The Minority Leader in the state House of Delegates is denying claims he’s trying to block Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s bill that’s designed to address overcrowding in West Virginia
SB 371, called the Justice Reinvestment Act, is still waiting on action from the House Judiciary Committee with just more than a week left in this year’s Regular Legislative Session.
The Senate unanimously approved the legislation last month.
To reduce recidivism, the proposal calls for increased supervision for prisoners when they are released and improved substance abuse treatment programs.
The bill would require a year of mandatory supervision for violent offenders once they are out of prison and would release nonviolent offenders six months early to put them into supervised release programs.
While he supports parts of the bill, Delegate Armstead says he thinks other portions of it, including the definitions for violent and nonviolent offenders, need work.
When it comes to substance abuse treatment, Armstead says he thinks alternative sentences for treatment should only apply in specific cases.
“There are legitimate concerns about this bill. There are legitimate concerns expressed by Democrats and Republicans about this bill and I do think there’s been less than, what I would consider, a willingness to cooperate and discuss and try to come a middle ground on this bill,” he said.
“I think people need to stop talking about this bill as a big picture, as if we’ve got to do everything in this bill or nothing.”
Some of the recommendations in the bill are based on a comprehensive report from the Council of State Governments Justice Center.
Delegate Armstead says there is time for compromise. “I’ve spent a lot of time on this bill. On all the issues that we have concerns about, we’ve offered alternatives. None of us have ever said, ‘This bill, we don’t want. We don’t want to do it.’”
According to current estimates, without changes, the state’s prison population is expected to grow by another 24% over the next five years.
The 2013 Regular Legislative Session ends on Saturday, April 13th.
