Updated SURJ Bay Area Policy Priorities for 2019 — Cross-Over Edition

If you follow the California State Legislature, May was an exciting month! Since all California bills must pass both state legislative houses (the California Assembly and the California Senate), May is the month when bills that successfully passed with enough votes in their house of origin “cross-over” to their second house, hopefully on their way to the governor’s desk.

The Policy Working Group of the SURJ Bay Area chapter is working in service to, and in collaboration with our POC-led partner organizations that work on legislative advocacy: Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) / All of Us or None(AOUON), Essie Justice Group, and Initiate Justice. We listed our original policy goals in our previous post SURJ Bay Area Policy Priorities For 2019, and now that some bills have successfully crossed-over, here’s the updated list of bills that we are actively supporting as the bills go through their second house!

You can be a part of this effort by adding your name to our Legislative Action List, and getting your friends and family to sign up, too! Help us expand the reach or our list by sharing this with others who live in California (not just the Bay Area); having more coverage across the state will allow us to influence more legislators. During key moments in the legislative year, those who sign up will be contacted with their legislator’s name, phone number, and call script with a request to spend a few minutes calling their legislator. We activated this list in May, generating over 100 calls for AB 45, AB 965, SB 136 and SB 144, which all made it through their original houses!
2019 Policy Priority List (updated 6/25/2019)
Pretrial Detention
SB 36 — Data Around Pretrial Release — SUPPORT
This bill requires each county to maintain specified data for each individual that undergoes an assessment using the risk assessment tool for pretrial release. Co-sponsored by: Ella Baker Center
SB 42 — Getting Home Safe Act — SUPPORT
This bill would address the problem of unsafe, late-night jail releases and require local county jails to provide appropriate and adequate resources to people upon release to enable them to return home safely. Co-sponsored by: Essie Justice Group, Anti Police Terror Project
Poverty Mitigation
AB 45 — Medical Co-Pays — SUPPORT
This bill will eliminate the copays for medical and dental services inside of California prisons and jails. Co-sponsored by: Initiate Justice, Ella Baker Center
AB 942 — Access to Safe Food Choices & Food Security Act — SUPPORT
This bill would expand access to low cost, prepared meals at authorized restaurants with CalFresh benefits by making it a statewide program instead of an opt-in by county. Co-sponsored by: All of Us or None
SB 144 — Elimination of Fines and Fees — SUPPORT
This bill would end the assessment and collection of administrative fees imposed against people in the criminal justice system. Co-sponsored by: Ella Baker Center, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Sentencing Reform
AB 965 — Youth Offender Parole Hearings: Credits — SUPPORT
This bill would allow people to earn credits to advance their earliest possible Youth Offender Parole Date. Co-sponsored by: Initiate Justice, Californians United for a Responsible Budget
SB 136 — The RISE Act — SUPPORT
This bill repeals a mandatory one-year sentence enhancement that is added to an individual’s base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term served. Co-sponsored by: Californians United for a Responsible Budget, Ella Baker Center
DROP LWOP Campaign — End Life Without Parole sentences — SUPPORT
This campaign demands an end to Life Without Parole sentences, also known as the “living death penalty.” Campaign sponsored by: Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Post Incarceration Reform
ACA 6 — Free The Vote Act — SUPPORT
This bill will place an initiative on the California ballot to change the California constitution to allow people on parole the right to vote. Co-sponsored by: Initiate Justice, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Californians United for a Responsible Budget
SB 310 — Jury Selection — SUPPORT
This bill would delete the prohibition relative to persons who have been convicted of a felony from being qualified to be a trial juror, and instead prohibit persons while they are incarcerated in any prison or jail. Co-sponsored by: All of Us or None