It appears Florida is attempting to keep people out of jail, help our first time offenders stay out of jail and keep the revolving door process under control. Three new laws are being looked at by our legislature and although they are far from passing, it  is a start to change our criminal justice system attitude. Many young people start a prison process for a minor offense and their lives are changed as they become a part of the prison system rather then important members of our society.

•  Law one Increases in the monetary felony theft from $300 to $1,000.
•  Law two Allows judges to depart from mandatory-minimum sentencing for low-level drug offenses.
•  Law Three Reduce driver’s license suspensions for non-driving offenses.

The bills although  far from becoming actual  laws may start to  free up prisons in Florida and help first time offenders.

License Suspension and Revocation Penalties

The Florida House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee approved House Bill 1095, a measure that would remove license suspension and revocation penalties for a number of offenses unrelated to driving. It would also prevent people from losing their licenses because of an inability to pay court fees.

“It’s intended to keep people out of the ‘snowball effect’ that often comes with being caught in the judicial system,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, told the subcommittee Tuesday.

“Studies show that suspensions do not serve as a deterrent, and by legally allowing people to get to and from work, school and grocery stores, there will be less arrests and incarcerations, which will relieve big burdens on our judicial and corrections systems,” he said.

With two members absent, the subcommittee’s 13 members — nine Republicans and four Democrats — voted in support for the measure. Local delegates Clay Ingram and Jayer Williamson, both Republicans, voted in favor of the legislation. It now moves forward to the Appropriations Committee.

Theft Valued at Less $1,000 Not  A Felony

In other action, the Florida House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee passed an amended version of House Bill 713, which would adjust laws so that the theft of items valued at less than $1,000 would no longer be considered a felony.

In a statement, Scott McCoy, senior policy counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said Florida’s monetary threshold has not been updated — even for inflation — since 1986.

“In Florida, a person can be convicted of a felony and spend up to five years in prison for stealing a bicycle, a used cellphone, or anything else valued at $300,” he said. “As a result, we are imprisoning people for low-level theft, and wasting tax dollars of up to $20,000 a year … to punish just one person for stealing $300 worth of goods.”

The subcommittee passed the measure with the approval of six Republicans and five Democrats and just one dissenting vote. The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee passed the proposal earlier this month, and it now moves on to the House Judiciary Committee.

In the Senate Judiciary Committee, seven of 10 people voted in favor of Senate Bill 694, which would allow judges to eschew mandatory-minimum sentences for drug trafficking offenses, provided the defendant did not engage in a continuing criminal enterprise, did not use or threaten violence, did not use a weapon and did not cause death or serious bodily injury.

“Judges should be allowed to review individual defendants and the circumstances of their offenses in order to impose fair punishment and protect public safety,” McCoy said in a statement. “They should also be allowed to determine whether prison or an evidence-based alternative — such as treatment for substance abuse or mental illness — is the best resolution.”

Although support for the measure was split 3-3 among Republicans, the four Democrats on the judiciary committee all voted in favor of the measure. The proposal is still scheduled for review by the Criminal Justice and Appropriations committees.

The GOP has traditionally favored a “tough on crime” approach, but there has been increasing support for finding alternatives to incarceration as the rates and costs of incarcerating in Florida  have risen over the decades.

President Donald Trump hinted in his State of the Union address Tuesday that his administration would seek changes to the criminal justice system on the national scale.

“This year, we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a second chance,” Trump said to wide applause.