2014 Nebraska Revised Statutes
Chapter 28 - CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
28-1501 - Nebraska Justice Reinvestment Working Group; created; members; study; issues; report.

28-1501. Nebraska Justice Reinvestment Working Group; created; members; study; issues; report.

(1) The Legislature finds that while serious crime in the State of Nebraska has not increased in the past five years, the prison population continues to increase as does the amount spent on correctional issues. The Legislature further finds that a need exists to closely examine the criminal justice system of the State of Nebraska in order to increase public safety while concurrently reducing correctional spending and reinvesting in strategies that decrease crime and strengthen Nebraska communities.

(2) The State of Nebraska shall work cooperatively with the Council of State Governments Justice Center to study and identify innovative solutions and evidence-based practices to develop a data-driven approach to reduce correctional spending and reinvest savings in strategies that can decrease recidivism and increase public safety. The Nebraska Justice Reinvestment Working Group is created under the authority of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of Nebraska state government to work with the Council of State Governments Justice Center in this process.

(3) The Governor, the Executive Board of the Legislative Council, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are authorized to take any necessary actions to engage the Council of State Governments Justice Center in this process and to ensure that the report required by subsection (6) of this section is delivered. Upon delivery of the report, the working group shall be dissolved and discharged of any further duties.

(4) The working group shall be comprised of four members selected by the Governor, four members selected by the Speaker of the Legislature, four members selected by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and four representatives of local governments selected jointly by the Governor, the Speaker of the Legislature, and the Chief Justice. The Governor, Speaker of the Legislature, and Chief Justice shall serve as co-chairpersons of the working group.

(5) The study undertaken in accordance with this section shall include a broad range of issues, including:

(a) Courts, specialty courts, and sentencing trends;

(b) Development of a process to determine the impact of pending legislation on the criminal justice system;

(c) Analysis of the prison population and its growth;

(d) Reported crimes and arrests;

(e) Alternatives to incarceration;

(f) Effectiveness of all available offender programs, including prison programs and community-based programs;

(g) Reentry programming and transition;

(h) Prison programming;

(i) Community services;

(j) Probation and parole services;

(k) Prison admissions and length of stay; and

(l) Recidivism rates of offenders released from prison, jail, parole, probation, and other community-based programs.

(6) The Council of State Governments Justice Center shall make a final report that includes a summary of the issues studied as required by subsection (5) of this section, potential legislative solutions for the problems associated with prison overcrowding, and an estimate of the cost savings for all policies recommended by the center. The Council of State Governments Justice Center shall electronically deliver the report to the Governor, the Clerk of the Legislature, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by September 1, 2015.

Source

Laws 2014, LB907, § 11.
Operative Date: April 17, 2014