MONTGOMERY — State lawmakers are close to approving a new law that would raise the age that a person can be charged as a youthful offender.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ontario Tillman, D-Birmingham, said the bill does not substantively change any parts of the existing youthful offender law.

Under existing law, a person charged with a crime that is committed while he or she is younger than age 19 may be tried as a youthful offender, a status that would allow the judge in the case to impose a lesser or reduced penalty. HB 436 would specify the age at which a person may be tried as a youthful offender.

“Everything is still based upon the judge’s discretion,” Tillman said. “The only [difference] this bill addresses is the age limit to 21 to make sure that throughout the state of Alabama is consistent, is uniform and is definitive when it comes to the age of 21.”

HB 436 states that a person charged as an adult with a crime that involves moral turpitude or is subject to one year or more in jail that was committed before the person reached age 22 can apply for youthful offender status. The bill passed May 23 in 56-39 vote and now awaits a vote in the Senate.

Currently, a person accepted by a judge as a youthful offender who is charged with a felony can have the sentence suspended with or without probation; be placed on probation for up to three years; have a fine imposed for the offense with or without probation or commitment; or be committed to the custody of the Board of Corrections for up to three years.

The judge can also impose a fine of up to $1,000 that could be paid in installments.

If the charge is a misdemeanor, a person granted youthful offender status could be ordered to correctional treatment as provided by law for the misdemeanor.

The criminal charge under a youthful offender status does not appear in background checks. In violent crimes, victims receive a notice of the defendant’s youthful offender hearing.

Youthful offender laws are among efforts to reduce prison populations and prevent young adults from being hindered in finding a job and becoming productive members of society.

Compared to neighboring states, youthful offender states in Georgia is eligible to males who are least 17 but younger than 25 years of age at the time of conviction and who, in the opinion of the department, has the potential and desire for rehabilitation, according to Georgia Code 42-7-2.

Judges can order the youthful offender institutions and facilities for treatment or rehabilitation.

This year, Georgia lawmakers raised the age to be tried as a juvenile overall from 16 to 17 years old, with the exception of some violent offenses and gang-related offenses.

A proposal, HB 1520, is being considered in the Tennessee legislature to create a pilot program that would allow young adults to remain under the jurisdiction of juvenile court until they are 24 years old in two of the state’s most populated counties.

The decision to order a defendant up to 24 years old to juvenile court would be determined by a judge if the “youth is amenable to treatment and rehabilitation but, based on the age of the offender, the nature of the offense, past delinquent acts of the youth, and other relevant factors, additional treatment and rehabilitation may be necessary beyond the department of children’s services commitment period.”

Last year, a proposal died in a Mississippi committee that would have created the Youth Offender Law. It would have allowed a person to qualify as a youthful offender if the crime was committed before the defendant was 21 years old, starting at age 18.

Mississippi has the highest incarceration rate in the country behind Louisiana, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Oklahoma, Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama, respectively, follow behind with the highest incarceration rate in the U.S.