NDACo Asked to Testify on Justice Reinvestment Impacts to Counties

NDACo was asked to speak to the interim Justice Reinvestment Committee regarding reactions to the Justice Reinvestment initiatives that were rolled out in a series of bills passed in the 2017 Legislative Session that addressed reducing incarceration; primarily at the state level. Aaron Birst drew from his conversations with State's Attorneys on the impacts of the legislation. He told the committee the reduced sentences have worked well and have not been too problematic. However the presumptive probation legislation has created some issues for prosecutors. This law mandates most first time C Felony offenders must only receive probation instead of any prison/jail time.

"County prosecutors 100% support Justice Reinvestment. The $7 million budgeted for community programs in 2017 is just not enough," said Birst. "Prosecutors are also very concerned about proposed budget cuts that Governor Doug Burgum suggested when he released his budget guidelines to state agencies last week. In particular, counties believe funding cuts to the juvenile court system would be detrimental." 

As a follow up, NDACo informed the committee about the establishment of the County Working Group on Justice Reinvestment that recently held a session to identify potential concepts or models that any county in the state could implement as alternatives to jail. The working group was made up of 22 county officials from across the state and from various county capacities including: Sheriffs, Commissioners, Jail Administrators, State's Attorneys, a Social Service Director, Public Health director and a County Administrator.

The working group was set up to assist counties in complying with legislation passed last session that requires counties to develop a local inmate population plan to prioritize admissions. ND DOCR and ND DHS presented on programs and resources that are available and being used to address alternatives at the state level.

A report highlighting the key findings from this planning session is being compiled. We highly anticipate policy will be developed to provide assistance for the local effort of addressing alternatives and expanding behavior health programs.