N.Y. Correction Law § 146 – Persons authorized to visit correctional facilities

1. The following persons shall be authorized to visit at pleasure all correctional facilities: The governor and lieutenant-governor, commissioner of general services, secretary of state, comptroller and attorney-general, members of the commission of correction, members of the legislature and their accompanying staff and any employee of the department as requested by the member of the legislature if the member requests to be so accompanied, provided that such request does not impact upon the department's ability to supervise, manage and control its facilities as determined by the commissioner, judges of the court of appeals, supreme court and county judges, district attorneys and every clergyman or minister, as such terms are defined in section two of the religious corporations law, having charge of a congregation in the county wherein any such facility is situated. No other person not otherwise authorized by law shall be permitted to enter a correctional facility except by authority of the commissioner of correction under such regulations as the commissioner shall prescribe.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, on each September thirteenth anniversary date of the nineteen hundred seventy-one retaking of Attica correctional facility, in the absence of an emergency situation or other exigent circumstance, the commissioner shall ensure that any surviving state employees who were held as hostages and any immediate family members, as that term is defined in subdivision four of section 120.40 of the penal law, of any of the state employees who were held hostage for any period by rioting incarcerated individuals during the period from September ninth through September thirteenth, nineteen hundred seventy-one, shall be afforded access to the outside grounds of Attica correctional facility to conduct a private commemorative ceremony in front of the Attica monument upon which are inscribed the names of employees who died as a result of the uprising and subsequent retaking.
3. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the correctional association shall be permitted to access, visit, inspect, and examine all state correctional facilities with twenty-four hours advance notice to the department. For any visit that will include units or areas staffed by the office of mental health, such notice shall also be provided to the office of mental health. Up to twelve people may comprise the visiting party; provided, however, that only four people from the party may enter a special housing facility or unit at the same time. Prior to the visitation authorized pursuant to this subdivision, the correctional association shall provide to the department on, at least, an annual basis a list of people who will be visiting the facility or facilities, including names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and their designation as an employee, board member, or designee in order for the department to perform prompt background checks. The department may place restrictions on such visits and inspections when a facility is locked down or experiencing a facility wide emergency. In addition, the department may restrict access to a portion of a facility in an emergency situation for the duration of the emergency. For the purpose of this subdivision, an emergency shall be determined by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee and defined as a significant risk to the safety or security of the facility, or the health, safety or security of staff or incarcerated individuals, or an event that significantly compromises the operations of the facility. b. Upon twenty-four hours advance notice, at the commencement or conclusion of any visits to, or inspections and examinations of, state correctional facilities, the superintendent and executive team, to the extent practicable, shall meet with the correctional association. Upon twenty-four hours advance notice, and with the consent of the party, the correctional association may meet privately, without representatives of the central office present, with representatives of the office of mental health and any other entities or agencies that are providing services in a facility, the incarcerated individual liaison committee and representatives of the incarcerated individual grievance resolution committee or any other organization of incarcerated individuals recognized by the department. c. During the course of any such visit, inspection or examination, and upon consent of the person being interviewed, the correctional association shall have the power to interview and converse publicly or confidentially with any correctional employee or administrator, any incarcerated individual, and any other person providing, supervising, or monitoring services in a correctional facility, whether or not employed by such facility. Such interviews shall not be restricted by the department or the office of mental health or any other agency or attended by anyone on behalf of the department or the office of mental health or any other agency, nor shall there be any retaliation or adverse action taken by the department or other state agency against anyone who speaks with the correctional association. The department may not limit the number of individuals the correctional association may interview or the duration of the interviews, in any manner unreasonable under the circumstances. During the course of any visit, inspection or examination, the correctional association shall have the power to conduct private, confidential meetings reasonable in number under the circumstances with incarcerated individuals in housing units and in attorney visiting rooms or other rooms in the facility in which their conversations will remain confidential. No department employee may attend or listen to any such meeting without the consent of the correctional association. d. The correctional association, on a quarterly basis, may request and, to the extent practicable, receive from the department in a form and manner prescribed by the department the following information and records:
1. (i) individual-level records for all individuals admitted into custody during the previous quarter, under custody at the end of the previous quarter, released from custody during the previous quarter, and on parole at the end of the previous quarter;
2. (ii) departmental staffing levels at each facility at the end of the previous quarter;
3. (iii) under custody deaths at each facility during the previous quarter;
4. (iv) report-level unusual incidents during the previous quarter;
5. (v) the number and type of disciplinary hearings held at each facility during the previous quarter, including charges and sanctions imposed;
6. (vi) the number and type of grievances filed at each facility during the previous quarter; and
7. (vii) incarcerated individuals at each facility enrolled in programming and academic and vocational education during the previous quarter. e. The correctional association shall periodically, but not less than every five years, conduct inspections of each state correctional facility and issue reports and recommendations to the governor, the legislature and the public about the conditions and issues at correctional facilities. When preparing such formal reports and recommendations, the correctional association shall submit a tentative copy of such report and recommendations to the commissioner. The commissioner may submit a written response to such tentative report within sixty days of the receipt thereof. When the correctional association thereafter submits its final report and recommendations, it shall contain a complete copy of the response, if any, submitted to the tentative report and recommendations. f. The correctional association may send surveys or questionnaires to people in custody or employees concerning conditions of confinement, working conditions, or other subjects within the scope of their mission without prior approval of the department. People incarcerated shall be permitted to confidentially complete and return to the correctional association such surveys. The correctional association may also receive free phone calls from incarcerated individuals through a hotline set up by the correctional association for individuals to use if they choose to contact them, and the department shall not track or monitor such calls. Physical mail received and sent to the correctional association is defined as privileged correspondence, and any and all processing controls, allowances for limited free postage, and advances of incarcerated individual funds for postage shall apply to privileged correspondence received and sent to the correctional association. For the purposes of this section, identical incoming blank surveys and questionnaires shall not be defined as privileged correspondence. g. The access, visits, and inspection of state correctional facilities by the correctional association pursuant to this subdivision shall be undertaken solely in furtherance of the correctional association's lawful powers, duties and obligations, and information obtained pursuant to these powers shall be used solely in furtherance of the correctional association's mission. Employees, board members and designees shall be required to sign an acknowledgement of the foregoing as a condition of entry into a correctional facility pursuant to this subdivision.