the police state gets a little bit worse mandatory jail terms for hookers and their customers in arizona Original Article Bill requiring jail for prostitutes now law Associated Press May. 9, 2006 12:00 AM Gov. Janet Napolitano on Monday signed into law a bill to require jail time for prostitutes and their customers. The bill requires 15 days in jail for a first offense, 30 days for a second offense, 60 days for a third offense and 180 days for any additional offenses. Prostitution is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, but the bill mandates jail time and makes a fourth or subsequent offense a low-grade felony. The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Chuck Gray of Mesa, said it would provide a statewide solution to a situation in which prostitutes go from one city to another to avoid local crackdowns. Gray said that the jail mandate is intended to get prostitutes off the street and into rehabilitation programs and that the felony provision would encourage repeat offenders to leave the state. Opponents criticized both the mandatory jail time and the felony provision as obstacles to rehabilitation efforts.