Not So Good News

http://azleg.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=13&clip_id=5030&publish_id=&event_id=

This was a meeting on 3/17 after the 3/6 budget proposal draft was created by the DOC.

The agenda for both the house and senate in regards to department of corrections budget cuts and the video footage of this meeting. (You can just click on Department of Corrections to skip over the Judiciary)

The first guy that's talking is Martin Lorenzo, he is the budget advisory chairperson for DOC.

Charles Ryan, the DOC director is the next to speak in regards to cutting the inmate/CO ratios.

Last to speak is Dr. Mike Dolny he just gives more statistics on house arrest.

They have yet to, at this point, even discuss the truth-in-sentencing.....and by the sounds of it, they are NOT going to look at releasing "bad guys back on the streets, just because there is a budget crisis right now"

There is a heated disscussion between one of the representatives and one of the senators about other "options" to reduce the budget, they don't go into much detail but one can assume they are talking about releasing inmates.

PS I did find out, however, I could still be misunderstanding, what ever is put in the budget doesn't have to be passed into a bill, they will just strike the current bill and revise it based on the need to uphold the budget.

Unrelated, the HB that takes tobacco from inmates looks like it passed...