§ 146 — Persons authorized to visit correctional facilities

§ 146. Persons authorized to visit correctional facilities. 1. The\nfollowing persons shall be authorized to visit at pleasure all\ncorrectional facilities: The governor and lieutenant-governor,\ncommissioner of general services, secretary of state, comptroller and\nattorney-general, members of the commission of correction, members of\nthe legislature and their accompanying staff and any employee of the\ndepartment as requested by the member of the legislature if the member\nrequests to be so accompanied, provided that such request does not\nimpact upon the department's ability to supervise, manage and control\nits facilities as determined by the commissioner, judges of the court of\nappeals, supreme court and county judges, district attorneys and every\nclergyman or minister, as such terms are defined in section two of the\nreligious corporations law, having charge of a congregation in the\ncounty wherein any such facility is situated. No other person not\notherwise authorized by law shall be permitted to enter a correctional\nfacility except by authority of the commissioner of correction under\nsuch regulations as the commissioner shall prescribe.\n 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, on each\nSeptember thirteenth anniversary date of the nineteen hundred\nseventy-one retaking of Attica correctional facility, in the absence of\nan emergency situation or other exigent circumstance, the commissioner\nshall ensure that any surviving state employees who were held as\nhostages and any immediate family members, as that term is defined in\nsubdivision four of section 120.40 of the penal law, of any of the state\nemployees who were held hostage for any period by rioting incarcerated\nindividuals during the period from September ninth through September\nthirteenth, nineteen hundred seventy-one, shall be afforded access to\nthe outside grounds of Attica correctional facility to conduct a private\ncommemorative ceremony in front of the Attica monument upon which are\ninscribed the names of employees who died as a result of the uprising\nand subsequent retaking.\n 3. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the\ncorrectional association shall be permitted to access, visit, inspect,\nand examine all state correctional facilities with twenty-four hours\nadvance notice to the department. Up to twelve people may comprise the\nvisiting party; provided, however, that only four people from the party\nmay enter a special housing facility or unit at the same time. Prior to\nthe visitation authorized pursuant to this subdivision, the correctional\nassociation shall provide to the department on, at least, an annual\nbasis a list of people who will be visiting the facility or facilities,\nincluding names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and their\ndesignation as an employee, board member, or designee in order for the\ndepartment to perform prompt background checks. The department may not\nplace restrictions on such visits and inspections, including during\nperiods when a facility is locked down or experiencing a facility wide\nemergency; provided, however, that the department may restrict access to\na portion of a facility in an emergency situation for the duration of\nthe emergency. For the purpose of this subdivision, an emergency shall\nbe determined by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee and\ndefined as a significant risk to the safety or security of the facility,\nor the health, safety or security of staff or incarcerated individuals,\nor an event that significantly compromises the operations of the\nfacility.\n b. At the commencement and conclusion of any visits to, or inspections\nand examinations of, state correctional facilities, the superintendent\nand executive team, to the extent practicable and upon request by the\ncorrectional association, shall meet with the correctional association.\nPrivately without representatives of the central office present,\nrepresentatives of the office of mental health and any other entities or\nagencies providing services in a facility shall meet with the\ncorrectional association, upon the correctional association's request\nduring the course of any visit. The correctional association may meet\nprivately with the incarcerated individual liaison committee and\nrepresentatives of the incarcerated individual grievance resolution\ncommittee or any other organization of incarcerated individuals\nrecognized by the department.\n c. During the course of any such visit, inspection or examination, and\nupon consent of the person being interviewed, the correctional\nassociation shall have the power to interview and converse publicly or\nconfidentially with any correctional employee or administrator, any\nincarcerated individual, and any other person providing, supervising, or\nmonitoring services in a correctional facility, whether or not employed\nby such facility. Such interviews shall not be restricted by the\ndepartment or the office of mental health or any other agency or\nattended by anyone on behalf of the department or the office of mental\nhealth or any other agency, nor shall there be any retaliation or\nadverse action taken by the department or other state agency against\nanyone who speaks with the correctional association. The department may\nnot limit the number of individuals the correctional association may\ninterview or the duration of the interviews, in any manner unreasonable\nunder the circumstances. The correctional association shall have the\npower to conduct private, confidential meetings reasonable in number\nunder a facility's immediate circumstances at their pleasure and without\nnotice to the department with incarcerated individuals in housing units\nand in attorney visiting rooms or other rooms in the facility in which\ntheir conversations will remain confidential. No department employee may\nattend or listen to any such meeting without the consent of the\ncorrectional association.\n d. The correctional association may request and receive from the\ndepartment information and data as will enable the correctional\nassociation to carry out its functions, powers and duties.\n The correctional association shall have access to the following\ninformation and records on a quarterly basis:\n (i) individuals admitted into custody, which shall contain, at\nminimum, individual-level records of all individuals admitted to\ncustody, including the individual's department ID, demographic\ninformation, admission type, reception facility name and housing unit,\nreception date, sentencing, and crime information;\n (ii) individuals under custody, which shall contain, at minimum,\nindividual-level records of all individuals presently under custody,\nincluding the individual's department ID, demographic information,\ncurrent facility name and housing unit, date of original and latest\nreception at the facility, out counts, sentencing and crime information,\nand parole eligibility and relevant dates;\n (iii) individuals released from custody, which shall contain, at\nminimum, individual-level records of all individuals released from\ncustody, including the individual's department ID, demographic\ninformation, releasing facility name and housing unit, release date,\nrelease county, sentencing and crime information, and parole eligibility\nand relevant dates;\n (iv) individuals on parole, which shall contain, at minimum,\nindividual-level records of all individuals on parole, including the\nindividual's department ID, demographic information, discharging\nfacility name and housing unit, start and release date, sentencing and\ncrime information, custody status, and voting pardon status;\n (v) programming, education, vocational, and work assignment\nrequirements, enrollment, and fulfillment, which shall contain, at\nminimum, individual-level records of all individuals under custody,\nincluding the individual's department ID, programs mandated by the\ndepartment, and indicators of whether the individual is not enrolled, is\non the waitlist, or has already completed any such requirement;\n (vi) departmental staffing levels, which shall contain, at minimum,\nfacility-level records of budgeted fill level, recommended staffing\nlevel, and actual filled items split by job category, including\naggregate data on staff on leave, and on the average of daily closed\nposts for each quarter;\n (vii) deaths, which shall contain, at minimum, individual-level\nrecords of all individuals who died while under custody, including the\nindividual's department ID, date and time of death, date of report,\ndemographic information, facility name and housing unit at time of\ndeath, location of terminal incident, reported immediate cause of death,\nand an indicator of whether an autopsy was performed;\n (viii) unusual incidents, which shall contain, at minimum,\nreport-level information for all unusual incidents, as defined by the\ndepartment at the current time, including the incident code, the name\nand code of the facility where the incident took place, the date and\ntime of the incident, the location within the facility, the name and\ncode of the categories and subcategories indicated in the report, the\nroles of all individuals involved in the report (including incarcerated\nand nonincarcerated individuals), the weapons used by each individual,\nif applicable, the type of force applied by department staff on each\nindividual, if applicable, and the degree of injury to staff and\nincarcerated individuals;\n (ix) disciplinary charges and penalties, which shall contain, at\nminimum, charge-level information for all disciplinary incidents,\nincluding: the incarcerated individual's department ID and facility\nname; the location, date, and time of the incident; the tier, code, and\ndescription of each charge; the date of the hearing; and the outcome and\npenalty associated with each charge; and\n (x) grievances and appeals, which shall contain, at minimum,\ngrievance-level information for all grievances filed with the\ndepartment, including those resolved informally, including: the\nincarcerated individual's department ID; ID, date filed, category, type,\nand facility of the grievance; and the outcomes and outcome dates for\nall reviews, including those by the incarcerated grievance resolution\ncommittee, superintendent, and central office review committee.\n e. The correctional association shall periodically, but not less than\nevery five years, conduct inspections of each state correctional\nfacility, prioritized based on the correctional association's assessment\nof systemic issues, and issue reports and recommendations to the\ngovernor, the legislature and the public about the conditions and issues\nat correctional facilities. When preparing such formal reports and\nrecommendations, the correctional association shall submit a tentative\ncopy of such report and recommendations to the commissioner. The\ncommissioner may submit a written response to such tentative report\nwithin sixty days of the receipt thereof, including a plan of action for\naddressing the findings and recommendations. When the correctional\nassociation thereafter submits its final report and recommendations, it\nshall contain a complete copy of the response, if any, submitted to the\ntentative report and recommendations.\n f. The correctional association may send written and/or electronic\nsurveys or questionnaires to people in custody or employees concerning\nconditions of confinement, working conditions, or other subjects within\nthe scope of their mission without prior approval of the department.\nPeople incarcerated shall be permitted to confidentially complete and\nreturn to the correctional association such surveys either in written\nformat or electronically. The correctional association may also receive\nfree confidential phone calls and emails from incarcerated individuals\nand/or set up a confidential hotline for individuals to use if they\nchoose to contact them. Physical mail received and sent to the\ncorrectional association is defined as privileged correspondence, and\nany and all processing controls, allowances for limited free postage,\nand advances of incarcerated individual funds for postage shall apply to\nprivileged correspondence received and sent to the correctional\nassociation. For the purposes of this section, identical incoming blank\nsurveys and questionnaires shall not be defined as privileged\ncorrespondence.\n g. The access, visits, and inspection of state correctional facilities\nby the correctional association pursuant to this subdivision shall be\nundertaken solely in furtherance of the correctional association's\nlawful powers, duties and obligations, and information obtained pursuant\nto these powers shall be used solely in furtherance of the correctional\nassociation's mission. Employees, board members and designees shall be\nrequired to sign an acknowledgement of the foregoing as a condition of\nentry into a correctional facility pursuant to this subdivision.\n