Criminal Justice Reform Passes House

By an overwhelming 169 to 1 margin, the Georgia House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday designed to reform Georgia’s criminal justice system.

State Rep. Jay Neal (R-Lafayette), who introduced House Bill 265, said the legislation will improve public safety and save taxpayer dollars.

“H.B. 265 and the reforms that it will ultimately create will allow Georgia to stop wasting money on expensive short term prison services for drug addicts and the mentally ill. Instead, it will allow the state to provide treatment that helps the individual, relieves our overburdened justice system, and saves the state money,” said Rep. Neal in a released statement.  “Basically, we’re trying to make criminals into law-abiding taxpayers, not tax burdens.”

According to a House Communications Office press release, Georgia has the fourth-highest incarceration rate in the nation and spends more than $1 billion annually on its corrections system. Recent studies indicate as much as three-fourths of the state’s prison population has some type of drug addition. H.B. 265 supporters argue treatment for drug addiction would be cheaper than incarceration.

Data provided by the House Communications Office shows Georgia pays $49 per day to house inmates in a state prison. Probation supervision costs $1.50 each day while treatment at a day reporting center is $16 each day.

H.B. 265 would create a Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians comprised of 11 members appointed by the leaders of Georgia’s three branches of government.  The council will study the state’s current criminal justice structure and sentencing procedures for non-violent offenders. The council would also review alternatives to imprisonment for these offenders. The council would submit its findings to the General Assembly by Nov. 1, 2011.

The council’s findings would then be reviewed by the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform.  The joint committee would use the findings to create and introduce justice system reform legislation. The joint committee would be comprised of the House Speaker Pro Tempore, Senate President Pro Tempore, House and Senate Majority Leaders, House and Senate Minority Leaders, Chairman of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman of the House Committee on State Institutions and Property and Chairman of the Senate State Institutions and Property Committee.  The Speaker of the House would appoint three state representatives to the committee and the Lieutenant Governor would appoint three state senators.