NEW YORK STATE PRIORITIES

Protect In-Person Visits Bill, S5037/A4603 (Senator Sepulveda/Assemblymember Weprin; )
This bill protects in-person visits at state and local correctional facilities, ensuring that video conferencing cannot replace in-person visits—an alarming trend seen in other states and localities, sometimes required by the contracted for-profit tech companies. New York needs legislation to ensure in-person visiting is codified as a legal right, and that it is accessible via weekend and/or evening visiting hours so that children and families do not have to miss school or work to visit loved ones. The Senate passed this bill the last six years, and we urge the Legislature to pass this bill immediately. In 2025, the NYC Council passed Resolution 1044, sponsored by Council Member Hudson, urging the state Legislature to pass this bill.  

Compassion and Reproductive Equity (CARE) Act, S4583A/A4879A (Senator Salazar/Assemblymember Kelles)
This bill promotes the well-being of babies by requiring correctional facilities to provide basic standards of pre- and postnatal care for incarcerated individuals who are pregnant. It institutes universal, science-based conditions in correctional facilities for bonding, promoting positive outcomes for babies who remain with their incarcerated parents during the critical bonding period of the first year of life. This bill passed in the Senate the last two legislative sessions.

Fair and Timely Parole Bill, S159/A127 (Senator Salazar/Assemblymember Weprin)
The Fair and Timely Parole Bill requires the state to show that an individual poses a current and unreasonable risk of violating the law and a threat to public safety in order to deny parole release once they have reached their minimum sentence. The bill also requires the New York State Board of Parole to consider all evidence of rehabilitation when determining unreasonable risk to public safety, correcting the current injustice of prioritizing the nature of the original crime to determine and often deny release. 

Elder Parole Bill, S454/A514 (Senator Hoylman-Sigal/Assemblymember Davila)
The Elder Parole Bill would allow individuals 55 years of age and older who have served 15 years or more an opportunity to appear before the Board of Parole, providing a chance at release for those who were not given parole-eligible sentences decades ago or were given such excessive sentences that they will not be alive when their minimum sentence is served. Currently, one in four incarcerated individuals is age 50 or older at great expense to taxpayers and the state, with little to no public safety benefit. Incarcerating older people does not make us safer–recidivism rates for those over 60 for new offenses are close to zero¹ —and deprives families and communities of their wisdom, contributions, and leadership.

Rights Behind Bars Bill, S3763/A1261A (Senator Salazar/ Assemblymember Souffrant Forrest)
This bill protects the human rights of people in prisons, jails, and forensic facilities, including limiting the use of cell or segregated confinement; granting access to tablets; ensuring visits cannot be taken away as punishment; and, restoring the ability to send/ receive packages from loved ones. 

Reentry Assistance Bill,   S6222/A193  (Senator Cooney/Assemblymember Gibbs)
This bill addresses the inadequate, longstanding practice of providing people with $40 “at the gate” upon release from prison. It establishes a reentry fund to provide stipends to individuals released from a New York State prison, setting them up for success by providing cash assistance. The first payment is provided by DOCCS at release, with subsequent payments distributed by community supervision agencies, up to a total of $2,550 per person.

Youth Justice and Opportunities Act, S4330/A5293 (Senator Myrie/ Assemblymember Walker)
This bill would apply principles of youth development and current brain science by treating young people up to age 26 as emerging adults, protecting their futures, promoting community well-being, and providing them with the opportunity to move forward in their lives without the barrier of a criminal conviction. Specifically, the bill grants certain individuals youthful offender status; adds a new category of individuals eligible for young adult offender status; and enables individuals with conviction records to petition the court for “re-sentencing” and the possibility of being granted youthful offender or young adult status retroactively. 

NEW YORK CITY PRIORITIES

Reducing the Numbers of People in NYC Jails and Closing Rikers Island
The city is legally bound to close Rikers by 2027. By investing in alternatives to detention and incarceration, and effectively addressing people’s underlying needs with community-based solutions, NYC can drastically and safely reduce the number of people detained on Rikers Island. The harm caused by Rikers is tremendous, affecting not only those held there (85% of whom are pre-trial and 88% of whom are people of color² ), but also the thousands of staff who work there, and the thousands of NYC residents connected to and visiting those detained there.  

ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES

► Enact the Justice Roadmap, a legislative agenda addressing the harms caused by the entangled criminal legal and immigration systems, including: Treatment Court Expansion Act; Freedom from Forced Labor; Voting Rights for Incarcerated People; Gender, Identity, Respect, Dignity and Safety Act; Connecting Families; and, the New York for All Act, among many other important bills. 

► Pass the Communities Not Cages Platform, which includes the Marvin Mayfield Act, the Second Look Act, and the Earned Time Act.

► Pass the NYS Housing Access Voucher Bill, S72/A1704.

► Pass the New York City End Correctional Community Surveillance Act. 

 

Download the 2026 full policy agenda here.