The American Legislative Exchange Council is proud to be a leader on criminal justice in the states. Since 2008, the ALEC task force on criminal justice, called the Justice Performance Project, has brought state legislators and stakeholders together to combat the trend of unforgiving and harsh criminal laws. ALEC members focus on new and innovative state policies that reduce prison populations, prioritize criminal justice spending and help rehabilitate and restore offenders’ lives.

ALEC members’ work has sparked a new wave of state criminal justice reform legislation that is carefully crafted to maximize taxpayer dollars to protect the public while preventing overcriminalization and unnecessary prison stays. Thanks to the leadership of Texas State Representative Jerry Madden, in 2010 Texas passed the first criminal justice reforms that other states would soon emulate. That same year, North Carolina passed comprehensive criminal justice reform, called the Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA), which was based on several ALEC model policies. Since enacting JRA, North Carolina has closed ten prisons, enjoyed an 11 percent decrease in crime and saved $48 million in the 2014 fiscal year. Representative Madden, who became the chair of the ALEC Justice Performance Project in 2012, has since been recognized as a national leader on criminal justice issues. Thirty-one states have enacted into law evidence-based reforms inspired by ALEC model policy.

For years, the ALEC Justice Performance Project has brought together a diverse coalition of allies that offer research and experience to achieve the shared goal of better sentencing laws. Notable members include Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), Justice Fellowship, Right on Crime, Institute for Justice, Prison Fellowship, and Stop Child Predators, of which Stacie Rumenap is the ALEC Justice Performance Project private sector chair. ALEC also partners with organizations that have proven track records of leading criminal justice reforms.  In 2012, ALEC and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) hosted a summit focused on inspiring state criminal justice reform. Working with the ACLU, ALEC members successfully implemented mandatory minimum sentencing reforms around the country.

In September of 2015, ALEC and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) formed a new partnership to prioritize the prevention of overcriminalization, the reforming of mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the reduction of recidivism rates and the promotion of community-based alternatives to lengthy jail stays for non-violent offenders. ALEC and NBCSL also developed a shared statement of principles on criminal justice that will guide members’ efforts in state outreach and education.

At the 2015 ALEC Annual Meeting in San Diego, members of the Justice Performance Project discussed a broad range of issues, including civil asset forfeiture reform, Ohio mens rea reforms, the Utah Justice Reinvestment Act, and held a conversation about forensic evidence. Members also considered model policies related to expunging records, diverting low-level drug offenders to courts instead of prison, and encouraging states to ask the federal government for flexibility when determining how to sentence a juvenile sex offender. At the upcoming December 2015 meeting, members will discuss a model policy that removes juveniles who are adjudicated delinquent from sex offender registries and a model policy that “bans the box” on state employment applications.

ALEC members will continue to advance innovative ideas that improve lives and balance budgets. All criminal justice research and model policies are available on alec.org, and examples of work include the reports, “Criminalizing America – How Big Government Makes a Criminal of Every American” and “Recidivism Reduction: Community-Based Supervision Alternatives to Incarceration.” ALEC members look forward to developing new partnerships and relationships with all those who seek to advance criminal justice policy.