Tom Vilsack on Crime Democratic IA Governor

Against the death penalty

Opposes death penalty in Iowa

The issue has been fueled in part by high-profile slayings of children in Iowa this year. But legislative approval appears unlikely, with the Democratic leader in the evenly split Senate vowing to block debate.

Nonetheless, the issue’s political potential could be significant, with control of the governor’s office and a narrowly divided Legislature on the line in next year’s election. The issue also spotlights Gov. Tom Vilsack’s opposition to the death penalty at a time when he is weighing a campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Supports flexible federal block grants for crime programs.

The Issue

The major crime issues for the 107th Congress will be:
• reauthorization of the juvenile justice program, which established a block grant to states for prevention and delinquency intervention programs;
• reauthorization of programs in the 1994 crime bill, including the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP), a reimbursement program to state and local governments for housing illegal alien prisoners;
• the state prison grants program, formally known as the Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth-in-Sentencing (VOI/TIS) grant program, [where states receive funds based on increasing the percentage of prison sentences actually served]; and
• the Byrne block grant program, a flexible block grant that states use for innovative crime and illegal drug fighting programs.

NGA’s Position

• NGA policy calls for reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) and supports the underlying principles of the act. However, NGA wants some flexibility in the core requirements, e.g., allowing some accidental contact between adults and juveniles; expanding the hours before removal from 24 hours to 48 hours; holding certain incorrigible juveniles in detention; and relaxing the disproportionate minority confinement record keeping process. The Governors urge maximum flexibility to implement the spirit and purpose of the act.
• The Governors support authorization of the juvenile accountability incentive block grant (JAIBG) program.
• The Governors also support reauthorization of SCAAP and seek to raise the reimbursement ratio.
• For the Byrne block grant program, NGA seeks to continue the current program with flexibility.
• For the state prison grants program, NGA seeks to abolish all requirements and have more flexibility, with the state designating the offender population to be served.