New Jersey lawmakers advance bill to end mandatory minimum sentences, but bill’s future in doubt

(The Center Square) – New Jersey lawmakers have approved legislation that would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent crimes.

This week, the state Assembly signed off on S-3456/A-5385. However, at least one Republican lawmaker says the bill ends definite punishment for corrupt elected officials, and Politico reported that Gov. Phil Murphy does not plan to sign the bill.

New Jersey has mandatory minimum sentences for several offenses, including those involving firearms, drugs and misconduct.

“Mandatory minimum sentences may have been intended as a way to help curb crime, but in reality, they have oftentimes done far more harm than good throughout the years,” Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti, D-Hudson, said in a statement. “Judges must be able to take each individual’s circumstances into account when it comes to determining proper disciplinary measures for a crime. It’s long past time for our state to update these sentencing laws.”

A coalition of justice reform organizations, including Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), sent a letter to Murphy urging the governor to sign the bill.

“The legislature in New Jersey did the right thing, and now it’s up to Gov. Murphy – New Jersey is on the cusp of a better, fairer justice system, and the only thing standing in the way is a few strokes of a pen,” Kevin Ring, president of FAMM, said in a statement. “Mandatory minimums don’t reduce crime or improve public safety, and they’re enormously expensive. Like the reform effort in New Jersey, this movement is bipartisan and growing every day.”

Before the Assembly passed the measure, Assemblyman John DiMaio, R-Warren, unsuccessfully pushed an amendment to remove references to official misconduct from the bill.

“I think many of us are aware of the social justice issues that would be addressed by this bill,” DiMaio said in a statement. “But I just do not understand where the social justice issue comes in with elected people, or public officials, who should be held to a higher standard.”

The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimated the bill could reduce Department of Corrections (DOC) expenditures by an indeterminate amount. Conversely, the State Parole Board (SPB) could see an increase in spending for each person who remains on parole, which costs $6,181 per parolee per year, according to OLS.

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