FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

23, 2015

Monday, Feb.

Criminal justice funding legislation passes out of House

STATEHOUSE State Representative Greg Steuerwald (R-Avon) authored House Bill (HB)
1006 which creates a funding mechanism to support local communities provide alternatives to
incarceration, working to reduce recidivism. The bill, co-authored by State Representative Jud
McMillin (R-Brookville), passed unanimously out of the House today.
HB 1006 is an integral part of the criminal code reform that the General Assembly has been
working for the last six years, said Rep. Steuerwald. By establishing alternatives to
incarceration, this legislation creates the framework to fund and provide locals the resources they
need to create programs that address and reduce recidivism.
HB 1006 would create the Justice Reinvestment Community Grant Program, administered
through the Indiana Judicial Center (IJC). The IJC would award grants to assist with the
establishment and maintenance of a community corrections program, help communities develop
and maintain alternatives to incarceration and to reduce recidivism.
Additionally, by providing alternatives to incarceration, the grants work to promote the
development of problem solving courts, probation services, mental health treatment and
substance abuse treatment to list a few. In order to fund the grant program, $80 million
has been included in the budget bill, HB 1001, and at least 75 percent of funding must be
used for evidence-based practices for mental health and addiction.
Our goal, by reforming Indianas Criminal Code, was to get smart on crime and implement
evidence-based practices that reduce recidivism and create a safer communities, said Rep.
McMillin. We have seen other states like Texas implement a similar program successfully, and
not only did they dramatically reduce recidivism, by providing more personalized mental and
behavioral health treatment, but also closed a prison and saved a significant amount of tax
dollars.
In 2007, Texas was one the first states to create a justice reinvestment program. It was
intended to provide treatment to offenders through drug, alcohol and mental health
programs, rather than just administering justice through incarceration. Since the
program was implemented, the prison population decreased by over 5,000 inmates,

crime rates and recidivism has been reduced by over 5 percent and Texas was able to
close a prison for the first time, which was estimated to save the state around $3 billion.
Visit www.iga.in.gov for more information about HBs 1006 or 1001.
-30Rep. Steuerwald represents portions of Hendricks County.
Rep. McMillin represents all of Union County and portions of Dearborn and Franklin counties.