If there's one sure bet floating around the Statehouse this week, it's that prison reform will generate ample proposals and abundant debate in the 2015 session that begins Wednesday.
"It
goes without saying that the No. 1 issue the Legislature needs to
address in the upcoming session is the challenges and scandals within
our Department of Corrections," said Omaha Sen. Heath Mello, chairman of
the Legislature's Appropriations Committee.
It will be a
large task, given the tumultuous revelations and reports centered on
the Department of Correctional Services over the past eight months.
As
the session approaches, bills are being drafted based on proposals made
by a justice reinvestment working group and other committees, Mello
said. But specifics on the bills and how much money the state will need
to spend will be hammered out in the first 10 days of the session, and
in some cases, beyond.
Potential costs are daunting.
Consultants
from the Council of State Governments Justice Center say $33 million of
diverted criminal justice money could be reinvested in probation,
parole, community treatment programs, oversight and evaluation.
An
updated master plan for prisons called for a first-phase of expansion
of beds that could cost more than $261 million. But other proposals
could reduce the need for that spending.
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