Morgan Watkins

@morganwatkins26

FRANKFORT, Ky. — In a move applauded by both Gov. Matt Bevin and the ACLU, state officials unveiled a bill Tuesday that would make it easier for ex-convicts to get jobs and allow prisoners to do work for private companies while they are still behind bars.

Senate Bill 120 would give people with felony convictions the opportunity to obtain professional licenses for jobs like nursing and would allow inmates to earn wages from private employers. The legislation includes many exceptions for its various provisions, and people who committed violent offenses or sex crimes would not be allowed to take advantage of some of the opportunities it would provide.

Bevin and other government officials have promised to address Kentucky's growing prison population and overcrowded jails, and the governor often talks about the importance of second chances.

On Tuesday, he publicly expressed his support for SB 120, which is part of a broad, bipartisan push for criminal justice reform. So did the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, which often opposes Bevin on issues like abortion rights.

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"We need a justice system that functions less like a maze and more like a road map," said Kate Miller, the ACLU's advocacy director. "This bill is a great step forward in terms of providing folks with that road map away from incarceration and toward successfully re-entering our communities."

The bill would no longer allow poor people to be imprisoned if they are ordered to pay fines or court costs but are unable to do so.

But another problem poor people face that the bill doesn't address is bail, Miller said. People who are arrested can end up stuck behind bars simply because they can't afford to post bail, which is an issue she encouraged state officials to address.

"The time for smart, bold justice reform is now ... so let's not leave these important ideas behind," she said.

Although many more improvements are needed, Miller praised the reforms Bevin and Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, hope will be instituted through the measure.

This bill would prevent people from automatically getting disqualified from obtaining an occupational license because of a prior conviction, Westerfield said. Applicants with criminal histories would get to explain why their request should be approved.

"And why don't they deserve it?" he said. "They're the ones that have done exactly what we've asked people in the criminal justice system to do. They broke the law, they were punished, they went home, they didn't do it again. And in many cases, they put themselves through school to put them in a position to ask for the license. Those are the very people we should be rewarding with an opportunity here."

The legislation also would establish a pilot program to require people on parole who struggle with substance abuse to attend therapy sessions and take other steps to overcome their addictions. Other provisions in the bill — which emerged from the efforts of the Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council Bevin established last year — would help people reduce the duration of their parole or probation by meeting certain expectations and staying out of trouble.

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Westerfield, whom Bevin described as the bill's architect, said the legislation would allow Kentucky to join over 20 other states in giving private companies the chance to establish factories within the confines of a prison, which in turn gives inmates the opportunity to work.

Prisoners would have to consent and would make at least the federal minimum wage, although their earnings could be deducted to cover things like taxes and child support. Inmates couldn't do jobs that would displace local workers already employed beyond bars, though.



"You're making sure that they have a marketable skill for when they leave, so that they've got a reason to stay out and not come back," Westerfield said.

Reporter Morgan Watkins can be reached at 502-875-5136 or mwatkins@courier-journal.com.