ARIZONA HOUSE PASSES BIPARTISAN PUBLIC SAFETY BILL TO INCENTIVIZE REHABILITATION & HELP GET ARIZONANS BACK ON THEIR FEET

SB 1064 Will Reduce Recidivism, Strengthen Public Safety & Save Taxpayer Dollars by Expanding Earned Release Credits For Individuals Convicted of Nonviolent Offenses

(Phoenix, AZ) -- Today, the Arizona House voted 50-8 in favor of Senate Bill 1064, a key criminal justice reform bill that incentivizes rehabilitation, reduces incarceration, and strengthens public safety. SB 1064 expands earned release credits for people convicted of nonviolent offenses, providing additional incentives to participate in rehabilitative, educational, and vocational programming development training that reduce the likelihood of recidivism. This bill, sponsored by Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-17) now heads to the Senate for a final vote. 

“Senate Bill 1064 is a targeted, conservative measure that will help keep our communities safer, and save taxpayer dollars. This critical reform ensures that people are held accountable, while incentivizing the rehabilitative, educational, and vocational training they need to turn their lives around,” said Lauren Krisai, Senior Policy Analyst at Justice Action Network. “We thank Senator Mesnard and Representative Blackman for their leadership on this issue, and applaud members of the House from both sides of the aisle who worked together to pass this important legislation. We look forward to supporting this bill as it moves through the Senate and will work to ensure that it is signed into law.” 

Specifically, Senate Bill 1064 would: 

• Increase earned release credits for individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses and incentivize participation in rehabilitation programs and skills/job training by:

  • Allowing those convicted of drug offenses to be released to community supervision after serving 50% of their sentences, and those convicted of other nonviolent offenses to be eligible for release after serving 66% of their sentences for successfully completing meaningful programming or having actively participated in a qualified work program for at least 6 months;

• Apply to the current population convicted of a nonviolent drug offense that has already completed or is enrolled in the qualified programming, and be prospective for other eligible individuals;

• Require additional victim notification of earliest release date;

• Add reporting requirements to better track the success of additional earned release credits and programming; and

• Allow individuals who are eligible for additional earned credits to instead serve the remainder of their sentences under community supervision, rather than taking up valuable bed space within the Department of Corrections.

Arizona is one of only three states that requires individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses to serve at least 85% of their sentences before being eligible for release to supervision, with the exception of people convicted of drug possession offenses. Other states that have allowed incarcerated individuals to be released to supervision after serving shorter percentages of their sentences have seen reductions in their prison populations and violent crime rates as compared to Arizona.