Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, was in the House this morning working hard to build support for a prison reform bill passed 47-1unanimously by the Senate.

The bill, Senate Bill 5070, is referred to as an offender re-entry bill. It would create programs in prisons designed to reduce recidivism. Lawmakers also hope it would save money. It passed the Senate March 10 after months of work by Carrell, Sen. Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, chairman of the Senate Human Resources and Corrections Committee. Carrell and Regala were on a joint select committee that met over the interim and was key to hammering out the agreement.

Carrell is a conservative Republican, and in the Senate that near-unanimous vote included others who are known as tough-on-crime lawmakers. But the proposal is facing a much more difficult reception in the House. Republicans oppose the Senate version, saying it's not tough enough on criminals.

Hargrove and Carrell say the point of the bill is to reduce crime by reducing recidivism. The state would do that through "evidence-based" programs to prepare offenders when it is time for them to be released.

"If the House Republican caucus thinks somehow we're coddling criminals," Hargrove said, "I guess you could say we're not going to let anyone out of prison ever."

I wasn't sure why the Senate was worrying too much about House Republicans. There are only 36 of them and a near unanimous vote in the Senate should translate to at least a majority vote in the House.

But it's not the numbers that are a concern. It's the voice that House Republicans have. Democrats worry that if House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, opposes the bill he will turn the issue into political fodder. That would not be without precedence. See two examples here and here.

House Republicans and the state Republican Party have already been critical of the Democrats' response to crimes committed by released felons as well as the Department of Corrections policy of letting people out of jail who had been picked up for parole violations. House Republicans have been touting their "Families before Felons" program, suggesting -- of course -- that Democrats support the reverse.

DeBolt recently sent a taxpayer-funded mailer to residents in his district with a headline that said: "A safety alert from your state representative." It outlines recent problems with offenders and talks a little about Republican proposals to combat them.

And that flier could be a problem for Carrell. This morning he was coming to talk to House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, about his progress on the bill so far just as I was handing Kessler a copy of DeBolt's "safety alert." I wanted her comment on it.

Kessler in the House Thursday.

Kessler told Carrell that House Speaker Frank Chopp is already wary of DeBolt's "Families before Felons" campaign. An angry Kessler gestured with the DeBolt mailer in her hand and told Carrell:

"If it plays into this piece of crap we're not doing it."

Carrell said he hadn't seen the flier. He tried to assure Kessler that House Republicans had been dealing with him in good faith on the bill. Kessler had doubts:

"You don't think that'll be mailed to every district in the state? That's exactly what Frank's worried about."

DeBolt said there was nothing political about his flier.

"I worked very hard in that communication not to be partisan. I just say, 'This is our bill. This is what it will do.' I asked people for their feedback."

It doesn't mention Democrats specifically. But it does say the release of felons "is unacceptable management by the corrections agency, which operates under the governor's authority."

DeBolt concedes that he may be holding a public relations edge in the fight.

"Who likes the idea of the early-release guy getting out of prison and committing more crimes?"

He said there must be changes in the bill to win Republican support. But he says he's being reasonable about any demands.

"We're not going for the whole farm because we know we're not in charge. But we at least want a few acres."

The dustup over DeBolt's flier was just one moment in what has been a tough lobbying campaign for Carrell. He urged Kessler to at least look at the amendments Republicans are preparing. As she walked away, Kessler looked over her shoulder and said she'd do that.

Carrell says he is trying to be cooperative with all sides. He wants to find amendments that make Republicans happy enough to at least get the bill passed in the House. Then, with differences between the two versions, the final bill would be negotiated in a conference committee.

"I just want to keep this thing alive," Carrell told me.