PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

This is a consensus rule making to repeal section 51.19 of Title 7 NYCRR.

Public Contacts of Institutions and Employees.

To remove references to inmates "under sentence of death", "electric chair" and "execution", due to NYS Court of Appeals ruling.

The Department of Correctional Services repeals and reserves section 51.19 of Title 7 NYCRR.

Maureen E. Boll, Deputy Commissioner and Counsel, New York State Department of Correctional Services, 1220 Washington Avenue - State Campus - Building 2, Albany, NY 12226-2050, (518) 457-4951, email: [email protected]

Same as above.

45 days after publication of this notice.

The Department of Correctional Services has determined that no person is likely to object to the proposed action because it merely repeals a regulatory provision which is no longer applicable to any person. See SAPA 102(11)(a)

7 NYCRR 51.19 provides the Department's policy statement for the exclusion of interviews for inmates under a sentence of death, tours and photographs of the electric chair and the restriction from photographing an execution. The New York State Court of Appeals in People vs. Taylor, 9N.Y.3d 129 (2007), determined that the New York State death penalty sentencing statute enacted in 1995 violates the New York State Constitution on it's face and that it is not within the power of the judiciary to save the statute. Since then, the New York State Legislature has not passed a new death penalty statute. Therefore, any reference to a sentence of death and/or the related subject matter in this section is unnecessary.

The Department's authority resides in section 112 of Correction Law, which grants the commissioner the management and control of all matters relating to the government of the Department.

A job impact statement is not submitted because this proposed rule will have no adverse impact on jobs or employment opportunities.