N.Y. Correction Law § 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.
1. (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.
2. (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.
6.
1. (a) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to establish and maintain an annual heat mitigation plan to ensure incarcerated individuals and correctional facility staff have options available to stay cool, hydrated and safe during high heat temperatures. Such plan shall include, to the extent possible:
  1. (i) access to industrial fans, water, ice, and additional access to showers;
  2. (ii) commissaries fully stocked with personal fans prior to the beginning of summer;
  3. (iii) monitoring temperatures in housing, program and industry areas;
  4. (iv) maintaining a list of incarcerated individuals and correctional facility staff who have medical conditions that make them more susceptible to heat and monitor their well-being;
  5. (v) increased rounds and wellness checks; and
  6. (vi) providing shade on exercise yards if consistent with the facility's safety and security protocols.
2. (b) The commissioner, as part of such heat mitigation plan, shall evaluate the financial and operational feasibility of establishing cooling stations and a permanent sustainable cooling solution at each facility, provided that upon a determination or finding that a permanent sustainable cooling solution is feasible in each facility, the commissioner shall develop a timeline to implement the findings of such evaluation.
7.
1. (a) For the purposes of this subdivision the following terms shall have the following meanings:
  1. (i) "Substantiated allegation" means an allegation that was investigated and determined to have occurred. An allegation is determined to have occurred based on a preponderance of the evidence;
  2. (ii) "Unfounded allegation" means an allegation that was investigated and determined not to have occurred;
  3. (iii) "Unsubstantiated allegation" means an allegation that was investigated and the investigation produced insufficient evidence to make a final determination as to whether or not the event occurred.
2. (b) The commissioner shall collect data from the office of special investigations established by the department and report quarterly to the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, and the governor regarding complaints received the previous quarter by the office. For the report period, such data and report shall include, but not be limited to:
  1. (i) the number of substantiated, unsubstantiated, and unfounded allegations received by the office of special investigations categorized by location of the alleged incident, complaint type or allegation, subject of the allegation (i.e. incarcerated individual, security staff, civilian staff, or other), and how the allegation was received by the office;
  2. (ii) the total number of complaints: assigned for an investigation by the office of special investigations; assigned to each division or unit within the office of special investigations; referred to the appropriate central office division head; referred to a facility superintendent or community supervision bureau chief for investigation; referred to a facility superintendent or community supervision bureau chief for other appropriate action; and referred to a state, local, or federal agency with jurisdiction. Such data shall include the location of the alleged incident and the complaint type or allegation;
  3. (iii) the total number of investigations closed by each office of special investigations unit or division within the reporting time period;
  4. (iv) the total number of referrals for criminal prosecution. Such data shall include the location of the alleged incident, the complaint type or allegation, and the subject of the allegation (i.e. incarcerated individual, security staff, civilian staff, or other);
  5. (v) the total number of referrals to the department's bureau of labor relations for consideration of employee disciplinary charges including the location of the alleged incident; and
  6. (vi) office of special investigations staffing data including the total number of staff, position type, and number of open positions.
3. (c) The commissioner shall report annually the average length of time to close an investigation by the office of special investigation by division for each correctional facility and any recommendations made by the office of special investigations to the relevant departmental program areas for consideration of a revision to a policy or procedure. Such report shall categorize such recommendations by facility, the nature of the recommendation, and any action taken in response to the recommendation.