Represent The People Not The Power
End Un-Funded Mandates By Big State Government On Counties
By Ann Ennis
In 2014, HB 1006 created a wave of change in Indiana’s criminal code. One change expanded the levels of felony crimes from four to six. The intent was to reduce state prison population and costs, and to prevent recidivism by putting non-violent, first-time and less career-criminal offenders into community-based treatment programs – the new levels allowed for different sentencing. Shorter sentences are now served in the home county of the crime.
That is a good idea in principle but suffers much due to poor research by state representatives before Indy passed the law. My research shows that, per county officials in Gibson and Vanderburgh counties, no funding from the state followed the increase in community corrections and county jail population.
As per an article in The Indiana Economic Digest, 12-27-2014 by Mark Wilson (of Evansville Courier & Press), Judge Wayne Trockman of Vanderburgh County, noted that the intent was to allow nonviolent offenders to stay in local jail, treatment and training programs and not send them into the mega-system of the state prisons.Â
Wilson writes, “Although legislators may have intended for the changes to direct more offenders away from state prisons and into the care of local jails and programs, additional resources will be needed to make that work.â€
According to the elected officials whom I spoke with, the “additional resources†did not come.
Food, beds, and treatment for offenders are now being paid by the counties across the state, including all counties in District 64. Staff safety may be compromised because of more community-housed offenders with no more staff or funds to care for and supervise them. And all the while, the state officials can say they are saving the Indiana Department of Corrections money.
On our backs.
Current Representatives too often vote for bills like 2014’s House Bill 1006 and for other big state-mandates, such as ISTEP, IREAD, and centralized expensive corporate test grading. Why? Because they rarely meet with their district’s other elected leaders to get advice.
I have been told that, “if state representatives would meet with their county government officials before voting on these type of laws, so they can get advice from the county finance managers, unfunded mandates would end.â€
Isn’t a representative supposed to represent the district and its voters?
Why do representatives represent the Indianapolis power machine instead?
I support helping non-violent, non-career offenders to change and grow, but not by saving the state money while making our counties pay. Stop un-funded mandates by Indy on our counties.
