Defeated SB 2100, which would have reclassified receipt of a stolen vehicle as a felony, and would have applied mandatory minimum sentences without eligibility for probation, parole, or earned release time

A broad coalition defeated three of four regressive mandatory minimum bills (HB 402, SB 2099, SB 2100); state avoided an increase of nearly 1000 beds in its prison population, at a rough cost of ~$180 million over the next 10 years

Helped defeat two bills, SB 2099 and SB 2100, which would have made autotheft and possession of stolen property subject to new mandatory minimum punishments

Passes a rule change at the MS State Supreme Court, which will ensure that a person accused of a felony has a right to counsel beginning at their initial appearance through resolution of the case. Before this rule change, representation was only provided at initial appearance and after indictment.

Helped pass HB 722, which decriminalizes fentanyl test strips; passed both chambers of MS state government with overwhelming bipartisan support, with a vote of 117-3 in the House and 50-0 in the Senate

Defeated HB 402, which would have increased penalties and set mandatory minimun sentences for the crime of fleeing from law enforcement in a vehicle

Defeated SB 2099, which would have reclassified auto theft as a felony, and set mandatory mininum sentences without eligiblity for probabtion, parole or earned release time

Helped pass SB 2082, which suspends child support obligations for est. 1,010 people who are currently incarcerated and have been in custody for more than 180 days; will impact roughly 3,200 families who are part of the State's child support enforcement program with an active child support case

Successfully worked to lower the unnecessary proposed minimums in SB2101 which addressed fleeing from an officer and carjacking

Empower testified at a legislative hearing on the status of previous criminal justice reforms, using an Empower report that demonstrated that the recent rise in violent crime is not related to the justice reforms of the past decade. The hearing leveraged an Empower-commissioned poll of Republican primary voters showed, among other things, that only 12% supported longer sentences as one of the best ways to fight crime.

Prison Policy Initiative (and other partners?) helped Montana pass a bill to end prison gerrymandering

Helped secure and protect the veto of a bill that would create new criminal penalties for “rioting” and would have excessively criminalized protest

Supporting efforts to end Juvenile Life Without Parole

Helped defeat several bills to increase penalties for certain crimes, broaden the criminal code, and criminalize juvenile justice reform

Blocked several bills that increased penalties, broadened the criminal code, and further criminalized juveniles

The National Council launched the FreeHer Campaign in 6 New England states which uses a distributed organizing, deep canvassing campaign model to educate and shift publicopinion about the need to end incarceration of women and girls and stop proposed new women’s prisons in Massachusetts and Vermont

Successfully stopped or weakened multiple bills aimed at rolling back hard fought reforms in New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York.

Successfully stopped or weakened multiple bills aimed at rolling back hard fought reforms in New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York.

After nearly 20 years of advocacy on the issue, we made affirmative public comments on the signing of legislation appropriating $6 million to create a licensure scheme for law enforcement officers in New Jersey.

Supported SB 47 ending driver’s license suspension for missed court hearings and overdue fines and fees payments owed in traffic and criminal cases; also directs the Motor Vehicle Division to reinstate all outstanding driver’s license suspensions for these reasons

With local coalitions, helped pass legislation to end Juvenile Life Without Parole

HB 139 was signed into law, ending all post adjudication fees and bench warrant fees; also expands the definition of community service to encourage participation in job training, academic or vocational programs, or rehabilitation programs in lieu of payment of all or part of fines, fees, and costs

Provided legislative and advocacy support to local coalitions around a successful bill to reform compassionate release

Successfully blocked almost all budgetary rollbacks to 2019's bail reform and prevented further expansion of charges subject to pretrial detention

Successfully stopped or weakened multiple bills aimed at rolling back hard fought reforms in New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York

After a successful ad campaign supporting bail reform in in key state senate districts—Vera Action have helped to preserve bail reform despite a strong push from Governor Hochul to continue rolling back the law

CSI partners passed the New York Clean Slate Act in 2023

Launched the Workforce & Justice Alliance (WJA), a groundbreaking coalition to help deliver business voices calling for criminal justice reform across the country

Worked with Color of Change to push Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, the largest investor in the predatory bail bond and bail insurance industry in the US, to divest from the industry

Passed SB 288 which expands earned credit release to people in prison, expands conditional reentry release for people with six months left to serve, and expands judicial release for people recommended by Ohio’s department of corrections. Together, these reforms will make Ohio safer and could reduce incarceration in the state by about 10%, or up to 50,000 people.

Secured violence prevention investments when Gov. DeWine awarded $20 million of American Rescue Plan funds in 2022 and another $20 million in 2023 to expand community-based violence prevention and trauma recovery services, including Trauma Recovery Centers

Weighed in to change HB 740, “anti-hooning” legislation that bars individuals from engaging in street racing; ensured the proposal limited mandatory minimums, allowed for diversionprogramming, and provided a pathway for drivers to restore their licenses if they avoidedsubsequent criminal driving-related offenses

Helped pass SB 844 which approves funding for SQ 781, a measure approved by voters in 2016 to reinvest prison savings from SQ 780 into behavioral health and other community-based programs

CSI partners passed HB 3316 in 2022, which brought Clean Slate policies to OK. In 2023, partners are working on implementation of the law

CSI partners passed HB 3316 in 2022, which brought Clean Slate policies to OK. In 2023, partners are working on implementation of the law

Helped pass SB 2490 to expand opportunities for people to earn time off their probation

Helped pass HB 2259 to limit arrest warrants and drivers license suspensions for failure to pay court fines and fees

In the first year of implementation, over 60,000 people have received services implemented through Measure 110 instead of funnelling into the criminal justice system. The state office of economic analysis announced that nearly $40 million dollars will be moved to the Measure 110 services fund to help pay for vital addiction recovery services. These dollars are the result of direct savings from within the criminal system due to no longer criminalizing addiction.

Passed HB2513 that strengthens M110, and it passed the House with a supermajority bi-partisan vote and is currently in the Senate

Health Justice Recovery Alliance and Drug Policy Action are working hard to protect M110 and have defeated several bills that threaten to repeal M110 or recriminalize possession and multiple attemtps to significantly reduce funding

Passed HB 2464 to expand access to the state’s victim compensation program, eliminate the 72-hour time limit for reporting a crime to authorities toqualify for compensation, and extend the time limit to file for compensation from two to five years

Passed HB 2032 to expand privacy protections for survivors of sexual assault

The National Council launched the FreeHer Campaign in 6 New England states which uses a distributed organizing, deep canvassing campaign model to educate and shift publicopinion about the need to end incarceration of women and girls and stop proposed new women’s prisons in Massachusetts and Vermont

Supported legislation to legalize recreational marijuana

Prison Fellowship staff and grasstops leaders like Lindsay Holloway, along with conservative partners, worked to delay consideration of a truth-in-sentencing bill until 2024

Worked alongside local partners to help the DAs office set up a Conviction Integrity Unit

Advocated for a bill led by Justice Action Network, that creates pathways for early probation termination for qualifying individuals who have demonstrated progress in rehabilitation

Spearheaded SB 0013, allowing individuals to delay payment of their fines and fees for six months after leaving prison

Contributed to the final passage of HB1743, which would expedite enrollment in the SNAP program for Texans leaving state prison

Supported HB 1819 to repeal juvenile curfew laws

Passed SB 49 which ensures that victims compensation covers relocation costsfor all survivors, increases caps on the amount of support a survivor can receive, andexpands eligibility to household members of victims

Worked to reduce the harm of HB17, which passed in a far less harmful removal bill than what was originally introduced by the legislature

Defeated legislation that threatened to remove prosecutors who exercise their discretion to decline to prosecute certain kinds of cases

In coalition with local advocacy groups, defeated a new rollback bill that would have undone key components of HB 2038, historic legislation passed in 2021 by REFORM which capped felony probation at a maximum of 5 years and misdemeanor probation at a maximum of 1 year, created graduated sanctions to limit when individuals on probation can be incarcerated on technical violations and limit the amount of time they can be sentenced to

Worked to pass SB1361, which features a number of provisions to improve transparency and accountability for the Virginia Parole Board

H. 222 expands vital harm reduction services throughout the state, improves access to drug treatment and recovery services including buprenorphine; permanently decriminalizes buprenorphine for personal use so that people no longer face criminal penalties for possessing it

The National Council launched the FreeHer Campaign in 6 New England states which uses a distributed organizing, deep canvassing campaign model to educate and shift publicopinion about the need to end incarceration of women and girls and stop proposed new women’s prisons in Massachusetts and Vermont

With local coalitions, Dream.org supported HB 1324 which has been signed into law, and modernizes Washington’s sentencing system to stop juvenile records from automatically increasing a person’s sentence

Worked with a coalition of local and national advocates in Washington State to pass House Bill 1412, which Governor Jay Inslee signed into law.; expands judicial discretion to waive or reduce restitution, fines, and fees based on a person’s ability to pay; allows incarcerated people to petition for relief from burdensome fines and fees; and creates a statute of limitations on payment of certain fines and fees, enabling people to come out from under stale debt

Fought in coalition against 12 bad policing bills, only one of which passed with limited damage done

Worked alongside local partners to pass HB 1169 which eliminated Juvenile fines and fees

Worked with Look to Justice and others in Washington to pass HB 1324 to stop juvenile records from automatically increasing a person’s sentence, signed by the Governor

WV Criminal Law Coalition members worked to defeat HB 2567 making 2nd offense trespassing a felony with a mandatory 1-5 years of incarceration

WV Criminal Law Coalition members worked to defeat HB 2471 reinstating drivers licenses suspensions for unpaid fines and fees

WV Criminal Law Coalition members worked to defeat SB 547 making simple possession a felony and increasing penalties for possession with intent to deliver

WV Criminal Law Coalition members worked to defeat SB 49 creating criminal offense for being under influence of controlled substance

WV Criminal Law Coalition members worked to defeat SB 540 creating penalties for urinating or defecating in public

WV Criminal Law Coalition members and the Vera Institute worked to defeat a bill which would have extended supervision for people with certain drug convictions for up to 10 years after they completed their sentence and parole

WV Criminal Law Coalition members defeated a bill to reintroduce the death penalty (HB2310)

WV Criminal Law Coalition members defeated efforts to rewrite of WV criminal code which would have increased penalties for certain convictions

HB 3552 deals with jails per diem by shifting some costs of incarceration to municipalities. This move could incentivize local governments to move more towards evidence-based alternatives like quick response teams, as well as enhanced use of civil citations and personal recognizance bonds.

HB 2847 imposing a life sentence for people convicted of selling fentanyl. Through the advocacy of grantee partners, this bill was not enacted.

SB 633 requires magistrates and judges to set a hearing within 5 days of an arrest on a capias. SB 633 would ensure people dont sit in jail for weeks or months waiting to have a bond set on a capias. This bill could significantly address the horrific jail overcrowding problem: Capias arrests were the #1 admission to West Virginia jails last year (a number that has grown 150 % in the last decade).

Passed HB4373 which declassified fentanyl strips as drug paraphenalia

SB 495 ensures that state public records laws apply to jails again

SB 558 prohibits law enforcement agencies from posting booking photos i.e. “mug shots” on social media for most low level offenses

HB 2594 relating to death penalty for first degree murder never advanced.

WV Criminal Law Coalition worked to defeat HB 3006 enhancing penalties for copper theft

The West Virginia Family of Convicted People (WVFCP) played a central role in much of our criminal justice work in the state. WVFCP set up phone banking centers in several recovery residences, trained residents to talk with legislators, and led daily phone banking projects on a variety of bills. WVFCP also regularly brought justice- impacted people to the state capitol to lobby.