Testimony in Support of HB 728 – Good Time Credit

Date: March 5th, 2025 
To: Members of the Crime and Public Safety Committee
From: Rika White, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri
Re: Our Support for HB 728

On behalf of our staff, board, and the members of our Crime and Public Safety committee, I ask that you vote “do pass” on HB 728. This bill modifies provisions to good time credit for offenders committed to the Department of Corrections. This bill allows qualifying offenders to receive good credit, credits to be restored, as well as credits from previous years to not be lost for major violations and allows earned time compliance to be obtained through multiple courses and classes, decreasing one’s supervision term differently through each completion.

Second chances are necessary, while allowing subjects to prove themselves while bettering their lives incarcerated to have a greater chance when their time is finished. Incentives with no consequences from no completion will have a positive impact on those who qualify to receive these credits, as they are completing them on their own terms with no force. Good time credit can reduce the rates of individuals incarcerated for lower-level crimes, saving time and money.

Longer time incarcerated for low-level crimes will just take up room within our jails and more money spent. Allowing these alternatives to lower incarceration time is a great way to not only save high amounts of dollars, but also improve public safety outcomes. Offenders are unlikely to offend again, as well as more time can be spent to focus on larger crimes. Empower Missouri acknowledges that policy changes can be one way we can lessen the impact of explicit bias, or biases which individuals hold that they may not have awareness of. In this bill, creating modifications for more ways to receive good time credit to lower one’s sentence will allow individuals to learn from their mistakes and lower the chance of reoffending, save money, and create a better life for low-level crime offenders.

We thank you for your support on this bill and encourage any members of the
committee to reach out to our office with any questions.