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Senate committee debates creation of independent correctional oversight office to monitor prisons
Summary
Lawmakers discussed Senate Bill 15‑07 to establish an independent correctional oversight office with powers to monitor confinement conditions, accept complaints and submit annual reports; sponsor argued the office is a policy measure to address systemic problems in the Department of Corrections and said no funding is attached.
During a Senate committee meeting, lawmakers discussed Senate Bill 15‑07, which would create an independent correctional oversight office to monitor confinement conditions, provide information about inmates’ rights, accept complaints and submit an annual report.
The measure, described to members by legislative staff as “as amended by the committee on government,” drew extended remarks from the bill’s proponent, Representative Blackman. Blackman said the proposal grew from a 2019 ad hoc review of the Department of Corrections (DOC) and a subsequent governor‑appointed commission of subject matter experts. “Our correction system is broken,” Blackman said, adding that the DOC “is costing us a little over 2,000,000,000 a year.” He cited examples he…
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