S2069

The Senate laid aside S2069, an Executive Law amendment sponsored by Senator Scarcella-Spanton, following a motion by Senator Lanza. The bill did not advance to a vote.

The Senate passed S2069, an act to amend the Executive Law, by a vote of 60-0 on the noncontroversial calendar. The passage followed rejection of an amendment by Sen. Stec addressing disaster preparedness in correctional facilities. Stec appealed the presiding officer's nongermane ruling, arguing his amendment related to the bill's disaster preparedness focus by addressing how the HALT Act has eroded prison conditions and prevented adequate disaster response. Stec delivered an extensive critique of the HALT Act, which took effect in March 2022, citing a 32 percent increase in assaults on corrections staff (from 1,473 to 1,938) and an 81 percent increase in inmate-on-inmate assaults (from 1,489 to 2,697). He attributed the increases to HALT's restrictions on segregating violent inmates and argued the law has created a staffing crisis, with corrections officers working mandatory 24- to 36-hour shifts and being exposed to dangerous contraband. Stec advocated for repealing HALT and implementing mandatory body scanners, secure vendor programs, and narcotics-detecting canine patrols. The appeal failed on a show of hands vote of 22 ayes, sustaining the presiding officer's ruling. The bill was then restored to the noncontroversial calendar and passed unanimously.