House concurs with Senate changes to corrections bill, adds studies and reporting deadlines

The House on May 10 concurred in a Senate proposal of amendment to House Bill 876, a miscellaneous corrections bill, after committee members outlined the scope of the changes.

The member from Westminster described the key differences: the Senate amendment increases the discharge medication supply for prescribed medications from 14 to 28 days (the provision is explicit that it does not address medications for medically assisted treatment); the Senate scaled back an earned-time expansion for people on parole and required the Department of Corrections to undertake specified reviews and solicit input from victims’ services, state’s attorneys, sheriffs and other stakeholders before deciding whether to proceed; and the Senate added several new sections including a holistic study of criminal justice inputs and outputs due Nov. 15, 2025 and a report on DOC’s reentry and transitional services due Nov. 15, 2024 with a status update due Dec. 1 to the joint legislative justice oversight committee.

Committee members reported a favorable committee concurrence straw poll and the House concurred in the Senate proposal of amendment by voice vote.

The concurrence incorporates the Senate’s language into the House bill; staff and members were directed to the posted and distributed strike-all amendments for details.