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308 bills push tuffer penalties; cuts to DWI, domestic violence probation look like political suicide

Over at the Texas District and County Attorney's Association, Shannon Edmonds tallies the damage now that bill filing deadline and the midway point of the session have passed. Legislators have filed 106 bills enhancing (read: increasing) existing penalties, 88 bills creating new felonies, and 114 creating new Class A/B misdemeanors, for a total of 308 bills proposing new crimes or penalty increases. Because just not enough stuff is illegal.Also notable was Shannon's grim analysis of "the (sorry) state of the proposed state budget with respect to probation":Here are the low-lights of the House and Senate versions of the original budget bills, as we discussed earlier this session:State funding of misdemeanor probation (about one-third of the total cost) is eliminatedFelony probation funding is also reducedSupport of treatment/diversion programs is rolled back to 2007 levelsSupervision officers and direct care staff salaries are rolled back to 2009 levelsBIPP funding is eliminatedTAIP funding is cut (90% cut in the House, 51% in the Senate)Mental health services are slashedThe Senate version is currently more favorable in several areas, but that was based on using some of the Rainy Day Fund...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 24, 2011 (boomark / email).