NY Corr L § 112 (2021)
2021 New York Laws COR - Correction Article 6 - Management of Correctional Facilities 112 - Powers and Duties of Commissioner Relating to Correctional Facilities and Community Supervision.

§  112.  Powers  and  duties  of commissioner relating to correctional facilities and community supervision. 1. The commissioner of corrections and community supervision shall have the superintendence, management and control of the correctional facilities in  the  department  and  of  the incarcerated  individuals  confined therein, and of all matters relating to the government, discipline, policing, contracts and  fiscal  concerns thereof.  He or she shall have the power and it shall be his or her duty to inquire into all matters connected with said correctional facilities. He or she shall make such rules and regulations, not  in  conflict  with the statutes of this state, for the government of the officers and other employees  of  the department assigned to said facilities, and in regard to the duties to be performed  by  them,  and  for  the  government  and discipline  of each correctional facility, as he or she may deem proper, and shall cause such  rules  and  regulations  to  be  recorded  by  the superintendent  of  the  facility, and a copy thereof to be furnished to each employee assigned to the facility. He or she shall also prescribe a system of accounts and records to be kept at each correctional facility, which system shall be uniform at all of said facilities, and he  or  she shall  also  make  rules and regulations for a record of photographs and other means of identifying each incarcerated  individual  received  into said  facilities.  He  or  she  shall appoint and remove, subject to the civil service law, subordinate  officers  and  other  employees  of  the department who are assigned to correctional facilities.   2.  The  commissioner shall have the management and control of persons released on community supervision and of all matters  relating  to  such persons'  effective reentry into the community, as well as all contracts and fiscal concerns thereof. The commissioner shall have the  power  and it  shall  be his or her duty to inquire into all matters connected with said community supervision. The commissioner shall make such  rules  and regulations,  not  in  conflict with the statutes of this state, for the governance of  the  officers  and  other  employees  of  the  department assigned  to  said community supervision, and in regard to the duties to be performed by them, as he or she deems proper  and  shall  cause  such rules  and  regulations  to  be  furnished  to each employee assigned to perform community supervision. The commissioner shall also  prescribe  a system  of  accounts and records to be kept, which shall be uniform. The commissioner shall also make rules  and  regulations  for  a  record  of photographs  and other means of identifying each incarcerated individual released  to  community  supervision.  The  commissioner  shall  appoint officers  and  other  employees  of  the  department who are assigned to perform community supervision.   3. The commissioner may require reports from the superintendent or any other officer or employee of the department assigned to any correctional facility or to perform community supervision in relation to his  or  her conduct as such officer or employee, and shall have the power to inquire into any improper conduct which may be alleged to have been committed by any  person  at any correctional facility or in the course of his or her performance of community supervision, and  for  that  purpose  to  issue subpoenas  to  compel  the  attendance  of witnesses, and the production before him or her of books, writings and papers. A subpoena issued under this section shall be regulated by the civil practice law and rules.   4. The commissioner and the chair  of  the  parole  board  shall  work jointly  to  develop  and  implement, as soon as practicable, a risk and needs assessment instrument or instruments, which shall  be  empirically validated,  that  would be administered to incarcerated individuals upon reception  into  a   correctional   facility,   and   throughout   their incarceration  and  release  to  community  supervision,  to  facilitate appropriate  programming  both  during  an   incarcerated   individual's  incarceration  and community supervision, and designed to facilitate the successful integration of incarcerated individuals into the community.   5. (a) The commissioner shall not make or promulgate any policy and/or regulation  requiring  an incarcerated individual to waive any religious right, including, but not limited to, daily prayer as  a  condition  for participation  in any incarcerated individual program including any such program developed and/or implemented pursuant  to  subdivision  four  of this  section  including,  but not limited to, the shock program and the industrial training program.  (b) Upon request, incarcerated individuals shall be granted exemptions for activities, including jobs, that coincide with the Sabbath and other work proscription days, including  those  set  forth  in  the  religious calendar.