FreedomWorks Statement on Ohio Criminal Justice Bill, SB 3

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today on SB 3, a landmark piece of criminal justice reform legislation, Adam Brandon, FreedomWorks President, commented:

“It’s exciting to see legislators in my home state of Ohio taking the right approach on drug sentencing laws with SB 3. The new bipartisan legislation would ensure that drug users and drug traffickers are not treated as one and the same under the law, and it would help users get treatment while requiring traffickers to serve necessary time. This is what the vast majority of Ohio wants. A new poll reveals 81 percent of Ohioans strongly agree that some of the money currently spent on locking up nonviolent offenders should be shifted to alternatives.

“Following in the footsteps of dozens of other states and the federal government, Ohio has a real chance to improve its criminal justice system with smart-on-crime policies. Focusing resources where they are most needed will make Ohio’s communities safer and its residents more prosperous. Across the ideological spectrum, we hope to see elected officials put their support behind SB 3 to see it enacted into law.”