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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 6, 2023 01:24 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Napoleon J. Nelson and Rep. Patty Kim, Rep. Joe Webster |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Empowering Counties to Expand Boards of Inspectors for Jails and Prisons |
Over 70,000 Pennsylvania residents are incarcerated, nearly half of them in county jails, prisons, or correctional facilities. These residents and their families retain the right to proper jail governance while incarcerated. Title 61, Chapter 17 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes defines the structure of county correctional institutions for 64 of the 67 counties. Only one of those counties, Allegheny, is permitted to engage local residents to sit on the board that provides oversight of the prison system. My own county, Montgomery County, is excluded from the law all together because of the loophole-plagued language pertaining to 2A class counties. Last session, we came together to assist Lancaster County and other rising 2A counties in avoiding these gaps in state law. However, our work to support oversight of jails and prisons is unfinished. That is why we are putting forward legislation to give counties more flexibility to expand transparency in prison accountability. We are proposing legislation to allow boards of inspectors for county jails and prisons the option to include 2-4 members of the public on their board. Allowing local officials and residents of counties to have a board of inspectors could create space for reform that would benefit the communities these facilities are located in. Additionally, this legislation will allow Montgomery County, Bucks County, and Delaware County to establish a board of inspectors subject to the same requirements of the third, fourth, fifth classes, Lancaster County, and all counties that in the future become 2A counties. These oversight boards have the authority to make significant changes regarding how jails and/or prisons in their respective counties operate. Please join us in empowering counties to bring about greater accountability in our criminal justice system by co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB1509