By Cara Host, Staff writer

chost@observer-reporter.com

WAYNESBURG - Overcrowding in the state prison system is a perpetual problem, and two high-ranking state lawmakers discussed with local officials Tuesday their short- and long-term plans to deal with it.

State Rep. Bill DeWeese, the House majority leader, and House Speaker Dennis O'Brien joined representatives from the corrections officers' union and others on a tour of State Correctional Institution at Greene, the maximum security prison in Franklin Township.

After the tour, they discussed a set of prison reform bills with Greene County officials.

The legislation aims to address overcrowding by encouraging rehabilitation as opposed to lengthy prison stays for nonviolent offenders. The four bills, which were introduced last year, are now being debated in the House appropriations committee.

"We have one shot a reshaping this conversation," said O'Brien, R-Philadelphia. These bills "will help us have a more complete and cohesive conversation."

The initiatives may reduce the state prison population over the long term, but the system is operating beyond its capacity now, so the state still may need to build new prisons.

DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, has been lobbying for a new prison to be built in German Township, near Masontown, Fayette County. DeWeese said that project has about a 60 to 70 percent chance of materializing.

There already are two prisons in the area, the one in Franklin Township and a newer lockup in Fayette County near Brownsville.

"It's amazing that such a mammoth facility is in operation day in and day out and so few of our neighbors are aware of its presence," DeWeese said of SCI-Greene.

DeWeese and O'Brien forged a strong alliance last year, when DeWeese helped his Republican colleague become House speaker even though Democrats held a narrow majority in the chamber.

The legislative package will place more offenders in alternative punishment programs such as the state Intermediate Punishment program. Nonviolent offenders could serve less time in prison as long as they behave and participate in rehabilitative and training programs while in jail.

"The only way to drop the inmate population is to provide jobs and the only way we can provide jobs is through training," said Roy Pinto, president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association. "If they could just learn a trade, they could go back to their communities and maybe have another option."

The legislation also allows release for terminally ill prisoners and changes parole guidelines.

Lawmakers also want to reduce the burden at the county level by requiring the state to house prisoners with sentences of more than two years. The state also will have to transport state prisoners to and from court appearances, as opposed to county sheriff deputies.

"We are a small county," said Greene County Commissioner Pam Snyder. "And I know that impacts our budget when we have to bring (state) inmates back and forth to court."

Through the legislation, judges will be encouraged to use teleconferencing technology so that inmates can appear for hearings without leaving the prison.

O'Brien said the legislative package is the result of five years of negotiation between lawmakers, prison officials and others.

"Nobody wants this to fail. We have put too much time and effort into this," he said.

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