Contact:
Rabiah Burks, 202-822-6700
rburks@famm.org

FAMM Cheers Arizona Passage of Repetitive Offender Sentencing Reform Bill

The bill now goes to Gov. Doug Ducey for signature and enactment into law.

PHOENIX, AZ – In the last hours of its session on Memorial Day, May 27, the Arizona legislature passed SB 1334, a bill that makes a small but important reform to Arizona’s repetitive offender sentences. The bill was introduced by Sen. Ben Toma (R-22) as HB 2361, the text of which was later inserted into SB 1334 in a “strike everything” amendment. The legislature passed a modified version of that bill, which now goes to Gov. Doug Ducey for his signature and enactment into law.

In response to the bill’s passage, FAMM Vice President of Policy Molly Gill issued the following statement:

We applaud the Arizona legislature for taking the first step toward meaningful sentencing reform. This bill helps ensure that first-time offenders are not sentenced as if they are repeat offenders, and lets judges reduce sentences if a person committed several crimes because they never got the treatment or intervention they needed while in prison or jail. Governor Ducey should sign this bill, just as President Trump signed a similar reform passed by Congress last year. If the justice system can’t get something this basic right, it’s not much of a justice system. More importantly, this should be the first sentencing reform Arizona makes, not the last.

FAMM submitted testimony in support of the bill earlier in 2019, noting its similarity to reforms included in the First Step Act, a federal sentencing reform bill that passed with wide bipartisan support in Congress and was signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2018.

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FAMM is a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating the issues all across the country.

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