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$18 billion budget shortfall means prison closures must be on table

Texas' Legislative Budget Board announced yesterday that the revenue shortfall faced by the state in 2011 will be in the $15-18 billion range, according to the Texas Tribune.If that's accurate, I don't believe there's a remote chance that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will be exempted from spending cuts, which means it's time now for legislators to be discussing how to do that safely.The most important, indeed, the only practical way to reduce prison spending is to change policy, not just cut budgets. The most obvious approaches are expanding on Texas' 2007 probation reforms and ratcheting down sentences for low-level drug-possession, though legislators could also reduce inmate numbers and save money by more aggressively using medical parole or expanding good-time or work credits...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on May 12, 2010 (boomark / email).