Of the many bills being considered in the current legislative session, one of the more high profile items is the proposed constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to felons.

House Study Bill 68 was proposed by Governor Kim Reynolds and has seen bipartisan support. It would allow convicted felons to vote in elections once their sentences are completed. However, as State Senator Jake Chapman, (R) District 10, points out, the prospect is not as simple as it sounds. “There are a number of individuals, myself included, that are concerned with the language. We want to make sure when you change the Constitution, the language is correct. I think there’s a number of us that want to see some parameters put in place. Obviously, restitution is a key part of that, and then there’s a question as to are there some crimes so egregious that even when you are released from prison those voting rights should not be restored? For example, in the case of murder.”

Chapman feels the current system — where felons must petition the Governor to restore their voting rights — works fairly well. He adds, while he’s not opposed to making the process easier, he wants to ensure all the bases are covered before amending the Constitution. HSB 68 is scheduled for floor discussion soon, but will need to pass through the House and the Senate subcommittee before the second funnel deadline on April 5th. It will then have to pass through next year’s general assembly as well, before coming to the public to ratify in a special election.

To learn more about the current legislative session, listen to yesterday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.