Associated Press
PHOENIX — An Arizona Senate panel has advanced legislation requiring the Department of Corrections to notify residents and schools when it plans to open a new facility nearby.
House Bill 2133 was prompted by community complaints about the department’s conversion of part of a juvenile corrections facility adjacent to Interstate 17 in north Phoenix to a re-entry center for recently released prisoners. The Maricopa Re-entry Center was announced in January 2016 by Gov. Doug Ducey as a way to help prisoners successfully re-enter society.
Residents living near the Adobe Mountain School were caught off-guard, despite the governor’s announcement and news coverage. Lawmakers representing the area are pushing the legislation, which has already passed the House.
It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday and now heads to the full Senate for consideration.