MEDIA ADVISORY
June 8, 2012
Community Members Travel From Around State to
Weigh in On Senate’s Public Safety Agenda
CONTACT: Emily Harris, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (510-435-1176)
What: Grassroots advocates will participate in a Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing and then rally in support of reforms in public safety policy including AB 1270 – a bill to increase journalists’ access to California State Prisons. Following the rally, participants will conduct lobbying visits to their Senate representatives.
Who: The rally and lobbying day is organized by Californians United for a Responsible Budget (aka the CURB Coalition). Participants include The Center for Young Women’s Development (San Francisco), California Coalition for Women Prisoners (San Francisco), Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (San Francisco), the Friends Committee on Legislation California (Sacramento) and the Youth Justice Coalition (Los Angeles) and others.
When: Tuesday -J une 12, 2012: The Senate Hearing begins at 9 am and the rally begins at noon (12 pm). Senate office visits will take place throughout the afternoon.
Where: The Senate hearing is in Room 3191 of the Capitol. The rally will be held on the North Steps of the Capitol building, Sacramento, CA
Background:
AB1270 passed the California Assembly on January 26, 2012 and is now poised for a vote in the Senate Public Safety Committee on June 12. Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-SF) sponsored the bill citing the need for more transparency and public accountability from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), an institution that receives $9.2 billion of taxpayer’s money.
AB1270 is supported by: Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, California Broadcasters Association, California Public Defenders Association, American Civil Liberties Union of California, California Newspaper Publishers Association, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement, Drug Policy Alliance, Fair Chance Project, Friends Committee on Legislation of California, Pacific Media Workers Guild, Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California, Justice Ministry Team – Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Latino Journalists of California, Lifers’ Education Fund, Media Alliance, National Radio Project – Making Contact, Pacifica Foundation, Progressive Christians Uniting, Conservatives for Social Change, Radio Television Digital News Association, the Other Death Penalty Project, Transgender Gender-Varient & Intersex Justice, and the California Correctional Peace Officers’ Association, which includes prison guards and parole officers.
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