The Senate Democrats and Gov. M. Jodi Rell both share a sense of urgency and a broad commitment to enacting meaningful criminal justice reforms that will both serve and protect the people of Connecticut and provide for the rehabilitative needs of our state’s incarcerated inmates.
We also share Gov. Rell’s fiscal concerns, particularly regarding Connecticut’s constitutional spending cap. However, we disagree with her assertion that legislative action on any meaningful criminal justice reforms that may include a fiscal note must be postponed until February’s regular session.
After six months of public debate, public hearings, and informational meetings, we believe the special legislative session is the perfect time to show the people of Connecticut our commitment to protecting their safety. The creation of a “home invasion” statute, the toughening of persistent offender laws, and even amending our persistent offender statute are issues where bipartisan accord have been achieved.
But even these changes have budgetary impacts, inasmuch as new and tougher laws will result in more judicial procedures and longer incarcerations. According to the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, the cost of incarcerating offenders under any new “home invasion” or tougher “persistent offender” statute approaches $10 million annually. Also worthwhile is Connecticut’s investment in a full-time, professional Board of Parole, GPS monitoring of certain offenders, enhanced re-entry programs, and victim services.
The reality is that any agreement on budgetary revisions will likely not come until the end of session on May 7 at best — nearly 10 months after the heinous murders of three members of the Petit family.
We agree with Gov. Rell that “the time for action is now” and seek her input on a meaningful package of criminal justice reforms that will immediately make a positive difference in the public safety and peace of mind of those Connecticut residents.
Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney and Judiciary Committee Co-Chair Andrew McDonald also signed this letter.
