Bill Text: NY A07041 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Establishes the New York state justice reinvestment fund and program to provide not-for-profit and faith based entities with funding to improve communities with a higher than normal criminal offender and ex-offender population; appropriates $10,000,000 therefor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to correction [A07041 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A07041-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7041
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                      April 3, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Correction
        AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the executive law, in relation
          to establishing the New York state justice reinvestment fund  and  the
          New  York  state justice reinvestment program; and making an appropri-
          ation therefor
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The  state finance law is amended by adding a new section
     2  99-gg to read as follows:
     3    § 99-gg. New York state justice reinvestment fund. 1. There is  hereby
     4  established  in  the  joint  custody  of  the  state comptroller and the
     5  commissioner of the division of criminal justice services an account  to
     6  be known as the New York state justice reinvestment fund.
     7    2.  Such fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated for the purpose
     8  of such fund, all other moneys credited  or  transferred  to  such  fund
     9  pursuant  to  law, all moneys required by the provisions of this section
    10  or any other law to be paid into or  credited  to  such  fund,  and  all
    11  moneys received by the fund or donated to it.
    12    3.  Moneys of such fund shall be available for appropriation and allo-
    13  cation to the division of criminal  justice  services  for  purposes  of
    14  distributing  such  moneys  to  qualified entities of the New York state
    15  justice reinvestment program pursuant to section  eight  hundred  forty-
    16  four-c of the executive law.
    17    4.  Moneys  shall  be  paid  out on the audit and warrant of the comp-
    18  troller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of  crimi-
    19  nal justice services.
    20    §  2.  The  executive  law is amended by adding a new section 844-c to
    21  read as follows:
    22    § 844-c. New York state justice reinvestment program. 1.  Creation and
    23  purposes. The commissioner shall establish within  the  division  a  New
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02932-01-9

        A. 7041                             2
     1  York  state  justice reinvestment program. The purpose of the program is
     2  to have state and local criminal justice agencies,  and  as  part  of  a
     3  larger  effort including courts, district attorneys and criminal defense
     4  offices,  to  work  in partnership with not-for-profit organizations and
     5  faith-based organizations in the community  on  issues  such  as  inmate
     6  re-entry  into the community, incarceration alternatives, family support
     7  programs for offenders and ex-offenders, as well as other issues related
     8  to improving the role of the criminal justice system in our communities.
     9    2. Qualified entity. (a) A qualified entity shall be either a not-for-
    10  profit organization or faith-based organization providing one or more of
    11  the following services:
    12    (i) re-entry support for inmates returning to the  community,  includ-
    13  ing, but not limited to job development and housing assistance;
    14    (ii)  incarceration alternatives, including, but not limited to commu-
    15  nity service programs, community youth court, alternative high  schools,
    16  service-enriched  supportive  housing and community based drug treatment
    17  programs;
    18    (iii)   family   support,    including,    but    not    limited    to
    19  fatherhood/parenting programs, for offenders and ex-offenders; and
    20    (iv)  community  based  collaborative  programs  with criminal justice
    21  agencies.
    22    (b) A qualified entity shall be located in communities  which  have  a
    23  higher  than  normal  concentration  of  offenders  and ex-offenders, as
    24  determined by the commissioner.
    25    (c) A qualified entity's services shall have  a  primary  emphasis  on
    26  communities  which  have a higher than normal concentration of offenders
    27  and ex-offenders, as determined by the commissioner.
    28    (d) A qualified entity shall submit a strategic plan  to  the  commis-
    29  sioner detailing how the applicant's program will reduce crime and reci-
    30  divism  in communities with a higher than normal concentration of offen-
    31  ders and ex-offenders, as determined by the commissioner.
    32    3. Application. Any qualified entity seeking funds from  the  division
    33  shall  file an application, as determined by the commissioner. All funds
    34  authorized pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid from the New  York
    35  state  justice reinvestment fund in accordance with section ninety-nine-
    36  gg of the state finance law.
    37    4. Responsibilities of the commissioner. (a)  The  commissioner  shall
    38  promulgate rules and regulations for the application of grant money from
    39  the New York state justice reinvestment fund.
    40    (b)  The  commissioner shall designate qualified entities based on the
    41  application criteria established by this section and additional criteria
    42  as determined by the commissioner.
    43    § 3. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), or so much  thereof
    44  as  may  be  necessary,  is  hereby  appropriated  to the New York state
    45  justice reinvestment fund from the general fund, for  administration  of
    46  grants  to  qualified  entities  selected  by  the  division of criminal
    47  justice services.
    48    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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