House Panel Approves Faith-Based Prison Help Bill

Lawmakers in a House committee Tuesday moved forward with legislation to encourage state prisons to partner with faith-based organizations to help reduce repeat offenders.

“We must be tough on crime, but also tough on the causes of crime, and it’s clear that government can’t do the job alone. We should take advantage of faith-based and volunteer programs that are already working,” said Speaker Lance Cargill (R-Harrah). “Oklahoma’s prisons should be preparing inmates to function in society when they are released. Prison shouldn’t be a place where inmates are just warehoused, where they lift weights and mark time and commit more crimes once released.”

Authored by Cargill, House Bill 2101, the Transformational Justice Act, passed through the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Subcommittee Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support. The measure is similar to legislation that passed the House last year but died in the State Senate. HB 2101 is also a key portion of the House Republican majority’s Safe Families legislative platform, part of the Year of Ideas Agenda.

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