FRANKFORT — In a rare display of bi-partisan statesmanship, the Kentucky House of Representatives Thursday passed a corrections reform bill that could transform the state’s criminal justice system and bring needed relief to a strained state budget in the years to come.

The bill is the result of months of study and negotiation, compromise with various stakeholders and last-minute tweaking; sponsor Rep. John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville, was huddled with staff in an office just off the floor making final adjustments just minutes before he took the floor to explain the bill.

When he was finished, the bill passed 97-2 (only Republicans Joseph Fischer of Ft. Thomas and Stan Lee of Lexington voted no) and the House rose to give Tilley a standing ovation. Watching from the gallery were Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown and Supreme Court Justice John Minton, both of whom worked on a task force that studied the issue for months. The bill now goes to the Senate where Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London, has introduced an identical bill — minus the last-minute House amendments that Jensen helped negotiate with hospitals and counties.

Those amendments address demands by the Kentucky Hospital Association that county jails are responsible for medical bills for prisoners they bring to hospitals for treatment. In exchange, hospitals and other medical providers must offer jails and state prisons Medicaid rates. Previously, most jails had to pay 18 percent above the Medicaid rate.

The bill is expected to save the state $422 million over 10 years, half of which will be re-invested in corrections in the form of increased supervision of parolees and probationers, drug treatment programs, and a local corrections assistance fund to help counties pay jail costs.

It was crafted by the judiciary legislative staff under the direction of Tilley and Jensen after eight months of work by the task force and the PEW Center for the States which has helped other states like Texas reform corrections systems. It is supported by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Retail Association, prosecutors, public defenders, county officials and law enforcement.

Tilley called the vote “historic” and the bill “a pragmatic approach that will drive down the crime rate” and save the state money it needs for other services.

“The gross savings are just the beginning because as we turn those tax burdens into taxpayers we’ll begin to realize savings we can’t even quantify right now,” Tilley said.

Jensen said he was happy with the House passage of the bill and was surprised by the wide, bi-partisan margin. He said “the bi-partisan approach” accounted for the vote and will help members of the Senate to vote for the bill.

“We put politics aside on this,” Jensen said. “We worked really hard on it. We’re hearing good comments from the counties, prosecutors and all the stakeholders.”

No one spoke against the bill in the House. Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, a defense attorney, spoke with feeling about the “young men and young women who get caught up in the problem of addiction,” adding the provisions for treatment and distinguishing between simple drug possession and trafficking was “one of the best things about this legislation.”

Hoover and Tilley agreed lawmakers might have to make adjustments as they learn what works and what doesn’t as it is implemented, but Hoover called the bill “significant and a step in the right direction.”

Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, called the measure “one of the greatest changes in the law since the Kentucky Education Reform Act” and said it is long overdue. Minton, the state’s top judge, said the vote marked “a significant day” for Kentucky and an “indication of a true spirit of cooperation between the two parties and the two chambers.”

Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore, said the bill is “tough and smart on crime, tougher on those who deal drugs and an opportunity for treatment and a clean life for those who are addicted. It will save money that can be used in other important areas such as education and roads.”

Some other provisions of the bill are alternative sentencing for non-violent offenders; strengthening supervision for high risk parolees and probationers while providing incentives to reduce time to lower risk parolees; supervision for prisoners re-entering the community at the end of their sentences; swift punishment short of re-imprisonment for parole violators; and providing more services and information for crime victims. The bill would also require a certificate of need process for construction of new jail space.

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.