New York Assembly Bill A02355

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/16/25
• Refer: 1/16/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Establishes the parole board accountability act which requires incarcerated individuals who are released on parole, via a vote that is not unanimous, be placed in the community where one of the two board members primarily reside; establishes the procedure of which of the two board member's community the releasee shall be released to.

Summary

A02355 would create the “parole board accountability act” and change where certain people released on parole are placed after a non-unanimous board vote. Under the bill, if the parole board votes to release an incarcerated individual but the vote is not unanimous, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision would have to place that person in a shelter, halfway house, or transitional residential facility in the community where one of the two supporting board members primarily resides. The bill also sets out a specific method for choosing between the two board members’ communities: the commissioner would use a coin flip, and the result would be livestreamed on the department’s website. After the coin flip, the releasee would be placed in the geographically closest qualifying facility in the selected board member’s community. The bill takes effect immediately and amends the executive law by adding a new section 259-u.

Impact

The bill would amend the executive law to add new parole-placement requirements tied to the residences of parole board members who voted for release. It would affect the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s discretion over post-release placement for parolees in cases where the board’s release decision is not unanimous, and it would require use of shelters, halfway houses, or transitional residential facilities in a specified community rather than placement based solely on ordinary reentry or supervision considerations.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or recorded vote is available in the provided materials, so there is no documented legislative debate or voting pattern to gauge support or opposition. Based on the text alone, the bill appears to be framed as an accountability measure, but its unusual coin-flip mechanism and residence-based placement rule suggest it may be intended as a critique of parole-board decision-making rather than a conventional policy proposal.

Contention

The main points of contention would likely be the bill’s unusual and punitive-sounding placement rule, the use of a coin flip to determine where a parolee is sent, and the fact that placement would be tied to the personal residence of board members rather than the needs of the individual being released or the receiving community. Supporters might view it as increasing accountability for split parole decisions, while opponents would likely argue it is arbitrary, impractical, and potentially unfair to releasees and correction officials.