BILL NUMBER: S5092
SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, chapter 738 of the laws of 2004
amending the correction law and other laws relating to controlled
substances and indeterminate sentences, and the executive law, in
relation to expanding eligibility in the merit time allowance program
for all incarcerated individuals except those serving a sentence of life
imprisonment without parole, murder in the first degree, incest, an act
of terrorism, aggravated harassment of an employee by an incarcerated
individual, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit any such offense, to
earn merit time allowance; and to repeal section 803-b of the correction
law relating to limited credit time allowances
 
PURPOSE:
To expand eligibility in the merit time allowance program.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends section 803 of the correction law to allow
all inmates, except those serving a sentence of life imprisonment with-
out parole for murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27
of the penal law, an offense defined in article one hundred thirty of
the penal law, incest, an offense defined in article two hundred sixty-
three of the penal law, an act of terrorism as defined in article four
hundred ninety of the penal law, aggravated harassment of an employee by
an inmate, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit any such offense.
The merit time allowance would be one-sixth of an indeterminate and
one-seventh of a determinate sentence. This section of the bill also
expands the criteria that a person in the custody of the Department of
Correctional Services (DOCS) may meet in order to earn merit time.
Section 2, 3, and 4 of the bill are conforming changes.
Sections 3 through 7 make technical is repeal of merit time eligibility.
Section 9 makes a conforming change to the bill, and changes to avoid
unintended automatic merit time for certain offenders in the Executive
Law.
Section 10 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Merit Time program allows inmates who excel, attain educational and
vocational degrees, and maintain a stellar disciplinary record the
opportunity to present their case to the Parole Board earlier than they
otherwise would have. The program promotes the rehabilitation of
inmates, and thereby provides several significant benefits.
Specifically, the program improves discipline within prison, enables the
Parole Board to make better evaluations of an inmate's ability to rein-
tegrate into society, and saves the State millions of dollars. For these
reasons the Governor's Commission on Sentencing Reform recommended the
program be expanded to allow violent offenders to participate. This bill
accomplishes that goal.
THE MERIT TIME PROGRAM PROMOTES REHABILITATION The program was first
instituted in 1997 and has been exceedingly successful. The results are
clear. Merit Time motivates inmates to take ownership of their future,
and to better themselves in order to prove that they are worthy of
release by the Parole Board, rather than simply waiting out their maxi-
mum sentence until the State is required to grant their release. Those
who successfully complete the Merit Time program and are released by the
Parole Board show far better recidivism rates than those who served out
their maximum sentence. Since 1997, only 6.1% of inmates who completed
the Merit Time program were convicted on another crime within two years,
as opposed to 16.5% return for new offense rate for all releases since
records have been kept. These individuals have made permanent and
profound changes in their lives. They left prison rehabilitated.
This bill expands on the successes of the Merit Time program. When the
original program was instituted in the late 20th century, violent offen-
ders were prohibited from participation, due to the fear that these
individuals were the "worst of the worst." It is true that those who
cause physical harm to another person, or take a life, deserve greater
punishment than those who commit other crimes. But it is false to
presume that a person who committed a violent crime is less able to be
rehabilitated than a person who committed a nonviolent crime.
Indeed, the opposite is true: The most serious violent offenders have a
lower recidivism rate than every category of non-violent offender. Of
the 585 most serious violent felony offenders who were released to
parole supervision for the first time between 2005 and 2008, none has
returned to prison for a new crime. Extending merit time to violent
offenders makes sense. Because violent offenders are better able to
rehabilitate themselves and live law-abiding lives after they are rein-
tegrated into the community, it is well worth allowing them to partic-
ipate in the Merit Time program. There are several other benefits as
well.
THE MERIT TIME PROGRAM IMPROVES DISCIPLINE IN PRISON. Maintaining safety
in prisons is directly related to the balanced ability to punish nega-
tive behavior and poor program participation while rewarding positive
behavior and good, program participation. An inmate who is able to
affirmatively take responsibility for their management programs, job
training classes, high school and college courses, all while maintaining
a superior disciplinary record, will behave better than an inmate who
has no such opportunities or incentives. The Merit Time program discour-
ages inmates from breaking the rules, and therefore facilitates the
effective administration of the prison. Indeed, the program has been
shown to reduce violence in prisons. This bill facilitates those posi-
tive outcomes by expanding the eligibility for the merit time program.
THE MERIT TIME PROGRAM SERVES AS AN EVALUATIVE TOOL For the Parole Board
to accurately assess the risk posed by an offender's reentry into the
community, they must understand the personal deficiencies in that
inmate's character that led to their incarceration, the actions taken by
that inmate to rehabilitate themselves while incarcerated, and have a
way to measure the results. The Merit Time program provides that infor-
mation, and the Parole Board is thereby enabled to make an informed
decision when considering the application of those inmates. This is
especially significant in the case of violent offenders, who we want to
be sure are truly rehabilitated before they are released.
THE MERIT TIME PROGRAM SAVES THE STATE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
It costs over $50,000 (medical and capital construction costs included)
to confine an inmate for one year. New York State taxpayers benefit when
prison is reserved for offenders who pose a risk to the public. The
Merit Time Program reduces incarceration costs by limiting the time that
persons who have proven their rehabilitation remain in prison, and
reducing the astronomical expense associated with recidivism. More
effective and less costly prison management, and control of prisoners
with less pressure on correctional officers, are corollary benefits of
good rehabilitation programs and earned rehabilitative incentives. We
should therefore work to expand successful programs that encourage
inmates to become better people, and demonstrate that they are prepared
to thrive and provide a benefit to society after their release. The
Department of Corrections Services estimates that the Merit Time program
has saved the State nearly $384 million dollars over the course often
years by graduating people those who have proven their worth.
Increasing incarceration while ignoring more effective approaches
imposes a heavy burden upon courts, corrections and communities, while
providing no impact on crime. Should this legislature expand eligibility
to violent offenders who have shown that they can reenter society safe-
ly, the State will save tens of millions more. In order to achieve the
desired public safety outcome, the requirements for an expanded Merit
Time Program for offenders with a history of violent behavior must be
rigorous and designed to promote life changing behaviors. As proposed
under this legislation only offenders participating in exceptional
programming aimed at permanently changing antisocial behaviors can
successfully complete the Merit Time Program.
As a result, many will not be eligible for the credit. Merit time credit
is not constituted as a right. It is only a privilege incentive afforded
to those who exhibit exceptional rehabilitative behaviors and adjust-
ment. An individual who continues to demonstrate counterproductive
behavior will not be eligible for merit time credit, and the Parole
Board will take longer to consider their case.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.3236 of 2023-2024; Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction;
S.4702 of 2021-22: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction;
2013-2020: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Annually;
2012: Discharge to Rules
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The bill will result in savings to the state because the early release
of inmates who earn merit time will result in a continued decline in the
prison population.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The 90th day after becoming law.

Statutes affected:
S5092: 803 correction law, 803(1) correction law, 803(2-a) correction law, 803-b correction law, 632-a executive law, 632-a(1) executive law