Justice Reinvestment (H 7534, S 2603A, S 2604 as amended)

In 2017, the General Assembly passed a number of bills aimed at improving the criminal justice system. This year, Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee (H 7534) and Sen. Michael McCaffrey (S 2603A, S 2604 as amended) introduced legislation promoting two proposals passed by the Senate last year but stripped at the last minute from the package approved by the House. These proposals would reclassify certain felonies into misdemeanors, reducing the collateral consequences for individuals convicted of those crimes. They would also require the preparation of prison impact statements, setting forth the estimated fiscal effect for any bill creating new crimes or increasing prison sentences. The Senate approved amended versions of both proposals in May; unfortunately, once again, the House failed to act.