SB 1064 prison reform can save money, make us safer
As a leader dedicated to limited government, accountability for taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars and strong families, I’m encouraged that Arizona lawmakers are advancing Senate Bill 1064 — important legislation that would expand earned release credits and safely reduce Arizona’s prison population.
SB 1064 will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, reunite families and help make our communities safer. It’s a responsible solution that will make an immediate difference, and one we can build on for future success, too.
When it comes to criminal justice in our state, business-as-usual clearly isn’t working for Arizona. The need for meaningful reforms to Arizona’s corrections system is urgent. With the fifthhighest imprisonment rate in the country and the budget for the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry at more than $1 billion annually, state taxpayers have been put on the hook for skyrocketing spending with very low returns.
We can do better for our taxpayers, families, communities and for public safety.
The good news is that there are plenty of solutions based in conservative values that can make a concrete difference in Arizonans’ lives. Red and blue states across the country have spent the last decade passing reforms that reduce sentence lengths and expand earnedtime opportunities, and they’ve built a body of tested policies we can learn from, including Arizona’s own Second Chances Centers.
In fact, over the past decade, more than 30 states have implemented additional commonsense reforms to reduce the number of people in their prisons and jails, and they’ve done so while driving down violent crime twice as fast as in Arizona.
It is past time we did the same. Arizona has one of the most limited earned-time programs in the country and it’s resulted in some of the longest prison terms in the nation. Currently, people incarcerated in Arizona for nonviolent property crimes spend almost twice as long in prison as the national average, while those in prison for drug crimes in Arizona spend 40% longer behind bars.
Research – along with many examples from other states – have proven that these additional months and years of incarcerating people aren’t making us safer and aren’t a wise use of our tax dollars.
In an attempt to rightsize our prison terms and our corrections budget, legislators developed SB 1064, which allows incarcerated people convicted of nonviolent offenses to earn time off their sentence by participating in rehabilitative programming and following the rules. These programs will help people successfully reenter our communities, ensuring Arizona is prioritizing rehabilitation and public safety, while using our resources more wisely.
Consider this: if lawmakers pass SB 1064, Arizona taxpayers could save up to $610 million in the next decade as well as increase tax revenue by an additional $73 million from people reentering the workforce. This bill is just smart policy with public safety and economic benefits. For years, criminal justice experts have been calling on Arizona lawmakers to catch up to the rest of the country and reform the state’s long and extremely costly prison terms.
SB 1064 represents the best chance in decades to do just that – and, what’s more, we have a broad coalition of supporters backing the reform.
The legislation is supported by Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both chambers and endorsed by business leaders, prominent Arizonan and national conservative organizations, and community leaders. Notably, it also recently won the endorsement of influential prosecutors, including Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel, who oversees prosecution of more than 60% of the prison population.
Polling has shown time and again that Arizona voters strongly support policies that will help tackle our state’s incarceration crisis.
It’s time for our elected leaders to act by moving SB 1064 across the finish line. It’s how we do right by taxpayers, make our communities safer and build a stronger Arizona.