PolicyBlog

The Booze Business is a Lose Business for Taxpayers

Commonwealth Foundation — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:33:00 EST

I heard on the radio this week another ridiculous ad against allowing retail stores to sell wine or liquor, funded by UFCW dues to play on stations across the state.

Today's myth/lie that deserves busting is the idea that the state-run liquor stores "generate $500 million a year for the state budget and all taxpayers."

They don't! State liquor stores collect $500 million from taxpayers and consumers. More than 80 percent of that money is generated directly from taxes on buyers—both alcohol taxes and sales taxes. The rest comes from the standard "markup" the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), the government monopoly retailer, puts on every bottle they sell.

The PLCB wants you to believe that without them, this revenue dries up. Truth is: Privately-owned liquor stores would collect taxes just the same.

Moreover, the PLCB is losing money. The newest financial report confirms that government in the booze business is a lose business. The PLCB ended the 2011 fiscal year with negative $31 million in net assets, having lost $23 million in 2010-11, and $54 million in 2009-10.

Guess who's responsible for paying off those debts? Remember once again, every dollar the PLCB generates is money taken from consumers and taxpayers.

For more on the failure of government-run liquor stores, visit FreeMyDrink.com. And for more on how the UFCW uses government-collected union dues for political action and to enrich union bosses, check out our policy report The Squeeze.

Gov. Corbett Is Right: Real Corrections Reform, Right Now

Commonwealth Foundation — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:12:00 EST

We here at CF are proud to be part, along with Gov. George M. Leader, his family, and many others, of a transpartisan coalition favoring "real corrections reform, right now." That is why this morning, I attended the release of the recommendations of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative working group.

At the meeting, Gov. Corbett made clear that he supports the report, wants to see its recommendations made into legislation, and wants that legislation on his desk by June 30. The JRI recommendations reflect the principles upon which our coalition has agreed and I couldn't agree more with Gov. Corbett's sense of urgency.

I also received the following comment this afternoon from Gov. Leader:

The release of the JRI report, with the support of stakeholders across our criminal justice system, demonstrates the importance of "real corrections reform, right now." In the business world, where I've been since my governorship, when we have problems, we get good information and use it quickly to solve them. My family and I hope the General Assembly will do the same here, and we applaud Gov. Corbett and Secretary Wetzel for their leadership.

Save Our Schools or Save Our Kids?

Commonwealth Foundation — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:30:00 EST

Throngs of anti-parental choice supporters have rallied in Philadelphia today, demanding more taxpayer dollars for their cause. According to Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Kristen Graham via her Twitter feed @newskag, protesters were loudly shouting "Save our schools," while waving signs that read, "Save our Schools: Stop Privatizing."

While it is nice to finally see and hear their honest priorities, we can't help but wonder who is going to be saving our kids from public schools like University City in Philadelphia where less than 5 percent of 11^th graders reached proficiency in reading and math. Should we be saving failing and violent schools or saving the kids forced to attend them?

Despite the lack of any evidence that proves more dollars make more scholars, these adults continue to demand more money to stop parents from choosing where their child goes to school. Please hear from one such Philadelphia parent, Lorenzo White, who says school choice is the only way out.

Why Families Like Cyber and Charter Schools

Commonwealth Foundation — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:30:00 EST

Nine-year-old Ashley Matunis and her sister, 6-year-old Anna (pictured right), are typical girls who enjoy pizza and pretzels. They are also typical of the kind of students who attend cyber schools. They go to Pennsylvania's largest such school, PA Cyber, which now educates more than 11,000 students across the state.

As the girls' mother Sarah Matunis notes, cyber school meets her daughters' needs in a way regular schools cannot: Third-grader Ashley is learning quicker than average in math, and is now freely learning at the 4th-grade level. Anna was diagnosed with Type I diabetes before she turned 5, so cyber school allows her to keep up with school at home while her mother keeps tabs on her health. "We finally feel like our tax dollars are being used well," she said.

The Matunis girls are just two of some 90,000 students in Pennsylvania in charter schools, which include cyber schools. And the waiting list is 30,000 strong. They and other charter school families gathered in Harrisburg yesterday for their annual day on the hill to remind legislators why school choice is so important: It gives families like the Matunis a chance at an education best-suited to how their children learn and function. Pennsylvania families want lawmakers to protect school choice, and provide more of it.

As for Ashley and Anna, school choice means they could be the next Hannah Tuffy, a Scranton native who is the first graduate of PA Cyber to be accepted to the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Let's give more families the schooling options they need to succeed like Hannah.

Corrections Coalition, Dynamic Duo Dandy Says Patriot

Commonwealth Foundation — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:45:00 EST

Hats off to the Patriot-News Editorial Board for calling for an end to the status quo approach to criminal justice that has failed Pennsylvanians.

Today's editorial highlights the dynamic father-daughter duo of former Gov. George Leader, Pennsylvania's 38th Governor, and his daughter, Jane Janeczek. These two crossed party lines to form a coalition to restore commonsense to Pennsylvania's criminal justice system.

The Patriot-News had this to say about the coalition:

When groups as diverse as the conservative-leaning Commonwealth Foundation and the liberal-leaning American Civil Liberties Union are standing together calling for action, lawmakers would have to be deaf not to hear.

The Commonwealth Foundation is pleased to be a part of this important and timely group. Over the last 30 years, the state's prison population grew by 500 percent, drastically outpacing violent crime rates. As the prison population exploded, the state needed more prisons, staff and tax dollars. State corrections spending is now the third-largest department in the General Fund Budget.

The Patriot-News sums the problem up:

The "lock 'em up and throw away the key" mentality has not produced safer communities. Certainly the most egregious offenders will need to spend their life behind bars, but the vast majority - 90 percent - of offenders spend time behind bars and then re-enter society.

Our corrections system is not preparing people adequately for what happens after they are released. Human services, police, religious and other community groups are rightly asking: Can't we do better?

As this editorial board understands, the answer is yes. Other states such as Texas and New York have been able to significantly reduce both their crime rate and imprisonment rate, saving tax dollars while improving public safety.

Another promising group working to correct the state's corrections system is the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), a working group commissioned by Gov. Tom Corbett. JRI will release its formal recommendations tomorrow, stay tuned to learn how these reforms can provide meaningful changes.

For more, visit CommonwealthFoundation.org/Justice

Pennsylvania's Economy Struggles to Compete

Commonwealth Foundation — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:00:00 EST

In three separate studies on the state's economic competitiveness and business climates, Pennsylvania remains near the bottom of the pack.

The 2012 Alec-Laffer Economic Competitiveness Index, ranks states economic performance and outlook (1 being the best, 50 the worst). According to the index, the Keystone State ranks 40^th in economic outlook for 2012 thanks to several factors, including:

50^th in Top Marginal Corporate Income Tax Rate
32^nd in Top Marginal Personal Income Tax Rate
50^th in Levying Estate/Inheritance Tax
45^th in Remaining Tax Burden (additional taxes beyond those already ranked)
41^st in Recently Legislated Tax Changes

Another study by ChiefExecutive.net placed the Keystone State as the 43^rd best state for business—a four position drop since last year. CEOs found, "Pennsylvania...is regulation heavy even for very small 1-2 person businesses," this despite a "positive" ranking in the development trend indicator as a result of the natural gas boom.

The general business climate is one thing, but how is the outlook for small businesses? The Thumbtack.com/Kauffman Foundation Small Business Survey found that Pennsylvania's small business climate is mediocre, earning a C for overall friendliness to small businesses. Although the survey gave business start ups a C+, the commonwealth received a C- for hiring regulations, and a D in jobs training programs.

Pennsylvania remains a relatively unattractive place to begin or operate a business. Crippling taxes, heavy regulation, and burdensome bureaucracy have held back the Keystone State's economic growth.

How to Fix What's Broke in Education

Commonwealth Foundation — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:00:00 EST

Harrisburg Patriot-News columnist Nancy Eshelman rightly sounded the alarm Sunday on Pennsylvania's public education system:

It's the same old story. Every spring, threats of higher taxes, slashed programs or both hang over our heads like thick black clouds.

It's time to yell, "Enough!"

This isn't a midstate problem. Schools across Pennsylvania are slashing and burning programs while jacking up taxes. What we need is someone in power to step up and lead the charge to fundamentally change the way we do business. Our system is broken. We need a better one, one that doesn't rely on property taxes, one that treats education with the importance and respect it deserves.

Ms. Eshelman is correct when she points out that Pennsylvania's public education is broken. But there is a proven policy solution that allows teachers, schools and families to do more with less: School choice. Twenty states have passed education reform that includes opportunity scholarships, or vouchers, to low-income students, and scholarships through tax credits.

The results speak for themselves. After 20 years of trying school choice, our best studies show all or some voucher students improve academically through the policy. The best part? Nineteen of 20 studies show that competition through school choice improves public schools, too. By contrast, simply increasing funding for flagging school districts does not fix the entrenched problems driving persistent failure.

School choice is the new solution Pennsylvania needs to fix its broken education system. With school budgets strained and taxpayer dollars stretched, it's also the remedy that will help students, families, teachers—and our public schools.

Pennsylvania's Pension Iceberg

Commonwealth Foundation — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:30:00 EST

Laura Olson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story on the crisis in Pennsylvania's public pensions, and Gov. Corbett injecting pension reform into the budget discussion:

Even with the revised payment plan approved in 2010, the state's obligation will increase dramatically in the coming years. The current budget accounts for $1.1 billion in pension payments, a cost that spikes to more than $4 billion annually by 2016.

"Does anybody here see the economy growing fast enough just to cover the pension increase?" Mr. Corbett asked during his Hershey appearance earlier this month. "So we have a problem. We have an iceberg right in front of us."

David Fillman of AFSCME blames the legislature for underfunding the plan: "'We knew this 10 years ago, we knew this was coming," Mr. Fillman said.

But Mr. Fillman's complaints about the underfunding of pensions seems to be inconsistent with the fact he and his group fully supported legislation to defer these same contributions. Examples of this are Act 40 of 2003 (which actually created the 2012 contribution plateau) and Act 120 of 2010 which established the pension "collars" and further underfunded PSERS and SERS.

In fact, while the Commonwealth Foundation was sounding the alarms about the "iceberg" facing Pennsylvania's pensions, Fillman was denying any threat from rising pension costs (emphasis added):

In short, the Commonwealth Foundation has cherry-picked data and predicted the "worst-case scenario" for every possible variable, twisting the data to further its agenda of attacking public service workers and gutting government. The Commonwealth and SERS are already tackling this issue: Pennsylvanians should rest assured that Pennsylvania is not the Titanic, and there are no icebergs in our pension fund's future.

What is even more troubling is that state employees are forced to fund AFSCME's lobbying effort against pension reform. AFSCME union dues are taken directly out of state workers' paychecks without them ever seeing the money, with taxpayers funding the collection of AFSCME's political dollars. This is how Fillman (who earned $206,000 in compensation in 2011) and AFSCME put the squeeze on Pennsylvanians.

Cal U Waste Begs for Higher Ed Reform

Commonwealth Foundation — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:50:00 EST

The Senate's budget included more funding for state universities than Governor Corbett proposed, but new discoveries of wasteful spending should give lawmakers pause.

Gov. Corbett proposed a 30 percent cut to state-related schools, such as Penn State, and a 20 percent cut to state-system schools such as Shippensburg and California University in his February budget proposal.

In exchange for a full restoration of funds, state schools agreed to hold tuition increases to inflation (3.2 percent). But this should be taken in context, considering tuition at Penn State and Pitt doubled over the past decade. The truth is, increasing or even maintaining higher ed subsidies will do little to address rising tuition.

As Senator Corman admitted:

I think the governor's made a good case over the last year or so that higher reimbursement from the state doesn't necessarily mean lower tuition, but we wanted to make sure it did.

So what is driving up tuition? Part of the answer is wasteful spending. The firing of long-time California University of Pennsylvania president Angelo Armenti Jr. highlights a culture of wasteful spending and irresponsible borrowing.

Under his leadership, the school built a 6,500 seat convocation center with the help of a $19.1 million grant from state taxpayers. Project mistakes and overruns ballooned the price tag to $59 million, and debt service on the project next year alone will total $2.5 million. The audit spurred by complaints also discovered the university spent $16,000 to purchase a new refrigerator and freezer for the President's home.

Stories like these have motivated Rep. Brad Roae to introduce a new package of bills aimed at prohibiting wasteful spending.

Roae's Keep Tuition Affordable Plan presents ten bills designed to reduce tuition and increase the efficiency of state-system schools. His plan includes:

A moratorium on non-emergency construction;
Requiring full-time professors to teach at least 15 credit hours;
Prohibiting a ban on cost-saving part-time professors;
Freezing PASSHE tuition next year;
Making student activity fees optional;
Ending free tuition for family members of employees; and
Redirecting state aid to student grants.

The final and most important bill would distribute subsidies to students rather than institutions, a more effective way of reducing college cost. Legislators need to restructure public university funding in order to create more value to university students, parents, and taxpayers.

Chart: School District Fund Balances Nearly Tripled in 14 Years

Commonwealth Foundation — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:30:00 EST

PA Independent reported on Monday that Pennsylvania school districts' fund balances reached $3.2 billion in 2011 (they compiled the data from the PA Department of Education's (PDE) school funding portal).

This represents a dramatic increase over recent years, with schools reserves almost tripling since 1997, and doubling in just the last 6 years, according to PDE data.

Taxpayers Screaming at PLCB Waste

Commonwealth Foundation — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00:00 EST

Another day, another story of waste at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. ABC 27's Dennis Owens reports on the PLCB buying extravagant wine, then selling it at a discount (and not charging taxes or the usual 30 percent markup).

In all, the PLCB spent just over $27,000 on eight bottles of Screaming Eagle Cabernet and sold them for just over $20,000 - a $7,000 dollar loss - which leaves critics with a bitter aftertaste. ...

The PLCB did not collect the usual markup. If those taxes and fees are factored in, the losses on those wines is closer to $22,613.

This is just the latest in a long train of abuses. Just in the last two weeks, stories have surfaced about the PLCB's Wine Shrine, the $2.5 million the monopoly seller of wine and spirits lost in broken or missing bottles, and the $100,000 the PLCB spent on an iPhone app.

If anyone is benefiting from the PLCB's monopoly, it is investigative reporters, who don't have to go too far to find another story of government wasting your tax dollars.

Visit FreeMyDrink.com to take action.

Who Should Need the Government's Permission to Work?

Commonwealth Foundation — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:52:00 EST

What's more dangerous, an incompetent barber or incompetent emergency medical worker? Most people would say and EMT, but a barber has to undergo almost nine times the hours of training as an EMT before they can get a license to practice in Pennsylvania.

The Institute for Justice this week released a new report looking at occupational licensing requirements across the 50 states for mid- and low-income jobs. They discovered dramatic occupational licensing inconsistencies that undermine the public safety argument used by licensing proponents. For instance, only three states license interior designers and only five states license shampooers.

In Pennsylvania, 44 of the 102 occupations surveyed required licenses, including manicurist and upholsterers. Overall, Pennsylvania's occupational licensing burden is lighter than many states—ranking 38th among the states in licensing burden on residents, due to relatively low fees and education requirements.

As we've pointed out before, these regulations are often not about protecting consumers, but preventing competitors to existing businesses. For those truly worried about ugly living rooms from unlicensed interior designers or a bad hairdo from an unlicensed hair braider, there are less costly ways to protect consumers.

Broken Bottle Booze Bonanza Baffles Bourbon Barons

Commonwealth Foundation — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Another day, another alliteration, another wasteful Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board practice uncovered by the media. This time, a hat tip to Ben Simmoneau of CBS 3 Philadelphia for his report uncorking a putrid potables policy whereby consumers can simply pour out contents, break a bottle, return it to the PLCB and they will replace it, no questions asked! You can't make this stuff up.

The bottom line for the Viceroys of Vine: They lost $2.5 million worth of wine and liquor: bottles broken, stolen or just plain missing. The year before, it was $3 million. And that was a year the whole system only made $52 million, according to the report.

But no worries, drinks are always on the house. And by house, I mean taxpayers, who will continue to bear the burden of government-sold booze until privatization finds its way. Until then, stay thirsty comrades.

www.FreeMyDrink.com

New Healthcare Regs Would Cost PA Taxpayers $50 Million

Commonwealth Foundation — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:40:00 EST

A bill on the floor of the state House would circumvent consumer freedom when it comes to prescription drugs. Many employers, including the state, encourage employees to buy less costly prescription drugs through mail order pharmacies.

HB 511 would prohibit companies from offering incentives to employees to utilize mail order pharmacies.

Prohibiting incentives to use mail order drugs would cost state taxpayers nearly $50 million in the first year, according to a Pennsylvania Office of the Budget analysis. HB 511's fiscal note states:

As a cost-savings measure, OA [Office of Administration] and PEBTF [Pennsylvania Employee Benefit Trust Fund] have encouraged the use of a mail order pharmacy. HB 511 would eliminate these savings, increasing overall costs by decreasing the effective discount rate and guaranteed minimum formulary rebate and increasing the dispensing fee. . . Although HB 511 allows for the possibility of an exemption for PEBTF, the process for evaluating and determining such an exemption is unclear. Assuming that the PEBTF is not exempt from the requirements of HB 511, we anticipate an increase of more than $47.5 million in the first year alone.

Even with an exemption for state employees, is it fair to enact one set of rules for government and another for private business? HB 511 is an anti-competitive bill that takes away choices from consumers in order to enact a one-size-fits-all system that will increase health insurance costs.

State Budget vs Spending Limits

Commonwealth Foundation — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:40:00 EST

Last week, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a budget representing $27.66 in General Fund spending. How does that stack up against inflation and population growth?

If state spending limits like the Taxpayer Protection Act had been in place since 2002, allowing spending to increase with inflation and population growth, General Fund fund spending would be $26.8 billion next year.

The Senate budget represents $800 million more than that (Gov. Corbett's proposal about $300 million above that threshold). When including the sales tax for the Public Transportation Fund—spending that was part of the General Fund in 2002, but was move to a new fund in 2007, and would be covered under all versions of TPA—the Senate budget proposal would exceed the limit by $1.2 billion.

More importantly, had the TPA been around over that decade, spending would have increased at a steady pace. Taxpayers would have kept billions of their own dollars—almost $8,000 per family of four, just by limiting General Fund growth. And the spending cuts of the past few years—even the federal stimulus subsidies that were used to balance the budget—would have been unnecessary.

UnAPPetizing Waste Poured by PLCB...Again

Commonwealth Foundation — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:08:00 EST

Have you heard of the millionaire iPhone app? It's called VIP Black and for $1,000 at the iTunes store you get a "premium lifestyle application" that guarantees "heightened experiences across the range of luxury partners."

Good for those who can afford and benefit from this app (perhaps those who have luxury tasting rooms on other people's dime), but I'm guessing most of us - let's call us the Angry Birds crowd - could never imagine dropping that kind of coin on an app. But we already have. In fact, taxpayers had to foot the bill for an app that costs 100 times the millionaire app.

The PLCB launched the Fine Wine & Good Sprits app back in January. This free download lets users scan the bar codes on wine and spirits and find out if PA's Bordeaux Barons have granted Pennsylvanians the privilege of purchasing it and, if so, where they can find it and for how much. Unfortunately the app does not, as one message board comment lamented, offer the quickest directions to New Jersey or Delaware. The cost to taxpayers? $100,000. And this is just the latest example of PA's monopoly of mediocrity burning through tax dollars in the name of "modernization;" let's not forget the wine kiosk catastrophe and the $66 million failed inventory system.

It's time for Pennsylvania to truly modernize and join the 48 other states that have moved beyond total state control over wine and liquor sales. Pennsylvanians want freedom, and we don't need an app for that.

www.freemydrink.com

Chart of the Day: General Fund Spending and Revenue

Commonwealth Foundation — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:40:00 EST

Yesterday, the Pa. Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a budget (the full Senate is expected to vote on it today) that includes $27.65 billion in General Fund spending.

Unfortunately, this budget spends about $300 million more than what the projected net revenues will be for next year.

The budget is "balanced" by using the remaining monies left in the account following last year. With federal stimulus funds, and the transfer of the "Rainy Day Fund" and other one-time revenues, the state ended Fiscal Year 2010-11 with more than $1 billion in the General Fund.

Both the current 2011-12 budget and the proposed 2012-13 budget would spend more than revenue, dropping that fund balance to slightly more than $100 million, based on the latest revenue forecast of the Independent Fiscal Office.

EXPOSED: PLCB Wine Shrine Uncovered

Commonwealth Foundation — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:12:00 EST

Nothing to see here, folks, move along and remain quiet, we are busy protecting your palettes.

That's the dismissive reaction to taxpayers from Pennsylvania Liquor Control boss Joe Conti whose defense of the indefensible "Wine Shrine," was exposed on ABC-27 and NBC-8 Harrisburg last night. Built with 35,000 tax dollars plus labor from taxpayer-paid in-house staff carpenters, a cadre of cabernet clinicians called the "Luxury Team" use this room to properly "educate your palates."

But, hey, they don't swallow, so it's all good in the liquor hood, says Conti. Moreover, it's what the private sector does in other state, he says. Ummm, Mr. Conti, that's the point.

And of the leather-lined room where they selflessly sip samples of syrah? Well, that's a "bargain" and just "best practices" for government-paid employees who also jetset around the globe on your tax dollars picking wine winners and liquor losers.

Conti complains this issue has nothing to do with privatization and those who are critical just have uninformed opinions. See for yourself and you decide if this is a good use of your tax dollars...

Until the Palate Bureau is replaced with freedom, stay thirsty my comrades.

www.letfreedomdrink.com

Why Pennsylvania Needs Spending Limits

Commonwealth Foundation — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:10:00 EST

In a Capitolwire story (subscription), Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman notes that the proposed version of the state budget the Senate will take up this week increases spending by less than the rate of inflation and population growth. He also suggests that is the standard for all future budgets.

"We believe the budget should never increase higher than TABOR would allow, so we can be sure we have sustainable growth in the budget" Corman said.

However, to realistically control state spending growth, lawmakers need to enact a spending limit like the Taxpayer Protection Act, especially a constitutional amendment version to prevent future tampering. Matt Mitchell explains why fiscal guardrails like the TPA are needed to constrain overspending in Heritage Insider Magazine:

Spending growth threatens to push both federal and state debt-to-gross domestic product ratios past 90 percent in a matter of years. That is the level at which the largest and most comprehensive studies suggest debt begins to dramatically reduce economic growth.

It might seem that the natural solution is to elect politicians committed to reining in spending, especially on the entitlement programs and pensions at the heart of state and federal overspending. The problem, however, is that even fiscally conservative politicians face significant perverse incentives to spend beyond their constituents' means. And even if they do manage to trim the budget, today's cuts can be reversed by tomorrow's leaders.

Luckily, there is hope. Political incentives are shaped, in part, by institutions, i.e., the rules that govern budgeting, electioneering, and legislating. These rules influence the decisions of legislators, governors, presidents, bureaucrats, voters, and even lobbyists. So if we can improve the institutions, we can enduringly diminish the incentive to overspend.

Indeed, due to decades of overspending, even modest growth in this year's budget isn't enough to protect Pennsylvania's fiscal house. The proposed Senate budget would spend about $300 million more than net revenue collections next year (based on Independent Fiscal Office projections), and doesn't begin to address cost drivers in corrections, welfare, and government workers' pensions.

When the economy rebounds, and tax revenues start increasing, future lawmakers will be tempted to repeat the same mistakes and overspend taxpayers' money. Passing the Taxpayer Protection Act now would limit the growth in government spending, prevent future fiscal disasters, and provide tax relief to families.

Correcting Corrections Correctly

Commonwealth Foundation — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:50:00 EST

Over the last 30 years, Pennsylvania's incarceration rate has increased by 500 percent and corrections spending has skyrocketed 1,700 percent. The unprecedented prison population growth at unsustainable costs was caused by a breakdown in our criminal justice system, not an increase in crime or statewide population growth.

Evidence-based policy reforms should embrace the following three principles:

Keep Low-Risk Cases Out of Prisons. Research indicates that while imprisonment keeps offenders from committing crimes while in prison, it does not deter crimes after release, and may even make low-risk offenders more likely to commit future crimes.
Reduce Recidivism. Inmates must be rehabilitated by addressing behavioral and substance abuse issues. Nearly 45 percent of Pennsylvania offenders return to prison after three years. A significant factor is technical parole or probation violations such as breaking curfew, not new crimes.
Fund Results, Not Just Punishments. Criminal justice reforms should protect citizens, lower crime rates, and control spending.

Senate Bill 100

This legislation primarily addresses how the state correctional system handles nonviolent offenders with drug and alcohol addictions.

Risk Assessments Guidelines. An up-front risk assessments tool is added into the state's sentencing guidelines.
- This will sort out high risk cases that should be in state prison from lower risk cases that may be better managed in less expensive alternative programs.
Alternative Program Eligibility. As an alternative to traditional prison, offenders may be sentenced to one of the state's alternative sentencing programs, designed for nonviolent criminals, often dealing with substance abuse. SB 100 makes the following changes:
- Allows eligible offender to be sentenced to a state-level alternative program even if a mandatory minimum sentence applies. Currently, minimum sentences disqualify many otherwise eligible offenders.
- The age criteria for an inmate to be sentenced to Quehanna Motivational Boot Camp increased from age 35 to 40. Modeled after military boot camp, it delivers a rigorous, regimented schedule. Successful program completion earns inmates a reduced sentence.
- Offenders with low-quantity drug trafficking offenses may be sentenced to County Intermediate Punishment. Offenders serve their sentence and receive appropriate treatment at the county level instead of state prison.
County "HOPE" Courts. Counties can establish an innovative probation program that provides swift, predictable sanctions on probation violators. Modeled after Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program to incentivize probationers to stay drug and alcohol free.
- In a HOPE program, drug offenders must call every morning to see if they must report to court for a drug test. Failure can result in immediate jail time. As a result, positive drug tests have dropped more than 70 percent and new arrests cut in half, saving an estimated $4,000 to $8,000 per offender.
Counts Jail Time towards Prerelease Center Eligibility. One of the time-eligibility requirements an inmate must satisfy before entering a prerelease center is serving at least nine months of their sentence in prison. Under this law, time served in county jails and would count towards this minimum. Violent and sex offenders are ineligible.
- Prerelease programs provide low-risk offenders opportunities for reintegration into communities through work, education and vocational training release as well as community centers for specialized additional treatment and guidance and counseling.
- State corrections facilities receive a significant number of offenders with short sentences that would be better served in community centers than state prisons.

Recommendation for Improvement

SB 100 makes small expansions in eligibility criteria for the state's successful alternative sentencing programs. This should be extensively expanded, particularly allowing more inmates convicted of substance abuse.
- At a minimum, the list of offenses ineligible for alternative sentencing should not be expanded.
A sentencing judge should be able to order an offender to participate in an alternative sentencing program without approval by the prosecutor.
There should be incentives for counties to establish a "HOPE" court style program or require counties to participate.