Regardless, state leaders have been ignoring the funding mandates of State Questions 780 and 781, both passed by Oklahomans in 2016. Those are the key portion of the criminal justice reforms that help prevent incarceration and recidivism.

The nonprofit Oklahoma Watch is the latest to point out in a recent story this dereliction of duties by state lawmakers to uphold laws. In November, the Tulsa World reported that the state has racked up a tab of about $50 million owed to county governments so far.

State Questions 780 and 781 reclassified some drug and property crimes to misdemeanors and instructed that the resulting state savings be divided among counties by population to invest in local mental health programs.

That first part — changing the classifications — was done. But not one dime has been given to county-level mental health programs.

To effectively and safely lower the prison population, offenders need resources that can help them change their lives.

That looks different across the state, with cities and towns having differing challenges. For some, there may be a youth suicide problem, while others face epidemics in opioid use or other obstacles. Many may have a mix of several factors.

The money could be used to bolster resources for community courts or mental health services.

That’s why the law focused on giving funding to county governments. Those officials are closer to what their residents require.

As expected, determining the amount of savings from having fewer inmates incarcerated went through some negotiation to get at an accurate amount. But that was settled two legislative sessions ago among the Department of Corrections, the Office and Management and Enterprise Services and representatives from the Oklahoma Policy Institute.

There is no logical reason why state lawmakers won’t follow this law and release those funds to counties.

Oklahoma’s prison population is still too high. Oklahoma women are still No. 1 nationally in incarceration rate, and the state is at No. 2 overall.

Tulsa and Oklahoma counties were among the first to implement diversionary programs such as drug court, mental health court and veterans court. The metro areas now represent about 40% of prison intakes, instead of the 60% prior to these programs.

These types of programs transform lives and help retain a healthy workforce. Prisons can then hold people who are dangerous or who have committed heinous crimes.

State Rep. Justin Humphrey, chairman of the House Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections, sponsored an interim study on the issue. He tried last year to get funding secured under this law, but the measure failed to advance.

We hope lawmakers see the light on this issue and do the right thing.