{"id":7841,"date":"2025-10-03T11:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=7841"},"modified":"2026-05-11T13:51:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:51:24","slug":"halt-committee-releases-recommendations-for-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-8\/halt-committee-releases-recommendations-for-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"HALT Committee releases recommendations for reform"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DOCCS
In the wake of strikes by corrections officers at DOCCS facilities in February and March of 2025, the state formed a committee to propose amendments to the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (\u201cHALT\u201d) Act.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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October 7, 2025 —<\/em> PEF leaders played a pivotal role on the committee established in March 2025 after the DOCCS strikes to propose amendments to the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (\u201cHALT\u201d) Act. The committee\u2019s focus was on improving safety while preserving the core principles of HALT. Recommendations were created through collaboration with various stakeholders, including state agencies, other unions, and advocacy groups. <\/span>\u200b<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNew York cannot hope to achieve the goal of transforming its correctional system without significant reform,\u201d said President Wayne Spence. \u201cPEF supported legislation recently passed, which if enacted, will provide greater oversight and accountability in the state’s correctional facilities, including expanded use of fixed and body cameras and an expanded oversight role for the Commission on Correction. And, while this legislation is an important step in the transformation process, it fails to address the need for meaningful reform to enhance the safety and security of all incarcerated individuals and staff in the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PEF was proud to participate in the committee charged with reviewing HALT to discuss the promise, the problems and unintended consequences of this landmark law.\u00a0 President Spence was joined on the committee by Steve Drake, chair of the PEF\/DOCCS Labor-Management Committee at the time, Lindsay Bonanza, a teacher at Marcy Correctional Facility, Anne Jordan, an offender rehabilitation coordinator at Groveland Correctional Facility, and Jeff Taylor, a registered nurse at Clinton Correctional Facility.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe committee worked to forge fair and reasonable reforms to address the ongoing and well-documented safety and security problems faced by incarcerated individuals and staff in the state\u2019s correctional facilities,\u201d President Spence said. \u201cThe committee\u2019s recommendations reflect common sense solutions to address persistent and dangerous situations being caused by just a relatively few bad actors.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The recommendations include:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n