PRINTER'S NO. 1093
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
169
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, STREET, LEACH AND MENSCH, JULY 20, 2017
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JULY 20, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Urging the President and the Congress of the United States to
enact bipartisan legislation to provide for criminal justice
reform.
WHEREAS, Despite recent reductions, the United States has the
highest incarceration rate in the world, holding approximately
2.2 million people in prisons and jails on any given day, a 500%
increase over the last 40 years; and
WHEREAS, The Federal prison population has increased from
approximately 25,000 people in fiscal year 1980 to over 205,000
people in fiscal year 2015, an increase of 720% over that time
period; and
WHEREAS, The budget of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP)
has increased more than $7.1 billion from $330 million in fiscal
year 1980 to $7.479 billion in fiscal year 2016; and
WHEREAS, The number of Americans incarcerated for drug
offenses has skyrocketed from 40,900 in 1980 to 469,545 in 2015;
and
WHEREAS, At the Federal level, individuals incarcerated on a
drug conviction make up nearly half of the prison population;
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and
WHEREAS, The growth in the Federal prison population can be a
detriment to the safety of staff and prisoners; and
WHEREAS, The number of Federal statutory crimes has
skyrocketed from 3,000 in the early 1980's to more than 5,000
today; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, the Congress of the United States
established the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal
Corrections, to conduct an independent assessment of the Federal
corrections system and identify the dynamic driving increases in
the Federal Bureau of Prisons' population and costs and produce
recommendations for lasting reforms; and
WHEREAS, In January 2016, the Task Force issued its final
report and recommendations and stated that "the dramatic prison
population expansion was caused largely by drug and weapon
offenses and by the mandatory minimum sentences that, beginning
in the mid-1980s, dictated long prison terms for both types of
crimes. Other contributors were the abolition of parole, Federal
limits on the use of 'good conduct time' and other credits to
shorten sentences and increased enforcement of immigration
crimes"; and
WHEREAS, The Task Force estimated that the Federal government
could lower Federal Bureau of Prisons' prison population by
60,000 people and save $5 billion over the next several years by
adopting their suggested reforms, which, in part, include
reserving prison beds for the most serious Federal crimes,
promoting a culture of safety and rehabilitation in prison,
ensuring successful reintegration by using evidence-based
practices and reinvesting savings to support necessary programs,
supervision and treatment; and
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WHEREAS, The Congressional Research Service in May 2016
issued a report entitled "The Federal Prison Population Buildup:
Options for Congress" which stated that "Congress could consider
options such as (1) modifying mandatory minimum penalties, (2)
expanding the use of Residential Reentry Centers, (3) placing
more offenders on probation, (4) reinstating parole for Federal
inmates, (5) expanding the amount of good time credit an inmate
can earn, and (6) repealing Federal criminal statutes for some
offenses."; and
WHEREAS, States across the nation have instituted reforms
aimed at making their criminal justice systems smarter, fairer,
less costly and more efficient; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has enacted a number of criminal
justice reforms, including a justice reinvestment initiative,
that have resulted in the prison population declining by more
than 2,000 people over the past four years and the closing of
one state correctional institution; and
WHEREAS, While reforms have taken place at the State level,
it does not absolve Congress of the need to enact criminal
justice reform at the Federal level; and
WHEREAS, A number of criminal justice reform proposals, such
as S. 2123 - Sentencing Reform & Corrections Act of 2015, H.R.
759 - Corrections & Recidivism Reduction Act of 2016, H.R. 2944
- Sensenbrenner-Scott SAFE Justice Reinvestment Act of 2015,
H.R. 3713 - Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 and H.R. 4002 -
Criminal Code Improvement Act of 2015, were introduced and some
of them were reported from committee during the 114th Congress
(2015-2016), which, in part, included reducing mandatory minimum
sentences for nonviolent offenses and examining stronger
recidivism reduction programs in Federal prisons, but failed to
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be approved; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
urge the President and the Congress of the United States to
enact bipartisan legislation to provide for criminal justice
reform; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States, the presiding officers of
each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from
Pennsylvania.
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