New York Senate Bill S05035

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/18/25
• Refer: 2/18/25
• Report Pass: 5/13/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Relates to the department of correction and community supervision's role with respect to discharge planning to assist incarcerated individuals in obtaining housing before release to community supervision.

Summary

S05035 would expand the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s responsibilities for discharge planning for incarcerated individuals who are approaching release to community supervision. The bill requires the department to do more than general assistance with employment, education, and housing; it specifically directs the department to engage in all necessary discharge planning to help secure housing before release, including exploring all available and potentially available housing resources. The bill also creates new obligations when discharge planning results in a person being released to temporary shelter housing regulated under specified state regulations. In those cases, DOCCS would have to reimburse the local social services district for the cost of that temporary housing, provide a report 30 days before discharge describing the discharge planning that was done, and continue providing 30-day follow-up reports after release until the person is no longer on parole, detailing continuing efforts to obtain non-temporary housing that complies with parole conditions.

Impact

The bill would amend Correction Law section 201 to make housing-focused discharge planning a more explicit statutory duty of DOCCS for people leaving incarceration for community supervision. It would also create a reimbursement and reporting framework involving local social services districts when a release plan relies on shelter-based temporary housing, shifting some financial responsibility to the state agency and increasing documentation requirements around reentry housing efforts. The measure would affect incarcerated individuals, parolees, DOCCS, and local social services districts, particularly in cases where housing instability leads to shelter placement at release.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, as the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee approved it unanimously by a 7-0 vote. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded debate to indicate broader support or opposition arguments. Based on the text and vote, the bill appears to be framed as a reentry and housing-stability measure with bipartisan or at least noncontroversial committee support.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are likely to be the cost and administrative burden of the new reimbursement and reporting requirements, especially for DOCCS and local social services districts. Another possible issue is the scope of the department’s obligation to explore all available and potentially available housing resources, which could raise questions about feasibility, staffing, and what counts as sufficient discharge planning. The bill also touches on the balance between helping people secure housing and ensuring that any housing arrangements do not conflict with parole conditions.