Recent legislative sessions have begun with hopes for passing bipartisan bills related to criminal justice reform. And optimism was even higher in January, when the current session got started.
Some progress has been made, but the bills signed by Gov. Doug Ducey are considered to be rather modest. Legislation that would change mandatory minimum sentencing hasn’t moved once it arrived in the Senate. A bill that would create a prison oversight office has met the same fate.
The Show spoke with Kurt Altman, the state director in Arizona and New Mexico for the group Right on Crime, for more about the situation.