NY A03688

Expands work release program eligibility to incarcerated individuals within two years of parole or conditional release, removing previous restrictions on violent felony offenders who used deadly weapons and second felony drug offenders

Removes the Governor's authority to exclude classes of eligible incarcerated individuals from temporary release programs by executive order

Maintains work release exclusions only for specific serious offenses including aggravated murder, first-degree murder, rape offenses, sexual abuse crimes, sex trafficking, incest, and terrorism-related offenses

Extends eligibility for domestic violence survivors to participate in work release to those within four years of parole (increased from two years), if they can demonstrate they were abused by the victim of their homicide or assault offense

Requires the commissioner to include additional merit time credits when calculating eligibility dates for temporary release programs