ACTION ALERT - SB 94 and AB 958 Set for Hearings Next Week

Next week is a big one for supporters of two FMEP-sponsored legislative efforts, Senate Bill 94 (Dave Cortese-D15) and Assembly Bill 958 (Miguel Santiago-D54).

SB 94 is scheduled to be heard in the California Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday August 16th at 9am PT. SB 94, Judicial Review of Old Sentences, authored by Senator Cortese would allow judges to review individuals serving life without parole for offenses committed before June 6, 1990, and who have served at least 25 years of their sentence. Courts will review evidence of mitigating factors or reduced risk of violence consistent with changes in California law, and judges will have the discretion to leave the sentence unchanged or to resentence the person to a lesser sentence.

Action steps for SB 94:

• Submit a letter of support to the California legislature as an organization or individual:
• Click here for support letter template and instructions
• Contact your legislator directly to express your support for Senate Bill 94
• Call your Assemblymember:
• Use the Capitol Office phone number listed on the legislator’s website
• Email your Assemblymember:
• Select “Contact” on the legislator’s website
• Enter your personal information
• Paste the following script into the “Comments” section ⤵️ 
• Sample email/call-in script:
• Subject (if available): I urge you to SUPPORT SB 94

"Hello Assemblymember ______, 
My name is [Your Name] and I live in [City or County]. I am reaching out because I strongly support SB 94 (Cortese), Judicial Review of Old Sentences, and I hope you will too. SB 94 would restore judicial discretion in a relatively small number of old cases giving judges the chance to consider whether sentences imposed in the 1970s and 1980s are still in the interest of justice. This bill would impact people who have served at least 25 years on a life without parole sentence, giving the judge an opportunity to leave the sentence unchanged or resentence to a parole-eligible sentence. [Include a brief explanation of how SB 94 will impact you or your loved ones, if applicable!] SB 94 aims to reach an aging population locked into extreme sentences from decades ago that are inconsistent with our present-day sentencing practices. Thank you for your time and consideration."

Toolkit for SB 94 containing social media graphics, sample tweets (we're still calling them tweets here, no thanks to E*lon), SB 94 fact sheets - SB 94 toolkit (opens in Google Docs)

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AB 958 is scheduled to be heard in the California Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday August 14th at 10am PT. AB 958, Prison Family Unity Bill, would confirm that incarcerated people and their families have a right to personal visits and would remove administrative barriers that make it difficult for family members to visit their incarcerated loved ones. 

Decades of research show that these changes will save a significant amount of money for taxpayers by reducing recidivism (avoiding costly reincarceration), improving in-custody conduct (reducing disciplinary and security costs in prisons), and supporting healthy development of children with incarcerated parents (lowering social service spending).

Action steps for AB 958:

• You can submit public testimony by calling into the committee:

Number: 877-226-8163, access code 1618051

Sample script: "Hi, my name is ________, with (your organization if any OR you can say system or directly impacted), calling in strong support of AB 958, The Family Unity Bill."

Note: You should press 1-0 when prompted by the moderator. When you press 1-0 on your phone, you will wait and an operator will assign you a line number. At that time, you will be placed in the queue for identification. Remember your line number; the moderator will call out that number to identify you when it is your turn to testify.

• Share the AB 958 toolkit (opens in Google Docs) on social media in support of AB 958.
• Refresh your knowledge on AB958 FAQs and talking points 
• Submit a letter of support from your organization using this template here.
• Submit a letter of support from you individually, as a systems-impacted person (formerly incarcerated community member or loved one) using this template.

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We know there's a LOT of work here for our tireless and fierce advocates of safe, sane and compassionate criminal justice reforms; please reach out to us here on our website or on any of our social media feeds (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) if you have any questions. We are all so, so very grateful of your support in these legislative efforts to better serve our carceral systems and the loved ones impacted.