Harlem Lawmaker Proposes Program To Give Ex-Cons State ID

HARLEM, NY — A Harlem lawmaker introduced a bill in the state legislature this week designed to remove a roadblock that prevents state inmates from successfully re-integrating into society after release.

State Senator Brian Benjamin's new bill will require the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Correction to create a program that will give state inmates a non-driver state ID card upon release. Currently, inmates are given a DOC-issued card that expires after 120 days.

The stigma associated with the cards prevents many ex-cons from getting jobs, homes and even gym memberships Benjamin said. Benjamin said that he even spoke to people who were denied entry to office buildings using the ID.

"I feel very strongly that we should be doing everything we can to remove roadblocks that make it hard for people to transition from being incarcerated to being back in society," Benjamin said. "There are people coming back, and it's hard. And for those really trying to make a good comeback we should be making it easier."

The current system represents a bureaucratic nightmare for ex-cons, the Harlem lawmaker added. DOC-issued cards expire in 120 days, forcing released inmates to head back to the DMV a few months after release to get a state ID. Inmates who have been incarcerated for long periods of time may not be able to produce documents such as a social security card, passport or birth certificate required to obtain a DMV-issued license.

Benjamin's bill — which was sent to the State Senate crime victims, crime and correction committee Monday — is a concise two-section mandate. The bill will require the DMV and DOC to formulate and implement the program. Benjamin said that it "shouldn't be too hard" to design a system that works, given that the DOC knows in advance when inmates due for release will need their state IDs. The state senator has not yet spoken with anyone at the departments about the bill, but doesn't expect much pushback to the proposal. David Weprin has agreed to carry the legislation in the State Assembly.

The Harlem lawmaker said that he was inspired to introduce the legislation after talking with a man who struggled to obtain an ID after release from a state facility. After researching the current system, Benjamin concluded that it needed reform. With Democrats firmly in control of both chambers in the state legislature, there's greater opportunity for these types of criminal justice reforms, Benjamin said.

New York State is currently locked in a debate about public safety and the bail reforms passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019. Benjamin sees common-sense reforms to the DOC identification system as good for public safety.

"If you've done your time, you've paid your debts to society we want you to re-integrate with society," Benjamin said. "If you're re-integrated your less likely to be a statistic to recidivism."