New York is lowering the minimum hiring age for prison guards from 21 to 18 in an effort to boost the ranks of corrections officers. 

State lawmakers approved the measure Wednesday, and Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to sign it into law. 

The bill establishes some rules for the younger guards, including policies that say they cannot obtain or use firearms or transport inmates outside of prisons. They also must be supervised when performing "contact roles" with inmates during the first year-and-a-half on the job.  

Some other states, including Florida, Maine and New Jersey, allow 18-year-olds to become correction officers.

NYS prison strike and corrections shortage

The New York State Department of Corrections faces a staffing shortage that was exacerbated when more than 2,000 guards were fired for staging an unsanctioned strike earlier this year. 

The push to lower the age for correction officers came after guards walked off the job in February. Hochul was forced to deploy the state National Guard to maintain prison operations during the strike, which lasted around three weeks.

The governor ended up firing more than 2,000 guards who refused to return to work after the state and guards' union reached a deal to end the walkout. Hochul also barred the fired guards from holding other state jobs in the future.

The state corrections commissioner has since directed the department to begin the process of releasing some inmates early because of a shortage of guards. 

The early discharges have been limited to inmates who were convicted of minor crimes and were already set for release in the near future. Inmates convicted of sex crimes, violent felonies or serious felonies, such as murder, terrorism and arson, would not be eligible, the agency said.