Nonviolent drug offenders could be facing less time in jail if bills filed in the state House and Senate make it into law.
Senate Bill 1334, sponsored by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and House Bill 917, sponsored by Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, would eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses.
"In our mandatory minimum sentences we capture a lot of people who are not necessarily criminals, but addicts," Bogdanoff said.
The bills would also divert qualifying nonviolent drug offenders into drug treatment programs.
When you move people from prison to drug treatment, it can save a lot of money, Bogdanoff said.
Judges and criminal justice advocates have long complained about the way mandatory minimums restrict the discretion of judges to craft an appropriate sentence for criminals, resulting in long-term sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.
"This measure unties judges' hands and allows them to make their own decisions," Porth said.
Those complaints, however, usually fall on deaf ears. The mandatory minimum sentences were imposed in reaction to an expanding cocaine epidemic in Florida in the 1980s, when drug offenders could get out of jail after serving 25 percent of their sentence.
The new laws were designed to keep high-level narcotics distributors in prison longer, but because of agreements made with prosecutors for less jail time, middle to high-level dealers can end up with less time than simple addicts. The reason: They have information that prosecutors need to try larger cases.
Now, with the state facing a $3.6 billion budget shortfall, Republican legislators are looking for more areas to cut, even in areas like law and order and criminal justice that conservatives have been reluctant to touch in the past.
Bogdanoff said she is convinced Republicans can get on board with a bill that reduces costs while it still remains committed to justice.
"Years ago I probably felt the same way. But when you put someone in jail, often we find that things don't always get better," she said.
Florida TaxWatch, a policy institute dedicated to lower taxes and spending, favors the bills, claiming they will save money in the short-term and long-term.
The beauty is, two years ago you couldnt even talk about it. What a difference an election makes, said Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch.
In addition to providing more just sentences for minor drug offenders, eliminating mandatory minimums and using effective drug treatment programs will help inmates transition back into society after their term is over. Novice offenders can often learn from hardened inmates in jail, and hone their criminal skills before they are unleashed on society.
They commit fewer crimes against citizens and their property, Calabro said of those attending drug treatment programs.
The bills are not retroactive, however, so nonviolent drug offenders currently in jail will not get out early.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
