I am proud to announce I've filed HB 4915 calling for a study on the Conditional Medical Release Program. 

Did you know that our Department of Corrections is one of the largest healthcare systems in the state? At a cost of over $600 million per year, we operate, essentially, nursing homes inside our prisons treating a relatively small group of elderly, non-violent, and often bed-ridden patients. 

Conditional Medical Release is an existing program that reviews patients on a case-by-case basis for release of terminally ill inmates who are declared non-dangers to society. This benefits taxpayers, inmates, and their families all while maintaining public health and safety. 

I sit on basically every oversight committee responsible for corrections, and what I've learned from my one year on this job is things are ripe for reform. For example, most prisoners released from CMR die within days to just a few weeks. The majority of CMR released inmates were in jail for non-violent drug offenses. And last month, we "reviewed" just six cases and released two... despite housing over 80,000 inmates across the system.

This bill will help us study the scope of our problem, identify better paths forward, and save taxpayer dollars, all while protecting public health and safety.