72. Confinement of persons by the department. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all persons committed, transferred, certified to or placed in the care or custody of the department shall be confined in institutions maintained by the department until paroled, conditionally released, transferred to the care of another agency or released or discharged in accordance with the law.
2. The commissioner, or the superintendent or director of an institution in which an inmate is confined, may permit an inmate to be taken, under guard, to any place or for any purpose authorized by law, and the commissioner must provide for delivery of an inmate, under guard, to any place where his presence is required pursuant to an order of a court that has authority to require his presence.
2-a. The commissioner, superintendent, or director of an institution in which an inmate is confined, may permit an inmate, wishing to do so, to leave the institution under guard for the purpose of performing volunteer labor or services when in the public interest upon the threat or occurrence of a natural disaster, including but not limited to flood, earthquake, hurricane, landslide or fire. An inmate may also be permitted to leave the institution under guard to voluntarily perform work for a nonprofit organization pursuant to this subdivision. As used in this subdivision, the term "nonprofit organization" means an organization operated exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
2-b. The commissioner, or his designee as authorized by the commissioner, may permit an inmate to be taken under guard to any place to participate in an industrial training program.
3. The superintendent or director of an institution may permit inmates to leave the institution for the purpose of performing maintenance work or farm work, or any other work necessary or appropriate for the upkeep, operations or business of the institution or the department.
4. Any inmate who is confined in a correctional facility and who is eligible for parole or who will become eligible for parole within two years or who has one year or less remaining to be served under his sentence may be transferred by the commissioner to a correctional camp and may be permitted, by the superintendent, to leave the camp to engage in conservation or forestry work or for any purpose permitted under subdivisions two and three of this section.
* 5. An inmate may be permitted to leave the institution to participate in a temporary release program in accordance with the provisions of article twenty-six of this chapter.
* NB Effective until September 1, 2019
* 5. An inmate of a work release facility may be permitted to leave the facility to participate in a work release program in accordance with the provisions of article twenty-six of this chapter.
* NB Effective September 1, 2019
6. An inmate of a residential treatment facility may be permitted to leave such facility in accordance with the provisions of section seventy-three of this article.
7. An inmate of a shock incarceration correctional facility may be permitted to leave the facility to participate in programs in accordance with the provisions of article twenty-six-A of this chapter.
8. In any case where the decision to permit an inmate to leave an institution is made by a person other than the commissioner or a deputy commissioner of correction such action and the manner in which it is carried out shall be in strict accordance with the rules and regulations of the department. Such rules and regulations may restrict or limit the authority of the superintendent or director in any manner deemed advisable by the commissioner.
9. The provisions of this section shall not be construed in such manner as to be in conflict with any provision of law that specifically provides for circumstances under which inmates may be permitted to leave institutions.
Last modified: February 3, 2019