A bill working to try and curb the amount of repeat offenders has moved from the House to the Senate.

Representative for House District 23 Ray Sorensen says that House File 2542 creates a structured point system to identify those individuals who are repeat offenders. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that certain felony convictions would add points to a person’s record, and why this bill was brought forward.

“The goal is to identify individuals who repeatedly commit serious offenses, and that ensures the justice system has tools to address that chronic criminal behavior. You know, why does this matter? The bill is about public safety and accountability, particularly when someone continues committing serious crimes after multiple convictions.”

Sorensen mentions that rather than treating each offense in isolation, this would allow courts to consider a person’s overall pattern of criminal behavior when looking at sentencing.