LARRP’s Legislative Reentry Lobby Day with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, LARRP Policy Coordinator Joseph Petitt traveled to Sacramento to participate in the 2019 Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Lobby Day! The day started with meeting at the Sacramento SEIU Office Center, which was kicked off with a welcome from Zachary Norris of the Ella Baker Center and Public Safety Chair, Senator Nancy Skinner.
Then the EBC Policy team gave an overview on bills and brief training on meeting with Senators and Assembly members, assembled all of the participating participants with their lobby teams. We walked to the Capitol and spoke with policymakers on key bills that impact the reentry community:
- SB 136 (Wiener) Repeal Ineffective 1-Year Sentence Enhancements, the RISE Act,
- ACA 6: Restore the Right to Vote for People on Parole,
- SB 310 (Skinner) The Right to a Jury of Your Peers,
- SB 555 (Mitchell) Fair Access for Connections to Support, and AB 45 (Stone)
- Eliminating Medical and Dental Copays in Prisons and Jails.
At noon, 2019 EBC Lobby participants joined Senator Wiener lead a press conference that was surrounded by an installation viewing of the actual collateral consequences that ensue from 1-year sentence enhancements. Following the photo opp we were greeted and motivated by Senator Holly Mitchell, refueling our team to walk back to the Capitol for an afternoon of impactful lobby visits.
We finished the day back at the SEIU Office Center with closing thoughts and appreciations to everyone who came up to the State Capitol to rally behind the most important and pressing issues facing the criminal justice reform and reentry communities across the State.
