Sometime between the end of the 2015 legislative session and the special session that wrapped up earlier this week, Newtown’s freshman Senator Tony Hwang (R-28) decided to give the governor’s proposed “Second Chance Society” legislation a second look.

As the official session wrapped up a few weeks ago, Sen Hwang stood firmly with opponents to Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed “Second Chance Society,” which aimed to reduce both the onus and penalties associated with certain drug offenses. But when the special session vote came down, Sen Hwang registered his vote and lent his voice in support of the progressive legislation.

Gov Malloy’s so-called “Second Chance Society” measure, which lowers penalties for drug possession and streamlines the process for paroles and pardons, was passed on votes of 98 to 46 in the House and 23 to 13 in the Senate.

The Second Chance bill reclassifies most drug possession crimes as misdemeanors. For a second offense, the court could order an offender to enter a drug treatment program. Two subsequent offenses could result in a Class E felony.

It makes no changes in penalties for drug sales. The bill repeals the two-year mandatory-minimum sentence for drug possession within 1,500 feet of a school or daycare, but does not shrink the size of the zones.

Under the governor’s original proposal, repeat offenses for possession would not have exposed an offender to a felony conviction, but Democrats agreed to a Republican change that retains a felony charge for repeat offenders.

Because the school zones cover most homes in the largest cities that are home to many of the state’s minorities, more than half the mandatory-minimum sentences were imposed on black and Hispanic defendants.

Along with Sen Hwang, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby supported the Second Chance bill, as did Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven.

‘Meaningful Changes’

“This legislation proves that we can be smart on crime while remaining tough on crime,” Rep Hwang told The Bee. “While enacted with the best of intentions, we know from many years of practice that the 1,500-foot drug-free school zone has disproportionately impacted youth and adults in our urban areas, where the concentration of schools is such that an entire city is, in essence, a drug- free zone.”

Sen Hwang said the Second Chance legislation “recognizes that and makes meaningful changes to sentencing guidelines while retaining the original intent and critically important message that drug-free zones deliver to protect our children.”

The rest of his colleagues in the Newtown delegation disagreed, however.

Representative JP Sredzinski, who represents a number of southern Newtown communities in his 112th District, said he opposed the governor’s Second Chance Society legislation.

“I do not believe our state should be taking the position of being soft on drug use and drug possession; especially when that possession occurs near young people,” he said. “Legislating drug possession in and around schools and daycare centers as just a misdemeanor is a step in the wrong direction for Monroe and Newtown and frankly, it sends the wrong message to our youth.”

Representative Dan Carter, whose Second District encompasses a number of neighborhoods near the Bethel town line, also took issue, particularly with how a second chance under the bill actually amounts to more tan twice as many opportunities for offenders to receive leniency.

“Our courts have been very successful at keeping many nonviolent offenders out of jail through programs like accelerated rehabilitation, and we must continue to develop programs that help people,” said Rep Carter. “Ultimately, the second chance bill was closer to a fourth or fifth chance and did not strike the right balance between diverting offenders to treatment options and stopping the flow of drugs to our youth.”

Supporting, Then Opposing

Newtown Representative Mitch Bolinsky said that he came around to briefly supporting the bill after an earlier version reducing or eliminating penalties for drug possession within 1,500 feet of a school or daycare center were restored. But then he began to read the proposal’s finer details.

“I’ve been working for three years to preserve that 1,500-foot rule for drug-free school zones, so earlier this year when the proposal came out eliminating them, I didn’t even want to look at the rest of it,” he said. “But when the latest iteration restored the 1,500-foot rule, I wanted to vote Yes.”

On closer examination, however, Rep Bolinsky said he just could not find it in his heart to support a bill that essentially decriminalizing the possession of hard drugs on school grounds.

“I saw this as a way to provide a second chance to certain offenders, but I just couldn’t swallow reducing the penalties for possession of opiates on school grounds to a misdemeanor,” he said. “That said, the concept is something I want desperately to vote for — and ultimately the bill passed.”

As a result, Rep Bolinsky said he will keep a close eye as new practices develop — particularly how offenders may now qualify for as many as five opportunities for reduced penalties under the new law.

“Under the current system, you’d have to be caught habitually on school grounds — as many as five times, unless you’re caught dealing,” he said.

His colleague, Senator Hwang said he is acutely aware that the majority of individuals incarcerated in Connecticut suffer from mental health and drug addiction issues, and that the current criminal justice system has failed to evolve to address those realities.

“I am extremely pleased that this legislation recognizes that, by providing offenders with a drug dependency evaluation and support services should they be needed,” Sen Hwang said. “Enacting criminal justice reforms like the Second Chance Society will save the state money, but most importantly, it will move us in the right direction of a creating a more just, healthy, and safe society that helps nonviolent offenders become productive citizens instead of locking them in a cell. This legislation is an exciting and balanced start to that effort.”

Pursuing Further Reforms

As the state continues to pursue criminal justice reforms, Sen Hwang said it will be important to engage in civil discourse on the issues and to focus on the facts. He pointed to data provided by the Malta Justice Initiative in its book, The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream.

According to the organization, which was founded by Sen Hwang’s friend and constituent John Santa:

*The United States has only 4.6 percent of the world population, yet houses 22.4 percent of the world’s inmates.

*In Connecticut, the prison population has grown exponentially since 1980 from 3,800 to 17,000, mostly with nonviolent drug users.

*It costs $51,000 a year to house each inmate, for an astounding annual prison price tag in excess of $1 billion.

*Connecticut’s recidivism rate — the number of prisoners who are rearrested after their release — is above 50 percent and higher than the national average.

*If that rate was reduced by just ten percent, the state could save as much as $20 million annually.

“Clearly, we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Sen Hwang said, “and I am committed to going about that effort in an open and bipartisan manner that is focused on safe and effective solutions.”

Gov Malloy praised the Connecticut General Assembly for giving bipartisan, final approval in favor of the legislation he introduced and believes will continue to reduce the state’s dropping crime rate, which is currently at a 48-year low, as well as ensuring nonviolent offenders are being reintegrated into society and become productive members of Connecticut’s economy.

“We can truly be tough on crime by being smarter on crime, and that’s why we’re focusing on initiatives that work. The cycle our system currently encourages — one of permanent punishment — hurts too many families and communities,” Gov Malloy said in a release. “When we should have been focusing on permanent reform, we focused on permanent punishment.”

For too long, the governor said, Connecticut has developed and built modern jails instead of modern schools.

“Because this bill passed, Connecticut has taken a giant step into the future,” Gov Malloy said. “Our law enforcement professionals and courts can focus on lowering crime even further by channeling efforts toward serious, violent criminals and putting them behind bars for longer sentences. And most of all, these initiatives are focused on turning nonviolent offenders into productive members of our society that can contribute to our economy, rather than drain it. Ultimately, this will make our communities safer, and will make for a brighter tomorrow in Connecticut.”

CTMirror content was used in this report.