STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 222--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MYRIE, BAILEY, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE, GONZALEZ, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, MAY, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction -- recommitted to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing applica- tion processing and review requirements for reprieves, commutations and pardons The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Clemency Justice Act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds 4 that families and communities are frequently torn apart due to the 5 United States' overzealous legal system and immigration system, and that 6 one of the predominant tools to mitigate this issue, executive clemency, 7 is grossly underused. Between 2017-2020, the governor's office received 8 6,405 clemency applications while only granting 81 pardons and 14 commu- 9 tations. The legislature further finds that the clemency process is 10 convoluted, unequal, and difficult to navigate with no way for appli- 11 cants to check the status of their application or expedite it in case of 12 an emergency. Meanwhile, an estimated 9,000 people, of which the over- 13 whelming majority are people of color, are serving life sentences while 14 an unprecedented pandemic ravages prisons and detention centers. A 15 simpler, more holistic approach to granting clemency would begin to 16 address the systemic injustices of the immigration and criminal legal 17 systems. 18 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 15-a to read 19 as follows: 20 § 15-a. Process and requirements for considering applications and 21 requests for reprieves, commutations and pardons. 1. Upon receipt of an EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00135-03-4
S. 222--A 2 1 application for a reprieve, commutation or pardon, the governor shall 2 provide to the applicant: 3 a. a written notification that the application has been received; 4 b. a receipt number that the applicant can then use to check on his or 5 her application status; 6 c. guidelines for supplementing the application with additional or 7 updated information; and 8 d. an electronic or written notification when a decision is made on 9 the application. 10 2. a. The application for a reprieve, commutation or pardon shall 11 include a section allowing applicants to describe an urgent need for the 12 reprieve, commutation or pardon. For the purposes of this section, an 13 "urgent need" shall include, but not be limited to, a pending deporta- 14 tion proceeding or final deportation order, humanitarian concerns, 15 health issues and the aging status of the applicant. 16 b. Applicants are permitted to update an application to indicate 17 urgent need due to changed circumstances following the initial 18 submission of the application. 19 3. The governor shall issue a decision on applications indicating 20 urgent need within ninety days from the date the application is 21 received. All other applications shall be granted or denied, or contin- 22 ued within one year from the date that the application is received. All 23 applicants shall receive written notification of any such action taken 24 on the application. Continued applications shall be left open to allow 25 applicants to submit further supporting materials according to guide- 26 lines provided to the applicant by the governor. 27 § 4. Section 17 of the executive law, as added by chapter 545 of the 28 laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows: 29 § 17. Governor to [communicate annually to legislature, reprieves, 30 commutations and pardons. He must annually communicate to the legisla- 31 ture, each case of reprieve, commutation or pardon; stating the name of 32 the convict, the crime of which he was convicted, the sentence and its 33 date, and the date of the commutation, pardon or reprieve] submit 34 reports to the legislature on a quarterly basis regarding reprieves, 35 commutations and pardons. 1. The governor shall submit a report to the 36 legislature on a quarterly basis regarding reprieves, commutations and 37 pardons. 38 2. Such report shall include: 39 a. The number of applications for reprieves, commutations and pardons 40 submitted pursuant to section fifteen-a of this article; and 41 b. If a reprieve, commutation or pardon was granted: (i) the date of 42 the commutation, pardon or reprieve; and (ii) the age, gender, race and 43 ethnicity of the approved applicant; or 44 c. If a reprieve, commutation or pardon was denied, the age, gender, 45 race and ethnicity of the denied applicant. 46 3. Such reports shall not include any personally identifiable informa- 47 tion about applicants. 48 4. The reports required by this section shall be published on a 49 publicly accessible website. 50 § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 51 have become a law and shall apply to applications for reprieves, commu- 52 tations and pardons received before, on or after the effective date of 53 this act. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal 54 of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act 55 on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.