New York lawmakers have put the finishing touches on a bill that's meant to add protections for people who have been wrongfully convicted in the state. 

The measure was given final approval in the state Assembly on Tuesday and could soon head to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk after passing in a party-line vote in the state Senate earlier this month. 

Supporters hope the bill will make it easier for innocent people to get post-conviction review of their cases. Opponents, however, worry this will clog the courts and create a duplicative review. 

The post-conviction review of claims would be permitted in cases that went to trial or whose case was resolved in a plea. Procedural limitations for people to challenge convictions based on false or faulty evidence would be removed. The overall goal is to give courts "a legal mechanism to review" cases and vacate convictions when needed, lawmakers wrote in a memorandum. 

"The bill brings New York law in line with five other states and the District of Columbia that have mechanisms for people to clear old convictions for crimes that have subsequently been decriminalized," lawmakers wrote. 

But the measure is opposed by the District Attorneys Association of New York, which has decried the recent spate of criminal justice law changes, calling the provision unnecessary. 

“Defendants in our state already have a broad right to challenge wrongful convictions," said Tony Jordan, the Washington County district attorney and the organization's president. "Exponentially expanding the circumstances where convictions and pleas could be challenged would result in a complete lack of finality for victims, who could never be assured that justice was served, because under this Bill no conviction or plea would ever be final. Under the bill, every plea agreement would be subject to challenge years later, when witnesses and evidence would be difficult to obtain.”