JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - A proposal to reduce time in jail for nonviolent Missouri drug offenders is open for comments.
The initiative posted this month at sos.mo.gov would change state law to allow parole and probation for certain nonviolent offenders.
The measure would set the minimum prison term for a second-time, nonviolent offender at 40 percent of their sentence.
That mve would ramp up to 50 percent for offenders convicted twice before and to 70 percent for those with three or more felony convictions.
A petition must receive approval from the secretary of state and attorney general and get a financial estimate before it can be circulated for signatures.
Supporters would have until May 2016 to collect roughly 165,000 registered voters' signatures needed for the November 2016 ballot.