Requiring correctional facilities to share video footage related to the death of an inmate
within 72 hours.
Requiring correctional facilities to install cameras with complete coverage in all areas aside
from interior cells, bathrooms/showers, and medical treatment areas.
Requiring DOCCS to promptly notify next-of-kin and other designees about the death of an
inmate and the surrounding circumstances.
Requiring DOCCS to conduct a study on deaths in correctional facilities and issue a report one
year after commission.
Increasing the number of appointees to the State Commission of Correction from three to
nine.
Allowing the correctional association to visit all state correctional facilities on any day at any
time with 24-hour notice.
Pausing the statute of limitations for an incarcerated individual to file a civil claim for
damages until they are released from custody.
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