The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has invited state Senator John A. Kissel, R-Enfield, to participate in a conference on sentencing and corrections policy. The one-day roundtable discussion, co-sponsored by the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States, will focus on how states are dealing with these prison issues and policies in the current budget climate. The conference is scheduled for Friday, September 26th at NCSL’s headquarters in Denver and is being fully funded by NCSL.

The discussion is being convened to learn first-hand from state legislators from around the nation as to how the current fiscal environment is affecting the issues of crime and punishment. Senator Kissel is one of 15 legislators invited to participate in the discussion due to his “thoughtful leadership on these issues.”

“I am honored to be selected to participate in this roundtable discussion,” said Sen. Kissel, who serves as Ranking Senator on the legislature’s Judiciary Committee. “Issues concerning sentencing and our state’s prison system are not only affecting us here in Connecticut but around the entire country as well. To be able to learn from other legislators about what is being done on these issues will be extremely valuable. I am looking forward to this conference and I will certainly have a lot of information to report back as this issue remains one of our most important issues facing Connecticut and north central Connecticut in particular.”