§ 803-B — Limited credit time allowances for incarcerated individuals serving indeterminate or determinate sentences imposed for specified offenses

§ 803-b. Limited credit time allowances for incarcerated individuals\nserving indeterminate or determinate sentences imposed for specified\noffenses. 1. Definitions. As used in this section the following terms\nshall have the following meanings:\n (a) "eligible offender" means a person under the custody of the\ndepartment or confined in a facility in the department of mental\nhygiene, other than a person who is subject to a sentence imposed for\nmurder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of the penal\nlaw, an offense defined in article one hundred thirty of such law, or an\nattempt or a conspiracy to commit any such offense, who is otherwise\nsubject to:\n (i) an indeterminate sentence imposed for any class A-I felony offense\nother than criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first\ndegree as defined in section 220.21 of the penal law or criminal sale of\na controlled substance in the first degree as defined in section 220.43\nof such law or an attempt or a conspiracy to commit such controlled\nsubstance offense; or\n (ii) an indeterminate or determinate sentence imposed for an offense\nlisted in subdivision one of section 70.02 of the penal law; or\n (iii) an indeterminate or determinate sentence imposed for an offense\ndefined in article one hundred twenty-five of the penal law.\n (b) "limited credit time benefit" means:\n (i) in the case of an eligible offender who is subject to an\nindeterminate sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment, such\noffender shall be eligible for release six months before the completion\nof the controlling minimum period of imprisonment as defined by\nsubdivision one of section 70.40 of the penal law; or\n (ii) (A) in the case of an eligible offender who is not subject to an\nindeterminate sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment, such\noffender shall be eligible for conditional release six months earlier\nthan as provided by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 70.40 of\nthe penal law, provided that the department determines such offender has\nearned the full amount of good time authorized by section eight hundred\nthree of this article; the withholding of any good behavior time credit\nby the department shall render an incarcerated individual ineligible for\nthe credit defined herein;\n (B) in the event the limited credit time benefit defined herein causes\nsuch conditional release date to precede the parole eligibility date as\ncalculated pursuant to subdivision one of section 70.40 of the penal\nlaw, a limited credit time benefit shall also be applied to the parole\neligibility date, but only to the extent necessary to cause such parole\neligibility date to be the same date as the conditional release date;\n (C) an incarcerated individual shall not be eligible for the credit\ndefined herein if he or she is returned to the department pursuant to a\nrevocation of presumptive release, parole, conditional release, or\npost-release supervision and has not been sentenced to an additional\nindeterminate or determinate term of imprisonment.\n (iii) Regardless of the number of sentences to which an eligible\noffender is subject, the limited credit time benefit authorized pursuant\nto this section shall be limited to a single six-month credit applied to\nsuch person's parole eligibility date pursuant to subparagraph (i) of\nthis paragraph or to such person's conditional release date pursuant to\nsubparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. Except as provided in clause (B) of\nsubparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the limited credit time benefit\nauthorized pursuant to this section shall not be applied to an eligible\noffender's parole eligibility date and conditional release date.\n (c) "significant programmatic accomplishment" means that the\nincarcerated individual:\n (i) participates in no less than two years of college programming; or\n (ii) obtains an associate degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree\nor doctoral degree by completing a registered program from a New York\nstate degree-granting institution, or a program offered by an\nout-of-state institution of higher education authorized to offer\npost-secondary distance education in New York state pursuant to\napplicable rules and regulations promulgated by the education department\nof the state of New York; or\n (iii) successfully participates as an incarcerated individual program\nassociate for no less than two years; or\n (iv) receives a certification from the state department of labor for\nhis or her successful participation in an apprenticeship program; or\n (v) successfully works as an incarcerated individual hospice aid for a\nperiod of no less than two years; or\n (vi) successfully works in the division of correctional industries'\noptical program for no less than two years and receives a certification\nas an optician from the American board of opticianry; or\n (vii) receives an asbestos handling certificate from the department of\nlabor upon successful completion of the training program and then works\nin the division of correctional industries' asbestos abatement program\nas a hazardous materials removal worker or group leader for no less than\neighteen months; or\n (viii) successfully completes the course curriculum and passes the\nminimum competency screening process performance examination for sign\nlanguage interpreter, and then works as a sign language interpreter for\ndeaf incarcerated individuals for no less than one year; or\n (ix) successfully works in the puppies behind bars program for a\nperiod of no less than two years; or\n (x) successfully participates in a vocational culinary arts program\nfor a period of no less than two years and earns a servsafe certificate\nthat is recognized by the national restaurant association; or\n (xi) successfully completes the four hundred ninety hour training\nprogram while assigned to a department of motor vehicles call center,\nand continues to work at such call center for an additional twenty-one\nmonths; or\n (xii) receives a certificate from the food production center in an\nassigned position following the completion of no less than eight hundred\nhours of work in such position, and continues to work for an additional\neighteen months at the food production center; or\n (xiii) successfully completes a program of not less than eighteen\nmonths as established by the commissioner.\n (d) "serious disciplinary infraction" or "overall poor institutional\nrecord" shall be defined in regulations promulgated by the commissioner\nand need not be the same as the regulations promulgated for the meaning\nof serious disciplinary infraction pursuant to paragraph (d) of\nsubdivision one of section eight hundred three of this article.\n (e) "disqualifying judicial determination" means a judicial\ndetermination that the person, while an incarcerated individual,\ncommenced or continued a civil action or proceeding or claim that was\nfound to be frivolous as defined in subdivision (c) of section eight\nthousand three hundred three-a of the civil practice law and rules, or\nan order of a federal court pursuant to rule 11 of the federal rules of\ncivil procedure imposing sanctions in an action commenced by a person\nwhile an incarcerated individual against a state agency, officer or\nemployee.\n 2. Every eligible offender under the custody of the department or\nconfined in a facility in the department of mental hygiene may earn a\nlimited credit time allowance if such offender successfully participates\nin the work and treatment program assigned pursuant to section eight\nhundred five of this article and:\n (a) successfully completes one or more significant programmatic\naccomplishments; and\n (b) has not committed a serious disciplinary infraction or maintained\nan overall negative institutional record as defined in rules and\nregulations promulgated by the commissioner; and\n (c) has not received a disqualifying judicial determination.\n 3. No person shall have the right to demand or require the credit\nauthorized by this section. The commissioner may revoke at any time such\ncredit for any disciplinary infraction committed by the incarcerated\nindividual or for any failure to continue to participate successfully in\nany assigned work and treatment program after the certificate of earned\neligibility has been awarded. Any action by the commissioner pursuant to\nthis section shall be deemed a judicial function and shall not be\nreviewable if done in accordance with law.\n