Governor: $40 Million Needed To Implement Criminal Justice Reform Bill
BOSTON (AP) _ The criminal justice overhaul signed recently by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has been hailed as bringing the most comprehensive system reforms in decades. Yet it also comes with an uncertain price tag, adds new layers of bureaucracy and leaves many complex issues to future study.
The package shaped by the Democratic-controlled Legislature reflects the multiple constituencies that lobbied for inclusion in the law, and attempts to balance a desire for less punitive approaches to criminal justice against demands to assure public safety.
Baker has suggested the new law could require as much as $40 million to implement in the state budget for the July 1 fiscal year.
The measure creates more than a dozen commissions, special commissions, oversight boards, task forces and study committees.