New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle AA - STATE COMMISSION OF CORRECTION › Chapter VI - Minimum Standards And Regulations For Management Of State Correctional Facilities › Part 7600 - Legal Authority › Section 7600.1 - 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) Correction Law, article
				  3 delineates the functions, powers and duties of the commission 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, §
				  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, § 45[3]);
(3) to establish procedures for the speedy
				  and impartial review of grievances referred to it by the Commissioner of the
				  Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (Correction Law, §
				  45[4]);
(4) to promulgate rules and
				  regulations establishing minimum standards for the care, custody, correction,
				  treatment, supervision, discipline and other correctional programs for all
				  persons confined in correctional facilities (Correction Law, §
				  45[6]);
(5) 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, § 45[8]);
(6) to approve or reject plans or
				  specifications for the construction or improvement of correctional facilities
				  (Correction Law, § 45[10]);
(7) 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, §
				  45[15]);
(8) 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,
				  § 46[1]);
(9) to issue and
				  enforce a subpoena or a subpoena duces tecum,administer oaths and examine
				  persons under oath (Correction Law, § 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, § 46[4]); and
(11) to investigate and review the cause and
				  circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility
				  (Correction Law, § 47[1][a]).