Justice reform progress imperiled, advocates say
Photo | Alison Kuznitz from State House News Service
Sen. Adam Gomez called on lawmakers to find alternative funding sources to cover reentry programs in the fiscal 2025 budget during a legislative briefing on Wednesday.
Criminal justice reform activists joined a handful of state lawmakers Wednesday to fight against Gov. Maura Healey's budget pitch to slash funding for some reentry programs, arguing the cuts would unravel the success of a landmark 2018 law.
Healey also recommended level-funding other initiatives, including rental assistance and reentry programs for young adults, though community organizers say even more state dollars are needed to manage the volume of people needing support once they're released from correctional facilities. The cuts, if approved, could raise recidivism rates, advocates warned.
The governor's funding decisions, which also affect workforce development grants, are a result of the state's changing financial landscape amid slowing tax revenues, said Lew Finfer, director of the nonprofit organization MassAction for Justice.
Finfer said Healey and the Legislature can turn to other revenue streams to pay for programs, such as pulling from income surtax funds or tapping "excess" capital gains tax revenue that would otherwise flow to the state's massive rainy day fund.
"Today we're here because there's a chance because of the revenue situation in this state, they may cut programs or level-fund programs, and now there's more people in reentry," Finfer said at a briefing. "So now's the time to expand the programs and give people the support to go forward with their lives."
A Healey spokesperson said the administration is committed to supporting "workforce outcomes" for formerly incarcerated individuals, and that some of the funding proposals under scrutiny reflect what the governor had also pitched last year.
Advocates said the number of people incarcerated in jails or prisons has decreased by 34 percent since 2017, a year before the passage of the criminal justice law. Violent crime has also decreased in Massachusetts since 2018, aside from an uptick in 2022, according to data from MassINC.
Sen. Jamie Eldridge, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said he wants to ensure Healey's budget cuts do not continue in the House and Senate. Eldridge said he would consider the possibility of attempting to tap into the rainy day fund to cover budget gaps, though he said he would need to review Finfer's pitch.
"We've done the hard work to make a difference, and therefore we've saved millions of dollars, of taxpayer dollars," Eldridge said. "So we cannot accept a cut to these programs."
Eldridge vowed to fight for reentry programs and other services when he meets with Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues in about two weeks.
Activists expressed concern about Healey's recommendation to fund the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program at $7.5 million in fiscal 2025, compared to $15 million in fiscal 2024. MassAction for Justice has requested $17 million for the program's budget line item.
The administration said it decreased funding "to meet projected need," according to budget documents. A Healey spokesperson said additional funding for the program is included in the governor's economic development bond bill.
Rep. Mary Keefe, co-chair of the legislative Criminal Justice Reform Caucus, said she's discussed the program cut with the House Ways and Means Committee as the branch prepares to unveil its budget next month.
"We can't go backwards. This is serious," Keefe told activists, who were slated to meet with lawmakers and activists later in the day. "We have to be diligent and we have to be consistent, so I'm really glad you're all here today to talk to us and to impress on others how important this is."
Sen. Adam Gomez urged activists to apply "full-court pressure" on lawmakers, as he suggested alternative criminal justice funding solutions.
"Regardless of the proposed cuts and the money that supposedly doesn't exist, there's still other mechanisms," Gomez said.
"We still have work that we can do," he added. "We still have ideas of trying to figure this out."
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