Five ways Florida lawmakers can make the state a better place | Editorial
A roadmap on the eve of the 2021 legislative session.
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This article represents the opinion of the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board.
Published Feb. 25
Updated Feb. 25
Floridaâs annual two-month legislative session opens Tuesday. Legislators must eventually pass a budget, but along the way they can consider a legion of potential new laws and tweaks to existing ones. Some have merit, others donât. Here are five ideas that would make Florida a better place, followed by a few proposed laws that should be quickly snuffed out.
Criminal justice reform. Punishment is an important part of criminal justice, but too many people in Florida are spending too many years in prison. The system costs too much and too many prison guards are burned out and leaving for different jobs. The Legislature has made some inroads on reforms, but itâs time to pass more laws that scale back minimum mandatory sentence