Please call or email Sen. Jim Hargrove, chair of the Senate Human Services & Corrections Committee, to urge him to give SB 5295, the Corrections Ombudsman bill, a hearing. Sen. Hargrove's district 24 covers Clallam, Grays Harbor, and Jefferson counties. Calls from people in those counties are particularly needed, but calls from throughout the…
Sen. Jim Kastama (D-25th District) has filed a bill to establish acorrections ombudsman, which would fulfill one of FCWPP's major goals for this legislative session.Current co-sponsors include Sen. Dan Swecker (R-20th District), Sen.Karen Fraser (D-22nd District), Sen. Chris Marr (D-6th District), Sen.Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36th District), and Sen. Debbie Regala (D-27th District). Please…
Action: Please call or e-mail members of the Senate Rules Committee to pull HB-1359 out of rules and to the floor for a vote, and call or email members of the House Rules Committee to pull SB-5611 out of rules to the floor for a vote. Each of these identical bills…
We are excited that SB-6308 has passed out of the Senate and is now in the House Rules Committee. Action:Please contact House Rules members to request a pull for second reading (debate) and third reading (floor vote). This is the last step for passage!Background:This bill would establish a joint committee to…
We need quick action. the Senate Budget has included our task forceconcept to examine issues of depleted uranium and hazardous substanceexposure for the National Guard. The House Budget does notcontain corresponding language.The next step in the process is a Joint Committee of the House andSenate to reconcile the two bills.…
Action: Please call or e-mail members of the Senate Judiciary Committee tovote HB-1359 out of committee and members of the House Judiciary Committeeto hear and vote SB-5611 out of committee. See the Background below forwhy a Committee needs to process a bill from the other chamber.Background: HB-1359 has passed the Washington State…
There are three bills that require immediate action this week if they are going to survive1. Prison Industries BillAction:Contact House Rules Committee members and ask that HJR 4221 be pulled from the Rules Committee and sent to the House floor so that floor action can be taken before the cutoff,…
Action:Contact Sen. Lisa Brown (Senate Majority Leader) and ask that SSB 6308 be pulled from the Rules Committee and sent to the Senate floor so that floor action can occur before the cutoff, scheduled for February 14, 2006. Please contact Senator Brown at (360) 786-7604. SSB 6308 can be a…
PBS Frontline is presenting a program on how the mentally ill people end up incarcerated in our prison system: Nearly ten times as many mentally ill Americans are in prison as in psychiatric hospitals. In Ohio 16% of inmates have been diagnosed with a mental illness (a typical state percentage).…
Rising prison populations and high recidivism (re-offense) rates affect all of us in terms of public safety and diversion of limited public funds. A bill before the legislature, developed by the Friends Committee and key allies, will help ex-offenders become successful citizens once they are released. Ex-offenders usually leave…