Judiciary Chair Greenstein wants to study inmates-with your money

The Chair of the NJ State Assembly Judiciary committee Linda Greenstein has submitted legislation to establish a blue ribbon panel to study....prison inmates. You can review the proposal here.

Does anyone wonder why the average citizen of New Jersey has absolutely no respect for our legislators or their ability to correct any of the state's myriad of issues? For example, I wonder where this proposal would fall in a ranking of state priorities that would include the following this year?

- Jobs
- Businesses leaving the state
- State Budget deficit
- Citizens fleeing the state
- Out of control property taxes
- Corrupt state politicians
- Out of control healthcare costs
- Inner city schools that fail their students
- Legislators bought and paid for by special interests (sorry, too close to home)

I wonder if Assemblywoman Greenstein has taken a drive through certain segments of her own district's neighborhoods lately. It is not a pretty site. Three weeks ago she probably could not have if she wanted to because most of the roads were impassable many days after the snow stopped. But I think it is safe to say that even if she does drive by, she doesn't linger very long.

Which makes me wonder why, of all the things she could be worried about, her best idea is to create a 'panel'. Perhaps, it all comes down to this:

(3) The members of the panel shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

For regular everyday citizens who might read this you might think that the 'cost' of this bill will be negligible. However, the definition of 'necessary and reasonable' expenses in the world of lawyers can amount to significant money very quickly. So in the end, this is all about patronage.

This is about Linda Greenstein giving away your tax money to her legal friends to study why people are in prison. This is pure and simple GOVERNMENT WASTE.

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