Florida’s “First Step Act” is a moniker which refers to the federal government’s passage of its First Step Act in late 2018. The federal criminal justice reform bill will reduce the prison population and ultimately provide prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys more options when negotiating or imposing a sentence.
Florida’s counterpart, comprised of HB 7125 and SB 642, is similarly comprehensive and seeks to address the enduring costs within the state. Aside from the individual costs of incarceration, every county of Florida expends millions of dollars each year because people keep getting arrested, and there’s not much we can do to eliminate it completely. Nevertheless, because all citizens – law abiding and otherwise – are affected by the criminal justice system, seeking to change the way it serves us all is extremely important.