Office of Speaker Dennis M. O’Brien
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
139 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Bill Patton
House readies prison reform bills for final passage
HARRISBURG, April 2 – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today advanced a package of four bills to reduce prison overcrowding and create new sentencing options that will reduce the number of offenders who later return to prison.
“This is a huge step forward for re-inventing our criminal justice system. These changes will increase public safety and save public money by reducing the number of offenders who commit new crimes after being released,” House Speaker Dennis O’Brien said.
O’Brien sponsored the key bill (H.B. 4) that would require those convicted of more serious crimes to serve their sentences in state correctional facilities rather than county jails where hundreds of serious offenders now serve sentences.
It also would create an incentive program – for non-violent offenders only – to be presented by a judge at sentencing. The incentives would encourage non-violent inmates to follow a path that gives them a much better chance at re-entering society without committing new crimes.
The Department of Corrections provides inmates in state facilities with greater access to programs that are documented to cut recidivism rates, including drug and alcohol treatment, literacy and GED programs, vocational training, and preparation for successful re-entry to society.
“This is a carefully crafted package that will enhance public safety and provide large financial benefits to counties, state government and taxpayers,” O’Brien said. “It includes ‘truth in sentencing,’ requiring full disclosure so crime victims know the possible timeline and conditions under which an offender might be released.”
He noted that New York, Texas and other states have used this approach to reduce the number of prison inmates and save hundreds of millions of dollars, while continuing to incarcerate the most dangerous criminals.
Three companion bills also were considered today by the House.
House Bill 5, sponsored by Rep. Ronald Marsico, R-Dauphin, would update procedures for prisoner transport, increasing public safety by making better use of teleconferencing tools to reduce the need to move prisoners between facilities.
House Bill 6, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Manderino, D-Phila., would create new guidelines for probation and parole that would put more emphasis on tracking parolees in the first year after their release.
House Bill 7, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks, would give the Department of Corrections more control, in consultation with district attorneys and crime victims, over decisions to relocate seriously ill and terminally ill inmates to medical care settings.
O’Brien worked closely with colleagues on the House Judiciary and Appropriations committees to refine the bills. The four measures could receive final House passage as soon as next week and then be sent to the Senate for consideration.
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