The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee approved a slew of bills dealing with reforms to the criminal justice system in the state.
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Three of the bills that passed the panel were part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative that deals with reforming parole and probation, improving sentencing and expanding victim rights. While Senate Bill 500 – the probation reform bill – and SB 502 – the victim rights bill – passed the House committee unanimously this week, there were concerns raised about amendments to Senate Bill 501, which deals with sentencing guidelines.
Both state Reps. Paul Schemel, R-Greencastle, and Christopher Rabb, D-Philadelphia, were among those who opposed the amendment to the bill because it included mandatory minimum sentences.
“We have judges. We have sentencing guidelines. We should let them do their work,” said Schemel, who still voted to advance SB501 to the House floor despite his vote against the amendment. “Pennsylvania seems to be stuck in a 20-year-old policy of reinstating them.”
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Despite those concerns, the amendment and bill were passed by the committee.
The Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based free-market think tank, praised the committee’s action. Stephen Bloom, the group’s vice president, said the reinvestment initiative will give those who committed crimes a better path toward re-establishing themselves as citizens after serving their sentences. Not only will it make the state safer, he said, it will also reduce the burden on taxpayers by reducing the number of former convicts returning to prison. The criminal defense law firm in New Jersey has lawyers that deal with such cases on a regular basis.
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“The savings offered by these reforms will be reinvested at the county level where resources are most needed,” Bloom said. “Bipartisan committee advancement is a meaningful step toward transitioning individuals out of the corrections system and prioritizing resources where they’ll be most impactful.”
The panel also cleared several House bills that would reform the justice process. House Bill 1555 would limit the ability to revoke an individual’s probation unless they committed a crime or committed one of a few technical violations. The bill would also limit the time served in jail for a technical violation.
House Bill 440 seals the record of individuals who were either acquitted or the recipient of an unconditional pardon. House Bill 1477, which passed unanimously, opens the door for former prisoners to get occupational licenses that will help them gain employment after their release.
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House Bill 2040 would create a publicly available searchable database of employers willing to employ former offenders. That bill also passed the committee unanimously.
FreedomWorks, a national organization that promotes free markets and personal liberty, hailed the bipartisan effort.
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“Pennsylvania, with a Republican legislature and a Democratic governor, continues to showcase the unique bipartisan progress that can be made to better all citizens’ lives with smart-on-crime justice reform,” said Jason Pye, the vice president for legislative affairs for FreedomWorks.
The ACLU of Pennsylvania, on the other hand, has withdrawn its support of HB1555 based on amendments passed in the committee.
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“Under the amended bill, individual judges could deny medical marijuana patients from using their medication, and people would stay on probation indefinitely if they have not paid restitution, even if they are too poor to pay it,” the group said in a statement. “In addition, probation officers would have the power to conduct searches of people under supervision without cause; current law requires that they have reasonable suspicion before they can search someone.”
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