Prison reform will have a higher priority in the 79th Legislature than it has had in a long time. The annual cost of maintaining 112 prisons holding 150,000 inmates, with another 70,000 Texans on parole and 400,000 on probation, is a staggering $2.4 billion.

The Department of Criminal Justice is asking for another $65 million in the next budget, but for the right reason — to free up prison beds for less expensive supervision, local facilities and treatment programs. The idea is to cut back on incarceration, which costs $45 a day per inmate, and increase supervision, which costs about $2 a day per person.

A budget increase this session could mean a budget savings down the road. Or at least a smaller increase, since Texas can expect about 7,000 more prison beds in the next two years. That's an anticipated budget hit of $500 million unless reform measures are undertaken to ease the inmate population.

At issue are the thousands of prisoners incarcerated for nonviolent crimes, such as parole violations, drug offenses and the like. Even the strongest law-and-order legislators are learning that imprisoning people with substance abuse problems, giving them no help in prison and turning them loose in the communities they came from is a losing, and expensive, proposition.

According to a recent study, 25 states have reformed their sentencing laws in an effort to reduce the number of inmates. Texas should undertake similar reforms. It will save money in the long run.

Another much-needed criminal justice reform is to add a life-without-parole sentence for capital crimes. It would add another sentence for juries to consider. Some prosecutors and legislators have opposed this change in the sentencing laws because they see it as a diversion to end the death penalty.

A pre-filed Senate Bill, SB 60, by Sens. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, would give juries the sentencing options of life imprisonment, life without parole or death for those convicted of capital crimes. Texas juries deserve that discretion.