Senate crime victims committee advances 10 bills, highlights pre‑application license check bill

At its first standing committee meeting of the 2025 legislative session, the Senate Standing Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction advanced 10 bills, the committee chair, Senator Hallease Alazar, said at the start of the session.

The package ranged from technical clarifications to procedural changes in licensing and corrections. Committee members moved each bill and, where noted in the record, reported them out of committee—several to the finance committee for further review. The most substantive discussion focused on S1048, identified in the hearing as the "Plan Act," which would require public agencies to establish preliminary license-application procedures to determine whether criminal history would make an applicant ineligible.

Votes at a glance:

S156 — An act to amend the executive law in relation to awards made to crime victims. The committee clerk read the bill title; members described the text as clarifying the definition of "personal property, necessary and essential to the welfare of the victim" for victim compensation purposes. Motion to move the bill was made and seconded; the bill was reported out of committee. (Reported.)

S319 — An act to amend the correction law in relation to educational leave for eligible incarcerated individuals. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported. (Reported.)

S395 — An act to amend the correction law in relation to reading proficiency level assessment and dyslexia screening for incarcerated individuals. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported to finance. (Reported to finance.)

S429 — An act to amend the executive law authorizing the state inspector general to receive and investigate complaints of sexual assault in correctional facilities and other places operated by the department of corrections and community supervision for the confinement of persons. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported. (Reported.)

S856 — An act to amend the correction law in relation to the membership of the state commission of correction. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported to finance. (Reported to finance.)

S863 — An act to amend the correction law in relation to increasing access to substance-abuse programming for incarcerated individuals whose first language is not English. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported to finance. (Reported to finance.)

S1048 ("Plan Act") — An act to amend the correction law in relation to requiring public agencies to establish preliminary license-application procedures to determine whether an applicant for a license would be ineligible based on criminal history. Committee members asked whether such information was already available; a committee member replied that in many cases it is not reliably available, and that the measure was intended to save applicants time and provide opportunities to cure disqualifying factors. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported. (Reported.)

S1050 — An act to amend the correction law in relation to allowing a telephone call prior to an incarcerated individual's transfer. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported. (Reported.)

S1191 — An act to amend the correction law in relation to limited credit time allowances, identified in the record as "for the horse handling program." Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported. (Reported.)

S1892 — An act to amend the correction law in relation to who may visit local correctional facilities. Motion made and seconded; the bill was reported. (Reported.)

Several bills were specifically sent to the finance committee for further consideration, as noted during the meeting record. The committee chair opened and closed the meeting; motions to move each bill were routinely seconded and called for the ayes recorded on the transcript. The transcript does not list roll-call vote tallies for individual members in the record provided.

The committee concluded after processing all 10 bills on the agenda. Next steps for each bill will follow the normal legislative process: bills reported from committee proceed to the next committee assignment or to floor consideration as required by chamber rules.