PALMER, AK - Gov. Frank Murkowski put his pen Tuesday to two pieces of legislation in a ceremony on the lawn outside the Palmer courthouse.

Senate Bill 216, sponsored by state Sen. Charlie Huggins, puts limits on the practice of allowing temporary release for prisoners awaiting trial. Senate Bill 310, sponsored by state Sen. Lyda Green, re-instates legislation that expired in 2005 that created a Department of Corrections prison work program.

The first bill, Murkowski said, "closes a loophole in the judicial system and keeps potentially dangerous people off the street."

The new law also makes escape from jail, for defendants awaiting trial on a felony charge, a felony itself. It outlaws temporary releases except in four instances: the death of an immediate family member; the birth of an inmate's child; psychological or substance abuse exams that cannot be conducted in jail; or medical or dental exams necessary to enter a substance abuse treatment program.

The bill also amends existing legislation by requiring judges to get information about the inmate's behavior from the Department of Corrections before considering a temporary release.

"This was a common-sense bill, and it gives the Department of Corrections a voice," said Rep. Bill Stoltze, a Chugiak Republican.

Huggins, a Republican from Wasilla, said the bill institutes strict standards, allowing for a system where "those who have a history that we do not want to be repeated, they will not be released."

Huggins made a reference to John Pearle Smith, the Wasilla man who cut his ankle monitor and escaped while on a temporary release in 2005 to attend his father's memorial service. Smith spent a week on the lam before authorities tracked him down.

In March, Smith was sentenced to 16 years in prison for robbery, theft, assault and other charges. Much of the debate surrounding the legislation used Smith as an example of what's wrong with the temporary-release system.

"I can't tell you what it means to have the governor sign this bill," said Corrections Commissioner Marc Antrim. "Public safety is our game."

The second bill allows the Department of Corrections to continue its work program, which partners with the private sector to provide jobs for inmates. The money they earn is split between the inmates and Corrections. The state's share defrays the costs of incarceration.

The inmate's share can be garnished for such things as child support payments or for money the inmate has been ordered to pay his or her victims.

"It does re-instate a Department of Corrections program that evidently went sideways a few years ago," Murkowski said. It is an important step, he said, to "having these criminals rehabilitate their lifestyles."

Antrim said his department "can't wait to get to work," and, "we have a lot of vendors out there who are vying for these positions."

Also on hand was Matanuska-Susitna assistant borough manager Marian Romano, who announced that the borough had narrowed to seven parcels of state and borough land the potential location of a new mega-prison the state and borough are planning to build in the Valley.

The 2,200-bed prison will be the "most up-to-date, modern, effective prison in the United States," Murkowski said. "That is our dream."