FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Gov. Steve Beshear on Tuesday removed extra hurdles that convicted felons had to clear before getting their voting rights restored.

In reshaping the policy, Beshear said that felons who have fulfilled their sentencing requirements will no longer have to pay a $2 fee, write an essay or get three recommendations to regain the right to vote.

Beshear’s predecessor, Republican Ernie Fletcher, had imposed the extra steps. According to state statistics, the steps had drastically reduced the number of felons winning back their voting rights. Beshear said he was essentially restoring a policy followed by previous governors for a number of years.

“I believe in a second chance,” Beshear said at a Capitol news conference. “I believe in rehabilitation. I believe in ... full participation in democracy.”

Meanwhile, the governor told reporters he wants a review of Kentucky’s penal code this year, with the goal of having legislation ready for 2009 that would deal with the state’s fast-rising prison population.

Beshear said he wants a study group to meet with corrections officials, judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys to come up with legislation that would “try to bring some sense into this system,” he said.

The Democratic governor was joined by several Republicans and Democrats in announcing the policy shift in restoring voting rights for felons who have paid their debt to society.

Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Republican, said the changes will create a “smoother, fairer” process while preserving safeguards. Grayson and another Republican also invoked religious beliefs in supporting the policy change.

“I’m here because I believe my Christian principles instruct me to be here,” Grayson said.

In backing the policy change, Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster, said that when a felon “pays his debt to society, it should be marked paid in full.”

“If the Apostle Paul lived in Kentucky ... and wanted to vote, he probably couldn’t vote in Kentucky because he was put in jail many, many times,” he said.

Beshear noted that the new policy retains a “safety valve” that confirms felons have fulfilled all their sentencing requirements before regaining voting rights.

Prosecutors also could object when circumstances merit a second look.

“This is not about being tough on crime,” Beshear said. “This is about treating people fairly, and about welcoming back people trying to put their lives together again and become good citizens.”

According to state corrections department statistics, more than 600 people per year were winning back voting rights before the extra barriers were put in place. In recent years, the number of felons regaining voting rights fell to just over 250 per year.

The average approval rate dropped from 97 percent to 28 percent.

Currently, voting rights are denied to nearly 129,000 adults who were in trouble with the law, including 1 in 4 black adults, according to state officials.

In discussing possible changes to the state’s penal code, Beshear said his goals are to ensure just punishment, protect the public and reduce the amount spent on incarceration.

A recent study ranked Kentucky as having the nation’s largest percentage increase in its prison population. The surge has put considerable strain on Kentucky’s budget at a time of sagging revenues.

Beshear said he hoped any legislative package prepared for the 2009 General Assembly would look at sentencing guidelines and alternatives to prison.

As an example, the governor noted that Kentucky has more than 1,000 people in prison for failure to pay child support. He called it a “heinous crime,” but noted that the state is spending $20 million a year to incarcerate them.

“Now, there may be a better way to exact the kind of punishment that they need,” he said, “and at the same time give them the opportunity to actually get out and get a job and earn enough money to pay that child support.”

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)