Spotlight Announcement

3/28/2007: House Judiciary Committee Passes Second Chance Act

On March 28, 2007, just a week after the re-introduction of the bill, members of the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 1593, the Second Chance Act of 2007 The bill will now be sent to the House floor for consideration, which sponsors say will take place in mid-April. During the mark-up of the bill, members voted down several amendments that would have jeopardized the bipartisan support for the bill.

The Second Chance Act would authorize a $65 million reentry grant program administered through the Department of Justice for state and county reentry initiatives, and a $15 million reentry program for community and faith-based organizations to deliver mentoring and transitional services. The bill also retains a number of drug treatment provisions that were added to the legislation last session. Last week, the Second Chance Act was reintroduced by Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and Chris Cannon (R-UT) and has a growing list of bipartisan co-sponsors. The Senate plans to reintroduce their version of the bill later this week.

For more information on the Second Chance Act click here or email scainfo@csg.org.