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SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that would transform Utah’s criminal justice system cleared the Utah House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The House passed HB348 with a 72-3 vote. The bill includes a new assessment process for the causes of a person’s criminal behavior and would increase funding for treatment programs for those who are mentally ill or are battling addiction, said bill sponsor Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns.
HB348 would also lower some criminal penalties, including making drug possession a misdemeanor.
Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City, was among those who voted against the bill, expressing concerns about the message that lowering drug crimes would send to youths.
Hutchings said the current correction system and its penalties is “counterproductive” and is not preventing people from committing crimes or reducing recidivism rates. He said the new system proposed in HB348 would target those struggling with substance abuse or mental illness to help with the state’s growing prison population and reduce recidivism rates.
Hutchings has said the price tag for his bill’s reform is close to $11 million, and other related legislation would add about $4 million to that cost. Not taking action to reduce the prison population is projected to cost $542 million.
Medicaid expansion would offset some health-related expenses, he said.
Numerous lawmakers spoke in favor of the bill on the House floor, including Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, who said the bill would likely eliminate a portion of the state prison’s population growth.
“If any of you have toured the prison in Draper or the Gunnison prison, you see the wasted human potential that exists there,” Wilson said.
By reforming the criminal justice system, the Legislature will make an “important reinvestment in the citizens of the state, both helping the human side of things, as well as the financial impact on the state,” he said.
Before the vote, Hutchings said if HB348 passes into law, lawmakers generations from today will look back on the current criminal justice system, talk about how it used to be done, and “be very proud” of the change.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
