The House Judiciary Committee voted 14‑12 to report House Resolution 59, which would designate Nov. 1, 2025, as State Correctional Institution Day and encourage legislators to visit state correctional institutions to raise awareness of conditions and oversight needs.

Representative Kazeem, sponsor of the resolution, framed the measure as a fact‑finding and oversight tool: "My aim with this resolution is to raise awareness of the conditions in our state correctional facilities and call for greater legislative oversight. ... This resolution recommends and encourage all members all members of the house of representatives to conduct visits to state correctional institutions at least twice annually." (transcript wording retained)

Representative Klunk asked whether Nov. 1 has special significance: "November 1 is my sister's birthday, which is a great day in our family. But I was wondering, to the representative, how is there a significance for November 1? Is this a a national, state correctional institution day? Is there a a national organization that is supporting this effort?" Kazeem replied there is no national day and that the date was chosen because many SCIs schedule visits around that time.

Several members urged the sponsor to broaden or clarify language. Representative Ledbetter said the resolution gives no acknowledgement to correctional officers and read for the record a governor's letter recognizing first responders; he said that omission would cause him to vote no. Representative Borowitz criticized the resolution for "elevat[ing] convicts while leaving out correctional officers." Representative Kinkade and others argued improving conditions for incarcerated people also improves safety and working conditions for corrections staff.

Why it matters: The resolution commits legislators to increased oversight and encourages visits to correctional institutions, but committee debate exposed concerns about perceived imbalance between attention to incarcerated people and recognition of corrections officers' safety and service.

Next steps: Committee reported the resolution as committed; sponsors and other members signaled willingness to consider modest language changes to make the resolution more inclusive before floor action.