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House advances Drug Offenders Reform Act after members cite treatment benefits
Summary
The Utah House voted to advance Senate Bill 50, the Drug Offenders Reform Act, after sponsors and supporters described pilot results and urged expanded treatment funding; the measure passed the House 71-0 and will be sent to the Senate.
The Utah House on Monday voted to advance Senate Bill 50, the Drug Offenders Reform Act, after sponsors and members described results from a pilot program and urged expanding treatment-focused alternatives to incarceration.
Sponsor Representative Landon Lockhart told colleagues the bill expands a multiagency program that involves the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Department of Corrections, Human Services, the courts and the Board of Pardons and Parole. "A dollar spent on substance abuse treatment saves approximately $5.60 in drug related costs on the back end," Lockhart said in his floor remarks, citing national estimates and pilot data.
Representative McGee, a member of the appropriations subcommittee, described a visit to a residential treatment home for women in Salt Lake City and said residents included mothers and young adults making progress in supervised treatment. Representative Hutchings said the measure is particularly important for communities that have struggled with methamphetamine and urged passage to break a cycle of incarceration that hits women and children especially hard.
After brief discussion and a waived summation from the sponsor, the House opened and closed a roll call vote. The Speaker announced that SB50 received 71 yes votes and 0 no votes; the bill passed the House as amended and will be referred to the Senate for further consideration.
Next steps: The bill will go to the Senate for consideration. The House record shows the bill passed the chamber and was transmitted for further action.
