New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle AA - STATE COMMISSION OF CORRECTION › Chapter IV - Minimum Standards And Regulations For Management Of Secure Facilities Operated By The Office Of Children And Family Service › Part 7401 - Preamble And Legal Authority › Section 7401.2 - Legal Authority

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
				  Article XVII, section 5 of the New York State Constitution provides that there
				  shall be a State Commission of Correction which shall visit and inspect all
				  institutions used for the detention of sane adults charged with or convicted of
				  a crime.
(b) For the purposes of
				  the State Commission of Correction's authority, Correction Law, section
				  40(3) includes a secure
				  facility operated by the Office of Children and Family Services within the
				  definition of "correctional facility."
(c) Correction Law, article 3 delineates the
				  functions, powers and duties of the State Commission of Correction, which
				  include:
(1) to request and receive from any
				  department, division, board, bureau, commission or other agency of the State or
				  any political subdivision thereof or any public authority, such assistance,
				  information and data as will enable the commission, the board and the council
				  to properly carry out its functions, powers and duties (Correction Law, section
				  44[4]);
(2) to visit, inspect and
				  appraise the management of correctional facilities with specific attention to
				  matters such as safety, security, health of inmates, sanitary conditions,
				  rehabilitative programs, disturbance and fire prevention and control
				  preparedness and adherence to laws and regulations governing the rights of
				  inmates (Correction Law, section 45[3]);
(3) to promulgate rules and regulations
				  establishing minimum standards for the care, custody, rehabilitation,
				  treatment, supervision, discipline and other programs for correctional
				  facilities operated by the Division for Youth. (Correction Law, section
				  45 [6-b]);
(4) to close any correctional facility which
				  is unsafe, unsanitary or inadequate to provide for the separation and
				  classification of prisoners required by law or which has failed to adhere to or
				  comply with the rules and regulations promulgated by the commission (Correction
				  Law, section 45[8]);
(5) to approve
				  or reject plans or specifications for the construction or improvement of
				  correctional facilities (Correction Law, section 45[10]);
(6) to adopt, amend or rescind such rules and
				  regulations as may be necessary or convenient to the performance of the
				  functions, powers and duties of the commission (Correction Law, section
				  45 [15]);
(7) to have access at any and all times to
				  any correctional facility or part thereof and to all books, records and data
				  pertaining to any correctional facility deemed necessary for carrying out the
				  commission's functions, powers and duties (Correction Law, section
				  46[1]);
(8) to require from the
				  officers or employees of a correctional facility any information deemed
				  necessary (Correction Law, section 46[1]);
(9) to issue and enforce a subpoena or a
				  subpoena duces tecum, administer oaths and examine persons under oath
				  (Correction Law, section 46[2]);
(10) to notify the chief administrative
				  officer of any violation of the rules and regulations promulgated by the
				  commission and recommend remedial action and to issue a directive requiring
				  compliance with such rules and regulations. Upon the failure of the chief
				  administrative officer to comply with such directive, the commission may apply
				  to the Supreme Court for an order requiring compliance with such rule,
				  regulation or law (Correction Law, section 46[4]);
(11) to investigate and review the cause and
				  circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility
				  (Correction Law, section 47 [1][a]); and
(12) to investigate the condition of systems
				  for the delivery of medical care to inmates of correctional facilities
				  (Correction Law, section 47[1][a]).