HELENA — More than three years into an overhaul of Montana’s criminal sentencing laws, the Legislature is preparing to ask the Corrections Department for extensive reporting on whether rehabilitation programs are working – including a rewritten definition of “recidivism.”
“There was a fair amount of frustration that there really hasn’t been good progress made, to make determinations about what programs are working and are reducing recidivism,” said Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings.
Mercer is sponsoring House Bill 693, which he presented to the House Appropriations Committee on Monday.