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| FL Parties Team Up To Change Drug Regulation |
| By flcourier.com |
| Published: 03/11/2011 |
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By MARGIE MENZEL, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: With the economic recession as the "mother of invention," a pair of lawmakers from opposite parties are sponsoring a measure that would end mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders. The bills, SB 1334, sponsored by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and HB 917, by Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, would also provide alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. Judges would have more discretion when deciding sentences on a case-by-case basis, with the option of sending offenders to rehab. "In our minimum-mandatory sentences, we capture a lot of people that are not necessarily criminals but addicts," said Bogdanoff. "We need to focus our rehabilitation for those people who are not necessarily suffering from a life of crime but from a life of addiction." She also said many addicts have mental health issues causing them to self-medicate, and that with treatment, they can be helped. The measure is backed by a coalition of groups that includes Florida TaxWatch, the Pew Center on the States, and Right on Crime for Inmate Sentencing Legislation. Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of TaxWatch, said the measure could save the state millions of dollars - an argument likely to resonate with lawmakers grappling with the state's $3.6 billion budget shortfall. Read More. |
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