The Rice Agenda for a Just New York

New York has often been at the forefront of social justice, pioneering women’s rights in Seneca Falls,
creating the nation’s first Human Rights Law in Albany, and making strides for the LGBT community
in New Paltz. But there is much more that needs to be done to ensure every New Yorker is protected
from injustice and discrimination.

The following agenda details steps toward improving both criminal justice and civil rights in New
York – including legislative and administrative changes to our state government – led by an
empowered and emboldened Attorney General’s Office.

New York has long been the refuge of the oppressed and exploited. It is the role of the next attorney
general to protect that legacy by better protecting the rights of all New Yorkers.

The following is my plan for how New York can once again lead the way for social justice.

Criminal Justice Agenda

New York’s corrections system has in many ways been a failure , but we finally have a chance to turn
it into a model for the nation by transitioning to a system that looks for opportunities to rehabilitate
instead of incarcerate non-violent offenders. The rehabilitation model I envision for New York will
cost taxpayers less, reduce rates of recidivism, strengthen communities, and improve public safety.

We must also use this opportunity to create an improved criminal justice system that works for years to
come by investing resources wisely and re-examining criminal justice policy holistically, from root
causes of crime to sentencing and ex-offender re-entry. We may never get another chance to get it
right.

Priority: To prevent new crimes and recidivism, commit all savings from prison closures for the
next five years toward developing and funding Alternatives to Incarceration and community
programming.

This year, the state was able to save $273 million by consolidating and closing unnecessary
correctional facilities as thousands of non-violent offenders were rightly placed in Alternative to
Incarceration programs (ATIs) instead of prison. Yet, as demand for these programs increased and
rolls swelled, the state legislature foolishly reduced funding for the "Probation and Correctional
Alternatives Program" by five percent.

Instead of treating the savings from prison closings as a general fund windfall and ignoring the need to
re-appropriate resources, we should be re-investing those funds into community-based ATIs and
programming that reduces recidivism and helps prevent crime before it starts—including money for
job training and other programs that improve neighborhoods while addressing the root sources of
crime.

Every dollar we save for the next five years from prison closures should go directly toward this effort.
This model is less costly to taxpayers and more effective in turning around lives and reducing criminal
recidivism. Without this diversion of resources, we are going to end up right back where we started.

Priority: Create a single board to review our criminal justice system and transition to a more
rehabilitation-focused corrections system over the next five years.

Right now, there are too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to managing our system of criminal
justice. We need one body to oversee this transition, and to set priorities for government to take
action.

While monitoring the transition and our criminal justice system through semi-annual reports, the board
should seek to set priorities including:

- the creation of a state Re-entry Division within the Department of Correctional Services
(working jointly with the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Interagency Offender
Re-entry Task Force) to centralize and improve transition to community initiatives
- the creation of a sub-committee tasked with increasing sentencing options for non-violent
offenders

Priority: Establish voting rights for ex-cons.

To decrease recidivism, further rehabilitation, and aid in the re-entry of ex-offenders, I recommend
reversing the state’s election law to allow parolees the right to vote.

In addition, once the law is changed, all paroled inmates should be made aware of their rights upon
their release from prison, and offered a voter education program.

Priority: Track offender data to ensure no racial bias in prosecution of defendants.

While improved police department data tracking has helped efforts to analyze law enforcement agency
arrest and patrol policy, right now we have no way of knowing whether or not certain groups of
defendants in our criminal justice system are being prosecuted with more severity than others. My
OAG will lead a groundbreaking effort to work with county district attorneys to track disposition
trends, and to help their offices steer clear of civil rights violations through a system of periodic checks
and allegation-based analysis.

Plea-bargaining, sentencing recommendations, and case disposition make up an important

discretionary layer of our criminal justice system and I believe OAG can play a role working with local
district attorneys to ensure that prosecutions remain fair.

(continued)
 Civil Rights Agenda

Despite New York’s progressive history and claim to the first Human Rights Law in the nation, civil
rights are still violated in our state at an alarming rate. Part of the reason is that victims either don’t
know whom to turn to for justice, or they are scared to report the crime. Another reason is that the
punishments are not severe enough.

We must address both problems if we are going to protect all New Yorkers.

Priority: Expand the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau.

Following recent staff additions by Attorney General Cuomo, the Civil Rights Bureau would continue
to benefit from increased resources. An effective and available OAG is the key to improved civil
rights protection in New York, and so the staff must be doubled and tasked in that effort.

A larger office will also allow the OAG to be more aggressive, and the collection of civil penalties
from violators will pay for new staff. To address the concerns of each community at risk of rights
violations, my Civil Rights Bureau will include the following staff and initiatives:

- deputy bureau chiefs for housing discrimination, employment discrimination, discrimination in

schools, and LGBT issues
- statewide Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Compliance officer, overseeing and
conducting analyses of New York government hiring practices
- coordinator of the Disability Rights Project—responsible for not only legal efforts, but also
regular outreach to the disability community
- a semi-annual auditing of state's recognition of out-of-state and out-of-country gay marriages
by a LGBT point person in OAG to ensure rights are protected
- a review of Stop and Frisk policies throughout the state
- an expanded Reproductive Rights Unit

Priority: Strengthen the Human Rights Law.

The Human Rights Law (HRL) can be a powerful tool for stopping discrimination in New York, but
the penalties must make violations unthinkable to potential offenders for it to be truly effective.

The following improvements should be made to the HRL:

- increase punitive damages limits paid to aggrieved persons from $10,000 to $50,000
- allow punitive damages in all cases of discrimination, not just housing
(pass A. 443/S. 324)
- make certain egregious and willful HRL violations subject to criminal penalties
- award attorneys’ fees and costs for victims of violations of the HRL
(pass A. 635/S. 2044)
- implement a one-strike-and-you’re-out debar policy for all state contractors who willfully
violate the HRL
Priority: Prevent minority- and women-owned business exploitation

New York rightly provides incentives to aid minority- and women-owned businesses. But some take
advantage of the MWBE incentives through fraud, and sap precious resources meant to encourage
financial independence for groups that need it the most.

My OAG will conduct regular investigations to ensure that contractors are complying with the law in
order to get business contracts or benefits through the program, and intervene on behalf of the state and
its citizens using the OAG’s authority to enforce consumer fraud and civil rights laws when
malfeasance is found.

Priority: Create a permanent task force within the Division of Social Justice to prevent abuses of
workers’ rights.

Businesses use economic hardship to force minority workers to accept bad pay and poor treatment at
their jobs. By combining the efforts of attorneys and investigators in the Labor and Civil Rights
Bureaus to work in tandem with liaisons from the Departments of Labor and Tax and Finance, the
OAG can put a stop to this rampant type of abuse.

Priority: Offer OAG website in other languages besides Spanish and English—starting with the
nine major spoken languages in New York.

The resources of the OAG are no good to New Yorkers who can’t access them. A simple change like
adding translation options to the website will expand outreach to those who desperately need the
office’s services.