LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas House Speaker-designate Darrin Williams is to serve as a panelist before the National Conference of State Legislators in a discussion about prison reform.
Williams said that he'll discuss Arkansas' sentencing reform package at the Wednesday event. Williams carried the House bill that established new sentences for non-violent crimes in an effort to limit growth of the state's prison population.
Williams says the legislation, passed in 2011, shows that public safety can be protected while still reducing or eliminating prison time for certain crimes.
Williams, a Democrat, was voted to be House speaker for the session that starts in January, though another vote could be taken if Republicans take the House majority in the fall election.
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