By Tony McVeigh
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wuky/local-wuky-953154.mp3
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- – The Kentucky House said yes Thursdayto the most sweeping reform of the state's penal code since the 1970's.
Hopkinsville Rep. John Tilley got a sustained standing ovation from his colleagues for laboring long and hard on the prison reform bill. Last summer, Tilley corralled stakeholders from judges and prosecutors, to jailers and mental health professionals to craft legislation he's confident will reduce the state's prison population and save $442 million over the next decade.
"This pragmatic approach has produced results in states as diverse as Kansas, Texas and South Carolina, as well as Vermont. The shining star of this example, as I've told many of you, is Texas, where they were faced with a 17,000 prison bed shortfall. And rather than building nearly a billion dollars in new jails and prisons, they reached a bipartisan compromise, saved those capital costs and have continued to save well in excess of $150 million a year and cut their crime rate in the process."
The bill, which provides alternatives to incarceration for non-violent drug offenders by placing more emphasis on drug treatment programs, sailed through the House 97-2. The lone opponents were Republican Reps. Joseph Fischer of Ft. Thomas and Stan Lee of Lexington.