2025 State Legislative Priorities

Each year, CoRA drafts, advances, and supports legislation to support the economic stability for New Yorkers impacted by the criminal legal system. We urge the New York State Legislature to pass the following vital reforms:

  1. Amend Executive Law § 845-d and Judiciary Law § 212(2)(z) to provide that cases that are adjourned in contemplation of dismissal (ACDs) are not reported for civil purposes. This technical fix (A356/S1055) would bring Executive Law § 845-d and Judiciary Law § 212(2)(z) into alignment with the 2019 amendment of Executive Law § 296(16) that prohibits covered entities from considering pending ACDs in evaluating applicants. It would provide that the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Office of Court Administration shall not disclose cases that are currently adjourned in contemplation of dismissal on DCJS rap sheets produced for civil purposes or on the criminal history searches conducted by OCA for the public.

  2. Enact the Preliminary Licensing Application Navigation (“PLAN”) Bill to allow people to receive a preliminary determination as to whether their criminal history will disqualify them from receiving a license. This bill (A875/S1048) would allow New Yorkers to know whether a license will be granted before they pursue potentially costly education and training. It would significantly mitigate the risk assumed by people who are interested in pursuing work in licensed fields but are unsure whether their criminal history will ultimately result in denial.

  3. Pass the Youth Justice & Opportunities Act. The Youth Justice & Opportunities Act (S4330/A5293) expands alternatives to incarceration and immediate record sealing for young people up to age 25 by: creating a new “Young Adult” (YA) status to protect young people ages 19-25; expanding the categories of cases where “Youthful Offender” (YO) treatment is mandatory rather than discretionary; expanding judicial discretion to grant YO, including the option to grant YO more than once; creating opportunities for judges to sentence young people to treatment as an alternative to incarceration; allowing judges to waive fees and surcharges for all young people through age 25; and allowing young people with a criminal record to petition the court to be “re-sentenced” and granted YO or YA status retroactively.

  4. Pass the End Predatory Court Fees Act. This bill (S318) would eliminate court fees, mandatory minimum fines, incarceration on the basis of unpaid fines and fees, and garnishment of commissary accounts.

  5. Enact the Reentry from the Inside Out bills. The Reentry from the Inside Out bills (A03934/S05061 and A03935/S05059) would require that local social service agencies work with people before they are released from local jails and state prisons to apply for safety net assistance, supplemental security income, and state supplemental payments. The bills would also establish a pilot program in three prisons to provide a range of reentry services six months prior to release and continuing after release, in partnership with nonprofit organizations.

Other Bills CoRA Supports

  1. Seal arrests that are not being prosecuted. This bill (A3099) would seal arrests and criminal cases on which no criminal investigation or prosecution is proceeding, via a process initiated by the Division of Criminal Justice Services.

  2. Create an ID card program for people about to be released from incarceration. This bill (S4958/A6732) creates an identification card program for incarcerated individuals in local correctional facilities; requires such identification cards to be identical to non-driver identification cards issued to the general public; and waives fees for such identification cards. 

  3. Correct misinformation regarding warrant information on rap sheets. Many rap sheets mistakenly list warrants as active when they have actually been recalled. This bill (S4001) creates a process to verify criminal record information when rap sheets contain contradictory information regarding warrants.

  4. Restore the right to vote for incarcerated people. This bill (S160) creates an affirmative right in the constitution entitling incarcerated citizens to vote and removes language excluding citizens from voting if they have been convicted of certain crimes.

  5. Ensure that people illegally discriminated against by a public employer due to a prior criminal conviction are able to seek the same enforcement mechanisms available to other victims of discrimination. This bill (S876/A5300) establishes meaningful enforcement of the Human Rights Law’s anti-discrimination provisions. Only one class of individuals claiming illegal discrimination, those discriminated against by public agencies on the basis of their criminal record, have their legal remedies limited. This bill gives victims of criminal records-based discrimination the same access to enforcement mechanisms available to other victims of discrimination, and the opportunity to receive real relief.

  6. Increase access to college for people with arrest records. This bill (S3795) prohibits colleges from asking students applying for admission about arrests that did not result in an unsealed criminal conviction, and prohibits pre-acceptance inquiries into criminal history.