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Senate advances Drug Offenders Reform Act to third reading after floor debate on costs and treatment
Summary
Senate Bill 21, proposing a treatment-focused sentencing model intended to divert many nonviolent drug offenders from prison into a supervised treatment program, was advanced to third reading after sponsors and colleagues debated costs, insurance coverage for assessments, and expected savings.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate on Jan. 27 advanced SB 21, the Drug Offenders Reform Act, a multi-year plan sponsors said would redirect many nonviolent drug offenders from incarceration into structured treatment programs.
Senator Butters, the bill sponsor, described an approach that emphasizes screening before sentencing and creating treatment slots so judges can divert eligible defendants into treatment rather than prison. He told senators the initiative would require an initial state investment — he described an initial-year funding figure of about $6.1 million and disputed a fiscal-note figure he described as incomplete — but he and proponents said long-term savings to corrections and public costs could be substantial. "If you can go to 50% [diversion], you're talking close to $60,000,000 a year saved," Butters said, placing those savings in the context of incarceration costs.
Supporters from both parties spoke on the floor. Senator Walker expressed support, recalling prison visits and the urgent need for funded programs to prepare people to re-enter society; Senator Evans asked rhetorically whether the state could afford not to fund treatment and emphasized the need to quantify the cost of inaction.
Senator Hilliard raised a concern about access to insurance coverage: evaluations or court-ordered treatment sometimes are not covered by private insurance, producing financial burdens for participants. Butters said he would consider friendly amendment language to address such concerns.
After floor discussion, Senator Butters moved SB 21 for second reading and onward to third reading. The roll-call vote recorded 24 ayes, no nays and five absences; the presiding officer announced the bill would go to the third-reading calendar.
The bill contains funding and programmatic details discussed on the floor but will return to the chamber for third-reading consideration and possible amendment.
