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House debates corrections cuts that could end some pre‑sentence investigations; bill circled for further work
Summary
House Bill 5,012 would change corrections supervision and eliminate some pre‑sentence investigations to meet an $800,000 cut; members warned judges would be 'blind' without reports and the bill was 'circled' to seek alternatives.
House Bill 5,012 (Correctional Services Amendments) was introduced with an amendment to require the department to supervise certain offenders and an explanation that an $800,000 appropriation cut forces the removal of some pre‑sentence investigations and changes to probation supervision.
The bill sponsor acknowledged the policy was undesirable but said budget constraints left few options. The sponsor described eliminating some pre‑sentence investigations and moving to supervised probation for certain misdemeanors "with the exception of *** offenders and violent criminals," and said the alternative would be early release of prisoners.
Members including Representative Wardell and Representative Curtis urged caution, warning that without pre‑sentence reports "a judge is now going to be blind when he's sentencing somebody" and that closing wings and releasing prisoners could raise public‑safety concerns. Representative Curtis moved to 'circle' the bill to give sponsors time to seek alternative funding to preserve pre‑sentence investigations; the motion to circle was made and the House recessed for dinner to allow further work.
Next steps: House Bill 5,012 was circled for further consideration; sponsors said they would attempt to identify funding before bringing the bill back to the floor.
