Madden accepts chair position for national committee

Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus recently announced that the president of the National Conference of State Legislatures has invited Representative Jerry Madden (R-Plano) to be the chairman of the Law and Criminal Justice Committee in the conference year ahead.

Madden served the past year on the LCJC as vice chairman, and said his new position will allow him to have more coordination with the staff and be more involved in national meetings.

“This is a great honor,” Madden said. “I’m very pleased to accept.”

Madden said the national committee allows him to keep tabs on programs implemented in other states that benefit their prisons and take those ideas to benefit the Texas prison system.

Two years ago, Madden, who is chairman of the Texas House Corrections Committee, learned about the increasing need for more beds in Texas prisons in order to support the rapid increase in prison population. Madden realized that by 2012, the state would need 17,000 more beds, which would mean building eight prisons at a cost of nearly $1 million.

Madden said at this point he realized it was time to fight crime “tough and smart,” by authoring bills geared toward rehabilitation approaches for offenders who commit alcohol- or drug-related crimes.

“Our hope and desire is to break individuals of the habit that got them in prison,” Madden said. “This will make our communities safer when they return to society.”

Since the 2007 legislative session, 4,000 beds have been placed in intermediate sanction facilities, Substance Abuse Felony punishment facilities, In-Prison Therapeutic Communities and halfway house facilities.

According to Madden, out of 150,000 individuals incarcerated in Texas, 100,000 are non-violent offenders who have committed drug- or alcohol-related offenses.

“We’ve done things for re-entry and additional work in prison systems,” Madden said. “We work with people to make sure they are doing the right thing.”

This year, Madden was recognized by the National Center for DWI Courts for promoting and developing these types of courts in Texas. He said counties are continually adopting the idea, which will lead to fighting impaired driving.

“This allows judges to monitor individuals convicted of a DWI, by providing long-term ongoing accountability and rehabilitation,” Madden said. “Those convicted of a DWI will attend alcohol classes and other behavior modification classes in attempt to address the problem and prevent a repeat offense.”

“Representative Madden’s past work as a member and vice chair of the Committee has been greatly appreciated, and your acquaintance and involvement with state criminal justice and state-federal policy positions will continue to be very beneficial to the Committee,” Straus said. “I know you will continue to provide the same level of thoughtful and engaged representation on this committee as you have in the past.”

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