Staying true to Future Caucus’ audacious mission, we have brought legislators from across the aisle and country to form a Criminal Justice Reform Advisory Council. Members of both the Republican and Democrat parties will come together to work on criminal justice related issues including sentencing reform, court fees and fines, recidivism reduction and reentry programs, and justice reinvestment. 

These leaders will work together to create programming and policy products that will be open to the full State Future Caucus Network, creating direct legislator-to-legislator action. Council members will work in their own state capitols to move and pass bipartisan legislation that will address our broken criminal justice system.

The Criminal Justice Reform Advisory Council aims to advance a national conversation on reforming the criminal justice system and engaging members in peer-to-peer dialogues and expert-led discussions. The Advisory Council is organized for members to share their experiences, expertise, and approaches to initiatives appropriate for them in their state. Participation does not imply support of all approaches to criminal justice reforms.

Legislator Resources

Improving Outcomes And Reducing The Scope Of The Criminal Justice System

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, holding 2.3 million people in state, federal, and juvenile detention facilities across the country and US territories. Ultimately, the challenge for lawmakers is to take advantage of the broad based momentum around reforming and improving our criminal justice system to lessen the burden on communities, boost legitimacy of the system in the eyes of citizens, and materially improve the prospects of offenders to end a cycle of distrust and demoralization.

State Approaches To Justice Reinvestment

State legislators can engage in justice reinvestment by passing legislation that creates a better understanding of criminal justice costs and bolsters recidivism reduction programs.

Sentencing Reform

In bipartisan coalitions, policymakers have worked to introduce and pass effective legislation to reform the sentencing system in the courtroom, for those currently incarcerated, and those who will interact with the system in the future.

Reducing Recidivism

Here are some examples of how legislators and policymakers have approached recidivism reduction during and after incarceration.

Court Fees And Fines

One specific and straightforward way in which legislators can make a significant impact in their communities is reforming court fines and fees.