BILL NUMBER: S430
SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law and the executive law, in
relation to establishing an office of pretrial services
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to improve the quality of pretrial
services in New York.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5 of section 510.45 of the
criminal procedure law to shift responsibility for certifying pretrial
services agencies from the Office of Court Administration to a new
Office of Pretrial Services, sets certain quality standards for such
agencies, limits costs for defendants associated with pretrial services,
and adds new subdivisions 1-a, 2-a, and 6.
Subdivision 1 of CPL 510.45 is amended to provide certification proce-
dures for pretrial services agencies.
Subdivision 1-a of CPL 510.45 is added to provide for a decertification
procedure.
Subdivision 2 of CPL 510.45 is amended to require that pretrial services
be provided by community-based organizations and to clarify that provid-
ers may be certified in more than one county.
Subdivision 2-a of CPL 510.45 is added to set forth the framework for
what shall be the minimum standards for pretrial service agencies to be
established by the Office of Pretrial Services.
Subdivision 4 of CPL 510.45 is amended to provide that no individual
receiving pretrial services shall be required to pay out-of-pocket for
such services.
Subdivision 5 of CPL 510.45 is amended to clarify the data to be
collected from pretrial service agencies.
Subdivision 6 of CPL 510.45 is added to require periodic individualized
reviews for each individual case.
Section 2: Adds a new section 837-Y to the executive law establishing
the Office of Pretrial services within the Division of Criminal Justice
Services and setting its duties and responsibilities, including:
contracting with at least one pretrial services agency in each county;
identifying and disseminating best practices for pretrial services;
developing training materials for provider staff; developing a question-
naire for determining if a person poses a risk of flight; establishing
performance measures; identifying common challenges and barriers to
making court appearances; developing strategies for addressing the needs
of those under pretrial supervision; gathering data on 1) service deliv-
ery and decision-making tools, 2) characteristics of the population
receiving pretrial services, 3) failure to appear rates and subsequent
changes to pretrial release conditions, 4) pretrial rearrest data, 5)
services to which pretrial services agencies are making referrals, 6)
evaluations of pretrial services agencies, and 7) information on staff
caseloads; using all this data to make improvements in the system;
developing training materials for judges and court staff; seeking feed-
back from pretrial services recipients; establishing an advisory board
on pretrial services; and helping to coordinate funding to pretrial
services programs.
Section 3: Effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York's 2019 Bail Reform Law required every county to propose at
least one pretrial services agency to the Office of Court Administration
for certification. However, this legislation provided little guidance on
how to establish successful pretrial services programming. As a result,
many counties have struggled to achieve successful programs.
Outside New York City, nearly fifty (50) counties selected their local
probation agency as their pretrial services provider. The purpose of
pretrial services is to provide support to legally innocent New Yorkers
accused of crimes to ensure their return to court through court hearing
reminders and support services. Contrary to this goal, the purpose of
probation agencies is to supervise those convicted of crimes to ensure
they do not commit new offenses or violate rules imposed by the court or
the probation agency.
To improve the quality of services, the proposed legislation would
require all counties to transition their pretrial services program s out
of their probation departments to community-based programs. Eleven (11)
counties in our State already have these programs, including Cayuga,
Chemung; Wayne, Onondaga, Monroe, and New York City. This bill would
also establish an Office of Pretrial Services within the Division of
Criminal Justice Services to help facilitate this transition, manage
funding, provide guidance and training, share best practices, monitor
service quality, identify and address the supports that people with
pending cases need to collect and disseminate program data. These func-
tions will serve to improve pretrial services across New York, safely
reducing jail populations and the use of money bail, increasing court
appearance rates and reducing the likelihood of rearrest.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
SENATE:
2024: S9947A (Salazar) - referred to Rules, amended.
ASSEMBLY:
2023-2024: A8242 (Kelles) - referred to Codes
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This Act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.
Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
tive date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
effective date.