Having failed to fund a full version of the Drug Offender Reform Act last session, the Legislature on Wednesday gave quick approval to a scaled-down version of DORA that will allow the diversion program for felony drug offenders to prove itself.

While DORA appeared as a top priority in the Senate, as well as with the governor, attorney general and the courts, the original $6 million price tag to start the program statewide appeared daunting to lawmakers.

The bill's current sponsor, Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, said there was concern among lawmakers that the original DORA bill had not had a chance to prove itself effective while calling for millions of dollars in investment. Killpack said some were concerned that DORA, if it did not work, would prove a fiscal "black hole."

The bill, which passed with strong support in both the Senate and House, approves a $1.4 million pilot study of DORA over the next three years. Killpack said lawmakers were more confident to let DORA prove itself on a smaller scale before allowing it to go statewide.

The pilot program will take place in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City. Susan Burke, director of the Utah Substance Abuse and Anti-Violence Coordinating Council, said the pilot program will divert 250 felony drug offenders bound for prison and place them in an intensive drug-treatment program. The DORA group will then be compared to a control group of drug offenders who go through the current justice system. The study will determine if early drug treatment does indeed keep drug offenders from committing drug-related crimes.

The study could begin as early as next July with a final report due in 2008.

The bill's biggest proponent, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, said about 85 percent to 90 percent of prison inmates have an underlying drug addiction. With treatment, the hope is that many crimes committed by those driven by their drug addiction will be reduced, clearing space in an ever-growing prison population.

During floor debate Tuesday, Sen. David Thomas said DORA is needed because Utah's prison population is expected to reach maximum capacity by the end of this year. "We've got a crisis coming," Thomas said. At the least, the DORA pilot project will free up 250 bed spaces, which can help cover the 300 inmates the prison system receives on average each year.

Buttars said although he's disappointed the bill was reduced, the $1.4 million bill will "get our foot in the door" to prove its effectiveness. Buttars said DORA could ultimately save the state an estimated $30,000 a year for each person kept out of prison, translating into possibly millions of dollars.

During floor debate in the House Wednesday, many representatives spoke in support of the bill.

Killpack said drug abuse touches every facet of society — not just prisons and courts, but schools, hospitals, social services and many more. Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake, said DORA was not just about saving tax money but saving productive citizens and their families. "It's not what we're going to be saving in terms of tax dollars, it's in terms of what we'll be saving in human suffering," she said.

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