I’m back in Harrisburg today.  I started this morning at a Governor’s Advisory Committee on Parole meeting where I serve as the Senate’s appointee.  I have had a history of working on courts and corrections issues as a County Commissioner and find the work of this committee interesting and worthwhile.  Prison overcrowding is a tremendous issue in Pennsylvania and the spillover effect on parole offices is significant.  Our system of corrections in this country has failed.  We are spending more money with poorer results.  In Pennsylvania, the numbers are worse than many other states and show no signs of improvement.  We must not be afraid to look at new, innovative ways of correcting the behavior of criminals.  We didn’t get much done on the floor again today, but we had a long caucus meeting that was somewhat encouraging.  I am doing my part to catch up with the backlog of bills in committees throughout the Senate.  The Local Government Committee is running 18 bills tomorrow morning.   This may be a Senate record.

- John