Indiana sheriffs keeping eye on home stretch of Legislature

 "We're going to be busy watching bills and working with our lobbyists the last few weeks, taking care of things and answering any questions our lawmakers may have," said Daviess County Sheriff Jerry Harbstreit, who is also president of the Indiana Sheriffs' Association.

Perhaps the biggest bill still alive at the statehouse is one that has moved from the House to the Senate that will provide local jails with funding to provide drug treatment and life training for prisoners.

 "This bill focuses on treatment for addicted prisoners in local jails," said Executive Director for the Indiana Sheriffs' Association Steve Luce. "The lawmakers have been reaching out to sheriffs looking for cost effective and traceable programs. They have taken a look at programs like the RARE program in Washington that rely heavily on volunteers to help inmates."

"We felt it was time for there to be more programs like this," said Harbstreit. "The bill will require sheriffs to work to get the funding and make sure the money is put to good use."

The bill is in the final committee review now. Because it carries an $80 million price tag, the Senate Ways and Means Committee is now reviewing it. 

"Eighty million seems like a lot," said Harbstreit. "But it really isn't when you consider that it will be split among 92 counties. We believe this could wind up being a cost savings for the state. The idea is to cut down on the recidivism. If we can get people off drugs and thinking differently we can keep them from winding up back in jail. When you think about the amount of money we spend each day on housing a prisoner, keeping them out of jail can save a bundle of money."

Harbstreit says that while the RARE program and similar programs have been helpful, the local sheriffs need more support.

"We have one paid staff member who works on this," said Harbstreit. "That person is covered up with project and paperwork. Volunteers are great, but you can only accomplish so much with volunteers. We really hope this will be the start of something we might be able to expand in the future."

The local jail treatment program is just one of the issues the Sheriffs' Association has been watching or working on. One measure presented by the Indiana Association of Counties called for products containing pseudoephedrine to be available by prescription only. Similar measures in other states had an impact on the number of homegrown meth labs. The bill has not made it out of the Legislature and isn't expected to succeed. "We did not sponsor that but we did keep an eye on it," said Luce. "The sheriffs support the electronic tracking of pseudoephedrine purchases. We feel there needs to be a multi-phase approach to dealing with the meth problem."

"The thing with meth is that even if we make the cold medicine difficult to get, the meth makers will figure out a different way to make it using something different," said Harbstreit. "We knew there would be a lot of opposition to making it available by prescription by the people who utilize it for its intended use."

Another bill pending in the Legislature is one designed to help cut down on the amount of money jails pay for medical care. The bill, which was introduced in both the House and Senate and has since been passed over to the opposite chamber would have sheriffs helping indigent prisoners get on Medicaid. 

"There are a lot of people who come into jails and need medical treatment and have no insurance," said Luce. "If we can get them on Medicaid, any hospital care will get picked up and not land on the local sheriffs."

With the session winding down, both Luce and Harbstreit feel some subtle changes by the association has made it more effective at the statehouse. "We have made it a point to be in the statehouse for a half-day each week this session," said Harbstreit. 

"Mostly Steve and I have made it a point to make ourselves available to the lawmakers for any question they have. We also have some very active sheriffs around Indianapolis who are willing to come in a speak with them any time they need answers. The legislators have told us this has been helpful. We feel it has worked well and we've been excited about their response. I feel like we have set a new stature for the association because of our increased presence in the statehouse."

"With the recent changes in the criminal code it has been a natural fit for us to spend more time talking with members of the House and Senate," added Luce. "We've been able to make a lot of input with them. I believe we've seen the value of the association rise and this session has been a good one for the sheriffs."