NEWSLETTER: Victory Across the Map — Our 2025 Policy Wins
And that’s a wrap!
This year, JAN + JANF focused our resources in states where we have the strongest relationships and where we believe have the biggest opportunities for reform in 2025: Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
We’re thrilled to report that our focused advocacy approach paid off: NINE JAN-supported bills were signed into law!
Earlier in the year, we laid out our legislative priorities in these four states. Now, with sessions wrapped, we’re sharing a full readout of the major wins, the smaller but still meaningful victories, and yes, a few bills that did not make it across the finish line.
Overall, we think this session was a HUGE success for smart justice reform policies in our priority states that represent the political spectrum of America: deep red, solid blue, and purple. What’s clear following these legislative sessions is that support for smarter justice policies is only growing.
This was a really big year for smart justice policy reform in Arizona. Bipartisan support is stronger than ever, and we’re proud to share that three JAN-supported bills were signed into law, including our top priority bill for the year. Below is a summary of all three bills we supported:
1. Independent Correctional Oversight Office (Senate Bill 1507): Our top priority bill in Arizona this year, sponsored by Sen. Shawnna Bolick (R), establishes an independent correctional oversight office that would have the power to investigate inmate/staff complaints and make recommendations to the Department for reform, among other changes. While the funding for the office was pulled from the budget, we are incredibly proud that the policy made it across the finish line and was signed into law by Gov. Hobbs this month. We will continue to advocate for full funding for the office to become operational. We’re especially thankful for the coalition behind the advocacy and outreach on this bill, including Arizona’s Praxis Initiative led by John Fabricius, Dream.org, FAMM, Stand for Children Arizona, and more.
2. Courtesy Transfers for Probation (Senate Bill 1343): another JAN-priority bill sponsored by Sen. Shawnna Bolick (R), SB 1343 makes a technical change to legislation we supported last year that allows a person on probation to apply for a courtesy transfer to a different jurisdiction if they have employment or housing available. This bill allows that application to be made at any time, not just at the time of sentencing or disposition. The bill passed both chambers unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Hobbs in May.
3. Drug Sentencing Reform (House Bill 2720): sponsored by Rep. Leo Biasiucci (R), HB 2720 eliminates the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The vast majority of states have no sentencing disparity between the two chemically identical substances. The bill passed both chambers unanimously and was signed into law in May.
We’re already having conversations with lawmakers on what policies they might want to work on next year. Stay tuned!
This year, we had a MAJOR win in New Mexico. Despite a slow-moving 2025 legislative session where only 172 of nearly 1,200 bills passed, and many priorities were sidelined–including legislation that came from the New Mexico Justice Reinvestment Working Group–we’re proud to share a major victory for justice reform: the signing of Senate Bill 375, our top JAN-supported bill of the year.
Parole fee elimination, early release from probation (Senate Bill 375): Championed by Senator Antonio Maestas (D), a longtime JAN-ally and tireless advocate for community supervision reform, Senate Bill 375 makes two major changes:
Eliminates parole supervision fees: New Mexico currently charges each person on parole up to $1,800 per year in parole service fees. Senate Bill 375 eliminates these fees for all parolees. Unrelated to criminal fines or restitution, these bureaucratic parole service fees saddle parolees with debt and serve as a major barrier to successful community reintegration.
Creates mechanism for automatic early release from probation: If the defendant has met all probation obligations, is classified as low-risk, is classified as a minimum level risk by a validated scoring instrument, and has completed at least half of their period of probation, they could automatically be released from probation early.
We were proud to work with Sen. Maestas in advancing this major smart justice reform.
This was a standout year for justice reform in Oklahoma. With broad, bipartisan support continuing to grow, five JAN-supported bills were signed into law, including our top legislative priority. Here's a quick look at the progress we made:
Gov. Stitt holding a signed copy of House Bill 1462
Fee Elimination (House Bill 1460): sponsored by Rep. Tammy West (R) and Sen. Todd Gollihare (R), HB 1460 eliminates six burdensome court fees that often trap people in debt as they re-enter society. These fees do little to improve public safety and often cost the state more to collect than they bring in. Signed into law.
Restitution Prioritization (House Bill 1462): also sponsored by Rep. Tammy West (R) and Sen. Todd Gollihare (R), the bill makes sure that victim restitution is paid first before any criminal fines or fees. This simple administrative shift ensures crime survivors are prioritized and not left behind in the process. Signed into law.
Resentencing hearing reports (House Bill 2376): sponsored by Rep. Brian Hill (R) and Sen. Julie Daniels (R), HB 2376 requires that the district attorneys submit mandatory reports every other year to the legislature on how many times they opposed resentencing at a resentencing hearing for those on probation. The JAN-supported bill Rep. Hill and Sen. Daniels sponsored in 2023, House Bill 2490, did not require the reports be submitted annually, but upon request. Signed into law.
Reclassification “clean up” bills (House Bill 2104 and House Bill 2105): both sponsored by Rep. Mike Osburn (R) and Sen. Dave Rader (R), the bills make changes to the major reclassification legislation passed by the state in 2024. Both bills were signed into law.
We’re thrilled with the progress made on JAN-supported bills this year and energized by the growing bipartisan momentum for smart justice reform. Thank you for standing with us, and stay tuned for what’s next as we gear up for 2026 and continue our work during the interim!