Bill Aimed At Reducing Prison Overcrowding Passes House

Legislation aimed at reducing prison overcrowding has been introduced in the Kentucky House.Representative John Tilley of Hopkinsville, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is the primary sponsor. He predicts the bill will save the state $42 million per year.“We will reinvest roughly half of those dollars into drug treatment and other programs for our low-level possessory offenders and folks of that nature, and I think we’ll see a net return to the commonwealth, after reinvestment, of 21-million and change," he says.Tilley says the measure seeks alternatives to prison for low-level drug offenders, and should reduce recidivism through drug-treatment programs. He says the bill has bipartisan, bicameral support, and he’s extremely optimistic about its chances of passage.