Morgan McKay is reporting for the State of Politics blog on the bill sponsored by Assemblymember Billy Jones and the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association to limit the number of individuals allowed in a medium-security dormitory. By only allowing 50 people, the state would end double-bunking. The proposal is one that has been pushed over the years by the corrections officers' union. Regulations currently allow for 60 people to be housed in a medium-security dorm, but at least 10 of them are usually double-bunked in a cubicle meant for one. Jones said the measure is needed before Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration closes any more prisons. "The prison setting is stressful enough without requiring a single officer to supervise 60 inmates during a shift," Jones said. The practice of double-bunking is irresponsible and outdated." Michael Powers, the president of the corrections officers' union, said, "Rather than close prisons and force inmates into less space, the state should take the initiative and remove the double bunks and right-size the system that way." New York has closed 17 prisons since 2011. Read the full story at NYStateofPolitics [dot] com.