SENATE MEMORIAL 8

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Cisco McSorley

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE FORMATION OF A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF CONVERTING CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES INTO DRUG AND ALCOHOL TREATMENT FACILITIES.

     WHEREAS, according to a report by the legislative finance committee, while most states have experienced significant declines in prison populations, New Mexico's prison population has continued to increase; and

     WHEREAS, the state spends forty million dollars ($40,000,000) per year to house revoked parolees in prison; and

     WHEREAS, one-half of the recidivism rate is attributed to parole revocations for technical violations related to drug use; and

     WHEREAS, the same report indicates that about one-third of the inmates admitted to prisons supervised by the corrections department are the result of failed drug tests and missed appointments; and

     WHEREAS, according to the national institute on drug abuse, sixty-five percent of all incarcerated individuals nationwide meet the criteria for substance use disorder; and

     WHEREAS, the use of opioids is linked with a higher rate of recidivism; and 

     WHEREAS, the closure of correctional facilities in order to allow for expansion of treatment facilities and medication-assisted treatment may help address a root cause of crime and recidivism and has been tested in other states; and

     WHEREAS, Colorado repurposed a prison to provide transitional housing to homeless individuals; and

     WHEREAS, New York used twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) saved from the closure of two prisons to offset costs for in-prison mental health and sex offender programs; and

     WHEREAS, according to the national institute on drug abuse, California saved close to one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) by allowing qualified drug offenders to enter treatment instead of jail or prison; and

     WHEREAS, despite the possible benefits of conversion of correctional facilities, closing them is not an easy task, since they are vital to local economies, especially in rural communities; and

     WHEREAS, the closure of a correctional facility could have some adverse effects, unless thoughtful measures are taken to understand and mitigate the possible consequences;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the behavioral health services division of the human services department be requested to convene a prison conversion task force to study the feasibility of converting correctional facilities, including state-operated prisons, privately operated prisons, county jails, municipal jails and privately operated jails, into drug and alcohol treatment facilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the prison conversion task force be composed of the following members or the designees of those members:

          A. a representative of the behavioral health services division of the human services department, appointed by the secretary of human services, to serve as chair of the task force;

          B. the attorney general;

          C. the chief public defender;

          D. a representative of the New Mexico supreme court;

          E. the director of the administrative office of the courts;

          F. the secretary of human services;

          G. the secretary of health;

          H. the secretary of corrections;

          I. the secretary of public safety;

          J. the secretary of Indian affairs;

          K. the secretary of public education;

          L. the secretary of workforce solutions;

          M. the executive director of New Mexico counties;

          N. the executive director of the New Mexico municipal league;

          O. a representative of the greater Albuquerque chamber of commerce;

          P. the executive director of wings for life international;

          Q. the executive director of fathers building futures;

          R. the executive director of the New Mexico coalition to end homelessness; and

          S. the executive director of the Santa Fe recovery center; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the prison conversion task force be requested to study the possible use of a prison-turned-treatment center as an alternate sentencing option for offenders with an addiction to drugs or alcohol; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the prison conversion task force seek the input of nationwide experts and state, county and municipal stakeholders and study all consequences of closing a correctional facility; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that by November 1, 2019, the prison conversion task force present a report of its findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee, the legislative finance committee and the appropriate interim committee that studies issues pertaining to courts, corrections and justice; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of human services and the director of the behavioral health services division of the human services department.

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