The finalized measure that would automatically seal millions of criminal records in New York may have satisfied the concerns of Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The governor, speaking in Buffalo earlier on Monday, signaled the legislatively approved measure is "much closer to what I've asked for" when it comes to exceptions for crimes like murder and rape.

A proposal to automatically seal many criminal records was approved by the state Assembly on Friday in a milestone vote for a measure that has previously languished in the chamber.

The measure was approved after an hours-long debate in the state Assembly, 83-64.

A major agreement for housing is off the table in Albany, but a bill to seal many criminal records remains very much alive.

New York lawmakers are working to conclude the legislative session that could culminate with a bill that seals many criminal records. It's a long-sought measure for criminal justice reform advocates, but one that has been opposed by law enforcement organizations who mounted a final effort on Thursday to oppose the legislation.

For supporters of automatically sealing criminal records in New York, millions of people with criminal convictions that are now years old would be able to secure housing and a job — potentially keeping them out of the criminal justice system for good.

For opponents, the measure raises too many logistical and public safety question marks.

Housing policy to address a spiraling affordability problem and a measure that would seal criminal records after a number of years for potentially millions of New Yorkers have become the top-tier issues ending the legislative session in Albany.

State lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are weighing agreements on both issues as members of the Legislature seek to conclude their Capitol work for the remainder of the year.

State legislative leaders say they're close to reaching a deal to change state law to seal New Yorkers' criminal records after a certain period of time as the legislative session races toward the finish line.

"We are definitely negotiationg — I think we're pretty close," Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday.

Whether to seal criminal records in New York is coming down to one key question for Democrats: How long should a person’s conviction affect their life?

Democratic lawmakers this month are negotiating a plan that would seal many criminal records — helping those with convictions obtain a job or housing. But Republicans remain skeptical, arguing that recidivism is harder to judge and capture.

A proposal that would make it easier for people who have served more than a decade in prison to be considered for parole is gaining ground in the state Senate with a majority of lawmakers in the chamber now signing on to support the bill.

Supporters of the legislation on Tuesday announced the bill has the backing of 32 lawmakers as advocates hope to approve the measure before the legislative session ends on June 8.

With the clock ticking down on the New York legislative session, criminal justice advocates are calling for passing “Clean Slate” legislation before the scheduled end of the legislative session on June 8.

State Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, a Queens Democrat who sponsors the legislation in the Assembly, told Capital Tonight that she’s “confident” that the bill can get done by June 8 thanks to additional support the bill has gotten after “significant changes” were made.

New York state lawmakers, facing the final month of the legislative session, are considering a broad range of measures meant to address the state's criminal justice and public safety laws as voters continue to rank crime as a top priority for them.

The measures are varied: Supporters hope a bill to seal many criminal records is gaining momentum in the state Assembly, while Democrats are also calling for provisions to address retail theft and assaults on workers.

For years, criminal justice advocates have called for a measure to seal many criminal records in New York in order to help formerly convicted people find employment.

But the legislation has stalled in the state Assembly, which despite its large Democratic majority and recent track record of making progressive-backed changes to criminal justice laws, has not taken up the provision known as the Clean Slate Act for a vote.

For the third time in the last four years, New York's law for when cash bail is required in criminal cases is set to change, an amendment driven by ongoing concerns over crime and public safety registered by voters, but opposed by the progressive supporters of a 2019 law.

An agreement in the tentative state budget deal announced Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul will end the so-called "least restrictive" restrictive standard when bail is being considered by judges in serious criminal cases and give them more discretion when considering bail.

Changes to New York’s controversial bail law have dominated the budget talks. But behind the scenes, further changes to the state’s criminal justice system could be made as part of a final spending plan that is now more than two weeks past its due date.

Lawmakers are weighing with Gov. Kathy Hochul whether to make further changes to the state's discovery law first approved four years ago as a way of accelerating access to evidence for criminal defendants.

Discovery laws in New York could be under scrutiny in the state budget talks as organizations representing public defenders on Wednesday raised opposition to any potential amendments.

Prosecutors have called for changes as well as more money to handle the faster turning over of evidence to defense, pointing to how time consuming the recently passed provisions have become for their offices.

Changes to how New York’s bail laws work have courted growing controversy over the last four years – and are coming to a head in the state budget talks this month.

Top Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are trying to thread a delicate needle: Making changes to a 2019 law that ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges without undermining the original intent of the measure to ensure low-income people accused of crimes are not unfairly languishing in jail awaiting trial.

Potential changes to New York's bail law remains the dominate issue in the ongoing budget talks, now 10 days past its due date.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters Monday the negotiations continue to center around Gov. Kathy Hochul's effort to make it easier for judges to set cash bail when defendants face serious criminal charges.

Labor unions this week are urging lawmakers to reject proposals to amend New York's 2019 law that limited the use of cash bail as the late state budget hinges on whether a deal on the issue can be reached.

Hochul wants to end the so-called "least restrictive" provision under the law that could enable judges to require bail under serious criminal charges. A broader state budget agreement has been late by a week over the issue.

New York's state budget debate has included weighty topics that will affect millions of people in the state: How to expand housing, whether the minimum wage should be increased, whether charter schools should expand and if wealthy people should get another tax increase.

But all of those issues are being subsumed in the budget talks by negotiations over once again changing New York's 2019 bail law.

Hundreds of progressive-leaning organizations on Monday urged state lawmakers to avoid broad changes to New York's bail law that would result in jailing more defendants.

The plea from the groups, including the Fund Excluded Workers Coalition, CUNY Rising Alliance, Housing Justice for All, Sunrise Movement NYC, and the Alliance for Quality Education, comes as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are negotiating a state budget that was due to pass last weekend, but remains unsettled.

New York will start its fiscal year without a state budget in place as Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers have failed to reach the April 1 deadline amid differences over issues that range from housing policy to making alterations to a 2019 bail law.

Talks are expected to continue into the weekend between the governor and the top Democrats in the state Legislature. But rank-and-file members of the state Assembly and Senate have left the building, and despite the warnings from legislative leaders, indicated they will be out of Albany for at least part of the weekend with no agreement appearing imminent.

Top Democrats in the state Legislature on Thursday signaled a willingness to "clarify" New York's 2019 bail law as conversations surrounding the issue remain a key sticking point in the unresolved state budget talks.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins did not rule out a potential compromise on the bail issue as Gov. Kathy Hochul has called for ending a so-called "least restrictive" provision for when judges determine bail for serious criminal charges.

More than 100 law school professors in New York, in a letter to top state officials, urged them to turn down changes to a law that curtailed the use of cash bail for criminal charges.

The letter argues that contracting the law to end the use of a "least restrictive" means standard for when judges consider bail for serious criminal charges would lead to lower-income people and people of color behind bars while awaiting trial.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday defended the public safety initiatives in her executive budget proposal, including her push to change the state's bail reform laws, after releasing new statewide crime data from the state Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Shootings in New York decreased by 16% from 2021 to 2022, including down 15% in upstate communities and a 17% reduction in New York City — or down to pre-pandemic levels, the governor said during a press conference in the state Capitol in Albany.

A bill that aims to seal many criminal records in New York is advancing in the state Senate after it was approved by a key committee in the chamber.

But full passage of the measure remains in doubt once again this year as supporters hope to either have the provision included in an agreed-to state budget in the coming days or approved by June 8, the final scheduled day of the legislative session.

A debate over the extent to which New York's criminal justice laws should be changed — balanced against concerns over crime and public safety — is once again dominating the budget negotiations in Albany.

Measures to address crime, but also create a more equitable system of criminal justice in New York, is part of the push and pull in the state budget talks with less than two weeks to go before the April 1 deadline.

New York state lawmakers unveiling their own budget proposals this week in negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul are calling for measures meant to address public safety, such as spending more money for after school programs, funding anti-violence organizations and addressing support for public defenders as well as prosecutors.

But top Democratic leaders in the state Senate and Assembly on Wednesday, a day after the proposals were released, indicated they had little intention of making further changes to a 2019 bail law that ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges.

This past weekend, the members of the Legislative Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus met up in Albany for their annual conference weekend.

The caucus’ chair, state Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, a Long Island Democrat, told Capital Tonight that the weekend is used to celebrate successes and hammer out solutions to “systemic injustices” that communities of colors face in New York.

Last year, New York's law that curtailed the use of cash bail for many criminal charges became a flashpoint in the race for governor and a debate over public safety in the state.

But eight weeks into the new legislative session in Albany this year, the bail law has barely been a blip on the radar even as Gov. Kathy Hochul seeks yet another change to the measure.

A bill meant to seal many criminal records has gained the backing of all of the newly Democratic elected members of the New York state Assembly, supporters of the legislation on Wednesday said.

The proposal, known as the Clean Slate Act by its supporters, has stalled in the state Assembly over the last several years.

Judges who preside over criminal courts would be required to undergo yearly training for New York's bail laws under a measure proposed Thursday by two state lawmakers.

The proposal, which was also paired with a measure that is meant to tighten investigative oversight by the Commission on Judicial Conduct, comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed in her $227 billion budget plan a change to the law that has largely restricted cash bail requirements for many criminal charges.

There is a lot in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget that the Legal Aid Society is disappointed with, including what it calls the budget’s failure to propose any new money for public defenders and legal service organizations.

“It’s really astonishing,” Tina Luongo, chief attorney of the Criminal Defense Practice for the Legal Aid Society, said of the governor’s $141 million increase in the Aid to Prosecution budget, and zero increase in the Aid to Defense budget for public defenders.

A bill that would seal many criminal records in New York has advanced through a key committee in the state Senate on Tuesday, but its fate this session in Albany remains up in the air.

Lawmakers on the state Senate Codes Committee approved the measure, known by its supporters as the Clean Slate Act, a move that sets the proposal up for final passage in the state Senate.

As she begins her full term this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to tackle voter concerns around crime. A key plank on her public safety agenda is increasing funding for changes to how evidence is handled in criminal cases.

"We are not going to allow people to commit crimes and violate our laws and hurt other individuals," Hochul said last week after visiting the Albany Public Safety Building. "We’re finding many, many ways to address it."

It’s a heavy lift achieving racial equity within well-established systems, including criminal justice, but that’s the goal of the Albany LEAD program: To drive greater racial equity in the legal system.

LEAD, which is an acronym for “Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion," started in Seattle, Washington in 2011. The program came to Albany in 2016. Since its inception, Albany Police have diverted 315 people from arrest.

The New York inspector general recently released a report on worsening racial disparities in the state's prisons.

According to the group Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP), one way the governor can address the issue is by granting more clemencies on a rolling basis.

Standing together in the Capitol in Albany on Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James said they will analyze pretrial release and other data in wake of changes the Legislature made to the state's cashless bail laws this spring.

Gov. Hochul left changing the state's bail laws open for discussion when the Legislature returns for session in January.

Financial assistance for the victims and survivors of crime whose property was damaged, stolen or destroyed will be able to receive up to $2,500 to replace items deemed to be essential for their health, safety or welfare.

The new reimbursement ends a $500 cap on damaged or stolen property.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares has seen enough — alarmed by a rise in shootings and other crimes that have plagued the state's capital city.

"In my city, in Albany County, it is the African American and Hispanic community that is bearing the burden of all of this violence," he said in an interivew Friday.

One of the most politicized issues of this election cycle is bail reform.

Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin, have argued that cashless bail has led to an increase in crime. Democrats like Gov. Kathy Hochul say it hasn’t.

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik released a letter on Wednesday questioning the move to change a purchasing code that could make it easier for authorities to track gun purchases.

The change, made by an international regulatory body earlier this year, has been embraced by Democrats and supporters of stricter gun laws. But Republicans, as well as gun dealers and owners, have called the change an erosion of rights and privacy.

Republicans across New York have been pushing for the state to change its bail laws.

Candidate for governor Lee Zeldin said while the governor's office uses data points to argue the current laws are working, there are too many stories of criminals who are released and proceed to commit more heinous crimes.

New York state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has remained one of the most steadfast and prominent supporters of the state measures that largely ended cash bail for many criminal charges.

And as the law has become a flashpoint in a larger debtate over crime and public safety in New York statewide, Heastie has decried how the law has been blamed — in his view unfarily — for rising violence.

In 1994, Republican George Pataki unseated Democratic incumbent Mario Cuomo in the governor's race in part with a pledge to tackle crime and public safety in New York.

Now, nearly 30 years later, Pataki sees parallels in the campaign for governor as Republican nominee Lee Zeldin pushes a public safety message.

New York's law books will no longer use the word "inmate" to describe people in prison as part of a measure signed Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Use of the word "inmate" has come under criticism by advocates who have sought changes to New York's criminal justice system, arguing the term dehumanizes people. Laws in New York will now refer to people in prison as "incarcerated individuals."

Two parole reform bills pushed by New York criminal justice advocates became victims of rising violent crime around the country.

Elder Parole (S.15A/A.8855A) and Fair and Timely Parole (S.7514/A.4231) both languished at the end of a legislative session marked by a fierce pushback by the public, Republicans and moderate Democrats who see the national rise in crime as a powerful counter-narrative to the push for social justice seen in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and many others.

A measure that would seal criminal records for thousands of New Yorkers has the potential to be revived in the coming days after stalling for the last several years in Albany.

The bill, known as the Clean Slate Act, advanced out of a key committee in the state Senate on Tuesday afternoon. It's final fate, however, remains unclear as lawmakers plan to leave Albany by the end of the week for the rest of the year.

With the clock on the New York legislative session ticking, criminal justice reform advocates are hoping to secure an 11th hour win by passing the Clean Slate Bill, which would seal the criminal records of eligible New Yorkers. Garrett Smith, a statewide organizer at the Center for Community Alternatives, told Capital Tonight that a criminal record is a “scarlet letter” on the chest of New Yorkers hoping to access employment or housing.

The Clean Slate Bill, which is sponsored by state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (D-Queens), would automatically seal the criminal records of eligible New Yorkers seven years after sentencing for a felony and three years after the sentencing of a misdemeanor. Gov. Hochul included a clean slate proposal in her 2022 legislative agenda, but the bill hasn’t gotten over the finish line yet. Smith said there are disagreements on the timing of eligibility and argues that pushing the eligibility further back defeats the purpose of the clean slate legislation.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday called for legislation that would raise the age of purchasing certain types of firearms from 18 to 21 in New York in the wake of mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo this month that have jolted the nation.

Hochul said “at minimum” she wants the law to limit the purchase of AR-15-style weapons for those under age 21.

Finding ways of responding to the Buffalo mass shooting that left 10 people dead presents no easy solution, and for those tackling extremism online is a confluence of trends over the last several years.

The shooting has drawn in the rise and spread of violent hate speech over the internet and the access to guns despite stringent firearms laws in New York.

Top Republican lawmakers in the state Legislature are calling for a return to the death penalty in New York, reviving a debate over how to punish especially heinous crimes.

But in the years since the issue last resonated with voters in 1994, when Republican George Pataki swept into office when he ran on the issue that year, it's not clear if voters, or even if all Republicans would embrace the move.

State lawmakers on Tuesday advanced measures meant to aid people who have been wrongfully convicted in court as well as measures meant to aid immigrant New Yorkers in the legal system.

The measures are being pushed at the end of the legislative session as New York lawmakers consider a potential package of criminal justice law changes in the coming weeks.

Legislative sources say New York lawmakers plan to pass the Clean Slate Act before session ends June 2 that would seal New Yorkers' criminal records after a set period following their sentencing.

Lawmakers expect to pass a version close to the Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a Democrat from Brooklyn, that would automatically seal the criminal records of New Yorkers three years after sentencing for a misdemeanor offense and seven years for a felony.

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday became the latest company to join a coalition of private-sector firms, labor unions and criminal justice advocates to back a measure that would seal many criminal records in New York.

The company's participation in the Clean Slate Coalition comes as the measure continues to face an uncertain future in the state Legislature after lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul could not reach an agreement on it in the state budget negotiations last month.

As the negotiators ground on between lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul over the contentious debate surrounding New York's bail law, local prosecutors were brought in to discuss their concerns.

And now with those changes to the bail laws on the books, some prosecutors hope further efforts to address public safety will be made.

Changes to New York's 2019 law that ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges and other efforts to address public safety were needed in response to increasing crime, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday said.

But Hochul, fresh off the completion of her first spending plan, said the initial bail law should not be blamed for the rise in violent crime in New York, which has also been on the rise in other parts of the country.

Supporters of a measure that would seal criminal records years after a person has completed their debt to society are planning to continue to press for the provision's approval in New York after it fell out of the state budget talks.

Those supporters range from criminal justice reform organizations, labor unions, business leaders and Gov. Kathy Hochul herself, who had backed a version of what's known as the "clean slate" bill in the budget plan.

New York Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris told Capital Tonight that state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul have made significant progress on the state’s late budget “in just the last couple of days” in spite of efforts to insert what he called “non-budget issues” like alcohol to-go and the reform of 421a into the spending plan.

“It seems like we’re finally clearing our way through all that and now getting to the dollars and cents, which is what the budget is really about,” Gianaris said. “And hopefully wrapping it up in the next couple of days."

New York state lawmakers are closing in on an agreement that could expand the circumstances in which cash bail would be required to include charges like gun trafficking as well as alleged repeat offenses, a top Democrat in the state Senate on Tuesday said.

The development comes as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are close to putting the finishing touches on a broader state budget agreement, which had been expected to pass on Friday.

Republican lawmakers who represent New York in the House of Representatives urged state officials to "completely reverse" the 2019 law that ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges in a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, pointing to a rise in violent crime.

The letter signed by the eight Republicans who represent New York in Congress, including candidate for governor Lee Zeldin, was sent as Democratic lawmakers and the governor negotiate potential changes that could expand the criteria for when cash bail could be set.

The debate over New York's bail laws and how the criminal justice system should treat people accused of crimes will likely continue after the state budget is finalized, advocates on Friday said.

Rank-and-file state lawmakers were gone from the state Capitol on Friday, but a small group of advocates who oppose any changes to New York's 2019 cashless bail law rallied once again in the otherwise empty building.

The New York Civil Liberties Union wants a faster way of sealing many criminal records in the state as part of a final budget deal.

The conversations over the proposal surrounding the "Clean Slate" Act are being held as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are considering a broad package of criminal justice law changes addressing concerns over cashless bail, evidence discovery procedures and access to tuition assistance for people in prison.

A proposal to allow people in prison to access state tuition assistance has gained the backing of the League of Women Voters as state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul debate whether to include the provision in a final budget agreement.

The move, proposed earlier this year by Gov. Hochul in her budget plan, would restore access to state tuition assistance after both Pell grants and money under the Tuition Assistance Program were blocked for people in prison in 1994 and 1995.

With the New York state budget due on Friday, there are plenty of issues in flux, from funding for universal child care to a pay raise for home care workers. But according to the chairman of the state Senate Health Committee, Sen. Gustavo Rivera, it’s been difficult finding traction on these issues because the focus in Albany has been on bail reform.

“It’s unfortunate that so much oxygen has been taken out of the room because of the whole bail reform conversation,” Rivera told Capital Tonight. “As it relates to bail reform, I will say that I’m very disappointed that the governor came in at what is basically the 11th hour and injected something into the budget conversation that I don’t think belongs in the budget conversation.”

An estimated 8,000 people on parole will be discharged from the supervision of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision by the end of month as part of the Less is More law approved last September by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Corrections officials announced the releases come as part of effort to apply the "spirit of the law" for technical warrants and absconder dispositions to qualified parole violators. The measure is meant to reduce the number of people in prison and jails as well as supervision through a credit system.

A New York state budget agreement could include a range of criminal justice and public safety law changes, making for a sweeping compromise amid ongoing concerns over crime.

At least that's what has happened in the past, when disparate issues are knit together in a final budget deal that make it hard for lawmakers who have some misgivings to vote against it. On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters there's a desire to use the budget as a "vehicle" for a number of changes.

Progressive organizations and criminal justice advocacy groups are moving to counteract a push in Albany to make changes to New York's recent package of changes to the state's bail and evidence discovery laws, as well as how juveniles are treated in the court system.

The latest efforts comes from more than 70 national and state organizations pushing back against proposed changes. Backers of the effort range from Jay-Z to the Center for American Progress, ACLU, Indivisible, the Working Families Party, National Domestic Workers Alliance and MoveOn.

Earlier this month, the state Office of Cannabis Management announced that the first licenses for cannabis retailers will go to applicants who have connections to a cannabis-related conviction and a small business background. This is all a part of an effort to support communities that have been negatively impacted by the war on drugs. But the proposal is not getting widespread support.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares, a Democrat, has some concerns about who will get these licenses.

Changes to New York's law that ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges can be changed to bolster public safety while also keeping the criminal justice system fair, Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote in an op/ed released on Wednesday.

At the same time, top lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly signaled their Democratic-led chambers would be willing to consider some changes to the law, but insisted they did not want to a full scaling back of the law meant to keep poor people and people of color from waiting lengthy periods of time in local jails.

The statewide organization that represents local district attorneys in New York is backing a measure to extend the Tuition Assistance Program to people in prison.

Support from the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York comes as lawmakers and Hochul are considering a range of criminal justice and public safety measures this week as part of the broader budget negotiations.

Making changes to New York's bail law is proving to be an increasingly difficult knot to untie in the state Legislature, where top Democrats are yet to embrace any proposals that Gov. Kathy Hochul wants included in the state budget.

The changes to the law that largely ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges come as elected officials are trying to address increasing voter concerns over a rise in violent crime across the state.

A progressive advocacy organization on Tuesday announced plans to launch a six-figure ad campaign to oppose changes to New York's law that largely ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges.

The push from the group FWD.us comes as state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are discussing potential changes to the law, which has been at the epicenter of a broader debate over public safety in New York.

A leak of proposed changes to New York's controversial law that largely ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges is raining on the budget parade at the state Capitol.

With roughly a week and a half to go before the budget deal, last week's disclosure that Gov. Kathy Hochul is trying to negotiate changes to the law have set up a difficult needle for her to thread: Progressives don't want to do it; suburban and upstate Democrats feel like they must.

Last week, The New York Post published a confidential 10-point plan from the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul that would modify the state’s bail law and expand the mental health statute known as Kendra’s law. Hochul has since confirmed that the plan is indeed hers.

Among other measures, Hochul’s proposal would give judges more discretion over whether to set bail for defendants who are repeat offenders, or who have a history of criminal activity.

After months of not engaging on the issue of bail reform, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has reportedly decided that the state’s controversial law, originally passed in 2019, needs to be reformed for a second time.

In a memo whose existence was originally reported by The New York Post, Hochul makes clear she wants lawmakers to reinstate judicial discretion for serial offenders they feel are a danger to the community.

Democrats in the New York state Legislature want to address a range of public safety and criminal justice measures in the budget, including efforts to crack down on illegal gun trafficking and funding discovery law changes for local prosecutors.

Making changes to New York's law that largely ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges is unlikely to be addressed in the spending plan that's due to pass by the end of the month.

Boosting funding for supervised released and expanding the collection of bail request data are two proposals backed by former New York state Assemblyman Joe Lentol in an op/ed this week. At the same time, Lentol argues judges should be able to set bail if a defendant has multiple misdemeanor cases that are still pending.

The contentious debate over New York's cashless bail could have a compromise in Lentol's proposal. But it's not clear if all lawmakers can embrace it.

To roll back bail reform or not to roll back bail reform?

It’s a question that Democrats in Albany were wrangling with for a short time following losses on Long Island in the November 2021 election.

In the 1990s, Derrick Hamilton of Brooklyn was sentenced to 25-years-to-life for a murder he didn’t commit. While in prison, he filed 10 post-conviction notices, which were all denied.

After serving 21 years, Hamilton was paroled in 2014. In 2015, a court exonerated him.

Changes to New York's criminal justice laws and police procedures are designed to lead to more accountability, and fewer people languishing in jails, but local-level prosecutors are increasingly concerned the changes are not being fully funded by state officials to be effective.

The organization that represents district attorneys urged lawmakers on Tuesday to provide more funding in the state budget so local prosecutors can better process the changes enacted in recent years meant to provide access to evidence on an expedited basis.

For years, there have been horror stories about Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail complex, which sits on a piece land in the East River. But according to news reports and anecdotal stories, it appears the situation has deteriorated.

A New York Times expose released on Monday describes dozens of instances in which detainees have wandered freely, pepper sprayed guards and one incident in which a detainee attacked a nurse.

For every conviction in New York, from traffic tickets to felonies, a mandatory surcharge or fee is added, which reform advocates say “criminalizes poverty."

The fines and fees are used by the courts to pay DNA databank fees, crime victim assistance fees, probation fees sex offender registration fees and mandatory court surcharges.

People in prison in New York will no longer be referred to as "inmates" in state law under a measure approved Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The bill approved by the governor addresses what has been a growing concern for criminal justice advocates in the state: The use of the word "inmate" can have a dehumanizing effect for the people incarcerated.

Democrats in the state Legislature on Tuesday have reached an apparent agreement on a bill that would reform New York's parole system that would expedite being discharged from the parole system and setting a new standard for when an arrest warrant is issued for a parole violation.

The "Less is More Act" is among a package of parole law changes state lawmakers are considering in the final week of the legislative session. An amended version of the bill was introduced this morning, enabled lawmakers to vote on it by the time the legislative session concludes on Thursday.

A bill extending voting rights to people on parole is heading to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk after state lawmakers gave the measure final approval on Wednesday.

The measure was approved Wednesday morning in the Democratic-led state Assembly; it passed in the Democratic-controlled state Senate earlier this year.

Criminal justice reform advocates on Monday are set to release a video pushing for the passage of a measure to overhaul the parole laws in New York with an eye toward making it easier for people to remain out of jail or prison once released.

The measure is meant to reduce prison time for technical violations. The bill's backers point to incentives for good behavior while on parole as a public safety benefit.

State lawmakers are pushing a bill that is meant to increase penalties in drive-by shooting cases, a measure spurred by the murder of an 11-year-old boy in the Capital Region earlier this month.

As proposed by Republican Sen. Daphne Jordan and Democratic Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, the bill would change the state's criminal law to create the crime of a "drive by shooting" as defined by a person causing the death of another person by discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.

This story is reported by The City, a Spectrum News partner.

On March 4, Hector Rodriguez was sent to Rikers Island because he failed to log his address with state’s sex offender registry — even though he had been homeless for years.

The New York City Police Department should implement a package of changes that include more oversight and accountability in the wake of protests following the killing of George Floyd in May, according to a report released Wednesday by Attorney General Letitia James.

The report comes amid an ongoing investigation by James's office into the NYPD's repsonse to the protest and weeks after state lawmakers in June approved police reform bills that criminalize the use of choke holds and allow for the disclosure of police disciplinary records. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed those measures into law.

The vast majority of voters in New York state believe systemic racism in the United State is a serious problem, a Siena College poll released Monday found.

The poll also found most voters view the killings of Rayshard Brooks and George Floyd part of a broader pattern of excessive police violence toward Black people.

A package of police reforms meant to boost law enforcement transparency and ban the use of chokeholds was approved Thursday evening by the House of Representatives.

The measures were approved roughly a month after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by a police officer who kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Judge Paul Feinman is set to lead the state court system's panel examining racial inequalities in the criminal justice as the task force's purview is expanding amid a broader social reckoning surrounding systemic racism.

The task force was formed in 2009 to review inequities in the legal system. It had since expanded in 2017 to review specific areas, including bail and speedy trial concerns in 2017. It has also focused on issues like wrongful convictions.

George Floyd's death after he was trapped under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has sparked protests and unrest in more than 100 American cities, including New York City, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

It may also spark further action by a state Legislature in Albany that is led by two black leaders, a Legislature composed of lawmakers who themselves were peppered sprayed and detained by police over the weekend.

A coalition of advocacy groups on Monday urged lawmakers to focus on the issues facing prison inmates during the pandemic.

The call came as the Senate and Assembly held a joint legislative hearing on the effect coronavirus has had on black and Latino people in New York.

The state’s court system will begin to reopen in areas that are given approval by Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week, the Office of Court Administration on Wednesday said.

The state’s top judiciary and court officials plan to gradually reopen courthouses starting on Monday in five judicial districts spread across 30 upstate counties: Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates, Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie; followed by Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties on Wednesday, May 20.

The alterations to New York's cash bail law have been criticized by supporters of the original measure as well as its Republican critics.

But one criminal justice reform coalition, New Yorkers United for Justice, said the provisions in the newly approved state budget kept the spirit of the original law's intent.