In many ways, the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) is like a black box. From the outside, the prison system looks shrouded and impenetrable. Joe and Jane Q. Public, it seems safe to say, have no real idea what happens behind the walls of the state’s 22 correctional facilities — even if they want to know.

But a bill recently filed on Beacon Hill could change all that. On March 20, the legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Safety held a hearing on House bill 2853, " An Act to Create a Citizen Review Board for the DOC. " Several dozen advocates, legislators, ex-prisoners, and their family members came out to express ardent support for the measure. Not a single person or organization voiced any public opposition to it.

As its name implies, the legislation would establish an independent body of citizens to monitor and advocate for the state’s prisons. To date, there’s no agency overseeing the DOC, save for the Executive Office for Public Safety. Yet there are plenty of reasons to establish such a critical safeguard. For one, an outside board would ensure oversight of the conditions under which the 11,000 prisoners in DOC custody each year — a number that’s more than doubled in the past two decades — are housed. For another, it would see to it that the DOC — whose budget hovers around $500 million — spends its money efficiently and effectively. In short, a citizen review board would serve as a valuable tool not simply for prisoners, but also for staffers and taxpayers. Says Newton state representative Kay Khan, the bill’s sponsor, " This board could be helpful to the whole system. It provides opportunity for a more balanced approach to corrections. "

Legislation similar to House bill 2853 has been filed every session since 1998. And every session, it’s languished in committee or been sent to die in a " study. " This time, however, Khan has tinkered with the language to make the measure more palatable to critics. Unlike past versions, House bill 2853 calls for a smaller, more manageable board. While the failed measures would’ve created a 19-member board, this one sets the number at 11 — enough people, Khan says, to achieve diversity yet retain the likelihood of consensus. These 11 board members would be appointed by both public and private entities, including the Governor’s Office, the state Department of Public Health, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. In addition, the new language would create 10 subcommittees to monitor the 10 largest, most secure (and most notorious) facilities, such as Shirley’s Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center and Walpole’s MCI-Cedar Junction. According to the legislation, members would visit prisons, inspect conditions, survey health services, study programs, interview prisoners and guards, and file public reports with the legislature and the DOC.

Despite the bill’s bleak history, proponents see brighter prospects ahead. This is partly because the current measure has garnered broad support beyond the prisoners’-rights community — from religious and civic groups to human-services advocates — and partly because the legislature’s Public Safety Committee has undergone a face-lift. Supporters note that former public-safety chairmen, such as one-time senator James Jajuga, have embraced too uncritically the DOC administration’s claim that a citizens’ board would compromise internal security. But now, State Senator Jarrett Barrios, a progressive politician from Cambridge who has visited several prisons after shakedowns, is heading the committee. At the very least, proponents say, a fresh set of eyes will be looking at this piece of legislation.

At the same time, the budget deficit is constantly on the mind of everyone at the State House. As a result, they’re looking at the DOC in a different light. For instance, State Representative Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) wrote a February 2003 analysis on the DOC budget, in which she noted that spending on the corrections system has increased at the same rate as Medicaid over the past five fiscal years — as much as 46 percent. Yet legislators seem to harp only on Medicaid as the " budget buster. " In this era of massive budget gaps, legislators may find appealing the argument that a citizen review board makes the DOC more cost-efficient.

Finally, of course, there’s the fact that the idea itself isn’t particularly groundbreaking. Other states, such as New York, have citizen advisory boards monitoring their corrections systems, as does the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In fact, Massachusetts had such a body when Michael Dukakis was governor — until his successor, William Weld, did away with it. As Khan puts it, " I’ve been out there on this for so long because I think it’s important to keep the public aware of how our money is being spent. "