We’re not in this fight alone; we are thankful for partners like @beyondbars_mia who have joined the movement to reform fines and fees nationwide.
Learn more about the results of the movement in our new report, The Cost We No Longer Pay → https://t.co/RJjRV0BdEa
Our goal at FFJC is to break the link between money and justice. When that happens, people have the opportunity to spend their money on the things that matter to them and not on funding government functions.
Our newest report, The Cost We No Longer Pay, tallies up the amount of financial relief achieved through 73 pieces of legislation that ended or significantly reformed 135 fine and fee policies nationwide.
As a result of those efforts, a total of $2.6 billion in outstanding fine and fee debt was discharged, making it easier for people to buy groceries, travel to work, or live without the weight of fines and fees pushing them down.
This week, we celebrate the passing of AZ HB2265, a landmark new bill that #EndsJusticeFees for a person’s right to a public defender, appeal, and trial by jury.
We are thankful to our partner, @ArizonaStand, for their tireless advocacy and collaboration on the successful adoption of this bill. The work we do would not be possible without our local partners like Stand for Children AZ.
We’re proud to join with partners like Safe & Just Michigan as we work together to end exploitative fine and fee practices across the country.
Check out The Cost We No Longer Pay, our newest report here → https://t.co/RJjRV0BdEa
At a time when households are falling short of economic security, and 1 in 3 people is impacted by fines & fees, creating this level of financial relief through fine & fee reform is a powerful way to ensure that families can preserve their income to afford their basic needs.
FFJC is thankful to Gov. Hobbs, Rep. Neal Carter, and our coalition partners @ArizonaStand and @JusticeActionUS for their collaboration and advocacy. Read more about the bill here → https://t.co/SBgAP3JP7L
“In America, there should not be concurrently operating justice systems – one for those rich enough to pay for justice, and another for the rest of us.”
"With HB2265 now law, Arizona honors that promise: we do not collect fees for the enjoyment of constitutional rights that every American citizen is entitled to.”
Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom and the end of a long fought battle against chattel slavery. Today, it is up to all of us to remember the struggles of the past as we push forward in creating more freedom and opportunity for the future.
This Juneteenth, we are highlighting the ways that fines and fees disproportionately impact Black people. The over-policing of Black communities has led to the over-representation of Black people impacted by the criminal legal system.
Eliminating all justice fees and utilizing comprehensive ability-to-pay determinations before the imposition of fines would be a step in the right direction to combat the many inequities in the criminal legal system.