Arizona lawmakers seek to provide greater protection for first-time offenders and individuals who have already served their time by improving the state's criminal justice policies.
It's devastating to see American citizens fall victim to a flawed justice system. Arizona lawmakers seek to provide greater protection for first-time offenders and individuals who have already served their time by improving the state's criminal justice policies. To enforce this protection, Governor Doug Ducey signed three bills into law, each posing great benefits for Arizonians with criminal offenses.
House Bill 2318 protects first-time offenders from unreasonably high sentences. The bill grants prosecutors and judges greater flexibility to take necessary steps to ensure that first-time offenders are facing adequate consequences. The new law is progressive in more ways than one. For instance, individuals without any previous convictions have faced heavy punishments due to racial and classist discriminations. Devastatingly enough, minorities are at risk of facing higher sentences because of systemic racism, as well as lack of representation. With HB 2318, first-time offenders will hopefully face decreased risks of unreasonably high sentences based on discrimination.
House Bill 2319 prevents state agencies from discriminating against applicants with previous drug offenses. Under the new law, agencies are no longer able to deny a regular or provisional occupational license based on a qualified applicant's drug charges, with the exception of certain roles that may be directly affected by it, including teacher certifications and health profession regulatory boards.
Lastly, HB 2166 promotes transparency by requiring state and local criminal justice agencies to submit any necessary information to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission. The Commission will use the information to create a data inventory report to identify what data is housed at each agency, ultimately establishing a more trustworthy relationship between the state and its agencies.
Ideally, these new laws will establish greater trust amongst the general public and the state of Arizona's criminal justice system. Don't wait up for a national reform, take action into your own hands with easy and affordable record clearing processes from Easy Expunctions. Get in touch with us at (877) 797-9188 to learn more about our expunction packages.