Lawmaker Proposes Stiffer Fines, But Not Prison, For Minor Crimes

A Moscow lawmaker thinks many of those who break the law should pay stiffer fines rather than being sent to overcrowded prisons.

Republican Rep. Maynard Miller introduced a personal bill on Monday that would provide a variety of ways to deal with offenders other than sending them to jail or prison.

“We want to get them off the road without getting too easy on them,” said Miller, a University of Idaho professor.

Idaho’s prison population has been expanding rapidly, and with it the share of tax dollars needed to provide prison space and operate the facilities.

Miller estimates that if many now sent to prison for relatively minor crimes were diverted to other programs, it would save taxpayers at least $15 million per year.

Of people who drive under the influence of alcohol, with repeat violations subjecting them to prison, Miller said, “They are not criminals. They are not violent; they are stupid.”

His bill would mandate stiff penalties, up to $20,000, for repeat offenses, and impoundment of an offender’s vehicle and loss of driving privileges.

Other proposals:

Sentencing violators to work camp instead of prison.

Home electronic monitoring.

Intensive professional counseling and treatment.

Gov. Phil Batt also is pushing a package of sentencing alternatives to curb the growth in prison expense. He came up with the proposals after appointing himself a “committee of one” to study the problem.

Miller acknowledged that his personal bill has only a slight chance of enactment.

What he really wants is a high-level conference on sentencing changes, including law enforcement personnel, courts and even bankers.

“The goal is rehabilitating people instead of putting them into prison,” he said.

“We want to keep them out working and paying taxes instead of going to prison.”

Miller also introduced a personal bill calling for a 55 percent increase in beer and wine taxes to raise $3 million a year for substance abuse programs in public schools, emphasizing early intervention through eighth grade.

The programs would be aimed at “those with behavior patterns predictive of problematic conduct as older students and adolescents.”