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Senate advances bill giving probationers one day off supervision for every 40 hours worked
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Senate Bill 217 after testimony that the measure would incentivize employment for people on probation and parole and could reduce revocations; the Department of Corrections flagged verification workload and an as-yet-unposted fiscal note.
Senator Daniel Zolmecom, R., introduced Senate Bill 217 to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a measure that would allow people on probation or parole to earn one day off their supervision term for every 40 hours of documented employment.
Supporters told the committee the proposal is intended to encourage employment, reduce recidivism and free officers to focus on higher-risk supervisees. Jacob Dupuis, a visiting fellow with the Cicero Institute, said studies show employment correlates with lower reoffending and offered national examples where earned-time programs produced reduced revocations. Representatives of the Coalition for Safety and Justice and the Montana Innocence Project also testified in favor.
Dupuis told the committee that Montana’s Department of Corrections currently…
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