Bipartisian Reform Bill Paving the Way for Reform Across the Country

Every third Friday of the month Representative Klint Kesto holds public office hours at Biggby Coffee. Rep. Kesto is chairman over the Law and Justice Committee and oversees the progress of HB 5666 which would allow thousands of incarcerated individuals to reduce their sentences by up to 30% and even 40%. The bill can only go to the house for a hearing after its revisions are approved by Rep. Kesto. Currently the bill is just sitting in the committee, as it has for the past 5 months since it was first introduced in February.

Last month I received a response from Rep. Kesto confirming that the Law and Justice committee would be reviewing the criminal justice reform bills, which includes Good Time, in the coming weeks. It’s been more than a few weeks since then and in an attempt to keep this bill at the forefront of conversation in the committee we must be sure that Chairman Kesto knows that the bill is at the forefront of our minds. We must remind him that we haven’t forgotten about the bill and that CJ Reform is a high priority o the public. I wanted to send a final reminder about Rep Klint Kesto’s Public Office Hours tomorrow at the following times:

1. 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Biggby located at 1001 Welch Rd. in Commerce Charter Township.
2. 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Biggby located at 1001 Welch Rd. in Commerce Charter Township.

Biggby Coffee Address: 40740 Hayes Rd, Charter Twp of Clinton, MI 48038

Our main goal at this stage in the campaign is making sure that a hearing is scheduled for the bill. If a hearing isn’t scheduled for the bills to be voted on in the house then Good Time could potentially die in the committee. Our main focus at this stage is to secure a hearing date for the bill this summer. Knowing this I’ve included a few potential discussion questions below:

• Where is the Good Time bill in the Law and Justice Committee’s revision process?
• With the recent passing of the Bipartisan Reform Bill, how will your committee follow the trend of Federal Legislation in supporting inmates and their rehabilitation?
• What other bills aside from HB 5655-7 have legislators introduced that have a scheduled hearing before the end of the year?
• What goals does the Law and Justice Committee have in response to CJ reform? -Followup question: What bills are currently out that directly address those goals?
• Does Michigan have any goals concerning overpopulation of MI prisons? -Followup question: What other bills are out, aside from HB 5666, that address the overpopulation of MI prisons?

I want to address the recently passed Federal legislation, the Bipartisan Reform Bill, passed on Federal level mid-May by an overwhelming 360-59 vote. This Bill provides some much needed improvements to the federal criminal justice system: higher cap on good time credits, increased budget for educational programming etc. However we must make the important distinction between state and federal inmates and as a result unfortunately, this bill only directly affects those incarcerated within the federal system. Those incarcerated in Michigan under the state system still do not receive any good time credits and these are the individuals that we are advocating for tomorrow with supporting HB 5666.

Lastly, please know that there is power in your voice and in your stories. If the time seems right, share your own personal experience (or that of a loved one) with the system. If anyone is willing to record or take notes during the event it would be greatly appreciated. I wish that I was in town to be able to attend this hearing but to help people connect to each other if you’d like to connect with others in support of the campaign that are attending the meeting please reply all to let other supporters know what session you plan to attend.