In Maryland, concerns remain as criminal reform bill nears vote

By Anjali Shastry - The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 23, 2016

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Senate is scheduled Thursday to take a final vote on a sweeping criminal justice reform bill amid concerns about its ability to reduce costs in incarceration and apply the savings to alternative methods of rehabilitation.

State senators advanced the legislation Wednesday.

Called “justice reinvestment,” the legislation addresses different aspects of the criminal justice system and offers several changes, including making treatment the default response to drug possession rather than jail. It also eliminates mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offenses and expands the types of offenses that can be expunged from someone’s criminal record.

Bill supporters say it aims to save money by shrinking the prison population and investing the savings in rehabilitation, not incarceration.

Justice reinvestment has been pushed for years as lawmakers have tried to curb the state’s growing number of prisoners. Officials say putting people in jail is not always the right response for crimes, especially for drug possession in which offenders should be considered addicts and steered toward treatment.

The measure is based on recommendations from the Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council, made up of lawmakers and law enforcement officials across the state. After a key committee amended the bill, some lawmakers argued that the legislation was too heavily edited and wouldn’t save enough money.

Pew Charitable Trusts, a think tank that assisted in data collection for the bill, said that the revised legislation would cut the state’s savings from an estimated $250 million over 10 years about $34 million.

Sen. Robert A. Zirkin, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said his panel’s amendments are important for public safety, including reducing the number of inmates who would be eligible for automatic parole and giving judges greater discretion in deciding how to sentence parole violators — many of whom violate it on a technicality.

“I won’t put people’s lives at risk for the sake of making some money,” said Mr. Zirkin, Baltimore County Democrat.

Despite the bill’s stumbles in the Senate, Mr. Zirkin said he expects the bill will clear the Senate and head to the House of Delegates, where lawmakers already have been considering the measure.

The bill was introduced by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, and has been labeled a priority by Democratic leaders.

The bill also has strong bipartisan support, and a key leader of the effort, Christopher Shank, is the governor’s deputy chief of staff — a strong indication Republican Gov. Larry Hogan will sign the legislation.

Mr. Miller said Wednesday that the bill is likely to be reworked in a conference committee between House and Senate lawmakers.