Las Cruces Sun News: Jenna Moll: House Bill 564 will improve New Mexico's justice system
Lawmakers passed more bills during the recent legislative session than they have in a decade, many of which were highly contentious. However, they found bipartisan agreement on several pieces of criminal justice reform legislation, such as House Bill 564. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham should put her final stamp of approval on this important legislation to improve the state’s justice system and sign it into law.
The status quo is clearly not working. Under the current system, the prison population is projected to expand another 9 percent in the next five years, costing an additional $39 million annually and pulling those resources away from other needs, and recidivism rates remain stubbornly high.
House Bill 564, sponsored by Rep. Antonio Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, will focus resources on evidence-based approaches that will help end the prison system’s revolving door, save taxpayer dollars and improve public safety.
Approximately 7,000 New Mexico residents currently reside in state prisons across New Mexico, and another 15,000 are currently supervised on probation or parole. Recognizing that each individual has unique needs, the bipartisan bill requires the New Mexico Corrections Department to utilize a validated risk and needs assessment for all individuals on probation and parole, and tailor supervision and programming to each individual case. This will leave the “one-size-fits-all” system behind and ensure that the underlying causes of criminal behavior are targeted with the best available interventions.
Right now, when an inmate is “revoked from supervision” he or she is returned to incarceration after a parole or probation violation. These revocations account for 41 percent of all prison admissions in New Mexico, and many of them are the result of technical violations, such as a traffic ticket. To correct this imbalance, the bill provides for a system of sanctions to respond to these minor probation violations and ensure that violations are swiftly and effectively responded to, increasing accountability and improving outcomes.
By utilizing graduated sanctions instead of merely revoking probation or parole and using lengthy and pricey incarceration sentences, this framework gives individuals who make minor slip-ups a chance to correct their behavior in the community — saving money and keeping families together.
Maestas’ and Rue’s legislation also establishes guidelines for medical and geriatric parole for inmates who are sick or elderly. It provides these individuals with the opportunity to live out the remainder of their lives with dignity, surrounded by their family instead of prison cells.
House Bill 564 enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support in the Legislature. Sponsored by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the legislation was approved with a 26-6 vote in the Senate and 51-16 vote in the House. It also deserves Gov. Lujan Grisham’s strong support and signature to make it the law.
The New Mexico justice system is in need of repair. House Bill 564 will enact important reforms to the state’s probation and parole system, ensuring that it focuses on the individual needs of all offenders, responds accordingly, and ultimately makes all New Mexicans safer.