The NYS Parole Reform Campaign reports that Senator Tom Duane is sponsoring the SAFE Parole Act in the Senate, where it is Bill #S5374, and Jeffrion Aubry has sponsored it in the Assembly, Bill #A7939.
News from the Prison Action Network:
Now that the SAFE Parole Act has a bill number and a sponsor, it's time for the heavy lifting. Not in the weight room but in the legislature. We need to build a strong grassroots base that will put pressure on legislators who will have to be convinced that sponsoring Senate Bill 5374, or at least to vote for it, is the smart thing to do. Personal stories are very important. They connect the words in the SAFE Parole Bill with human beings who are suffering under the weight of unfair parole board decisions. The good news is that now there's an easy way to get started!
This week we are inaugurating our new interactive website, www.parolereform.org where you can learn more about the SAFE Parole Bill, sign a petition, send a letter to your legislators and to the governor, and download materials to pass out where ever you go. There's much more at www.parolereform.org; you can tell your story on the 24/7 storyline and watch videos of others telling how they've been affected by unfair parole policies [to see more than one, click on the channel tab]. You can even use it to find out your legislator's phone #. When you take action and send the form letter on the site, you will see the name, photo, and phone # of each of your representatives in the state legislature.
It's important to start working right now, since this legislative session is over at the end of June. Plan to visit the site www.parolereform.org regularly. Tell everyone you know about it and invite them to do the same.
[Thanks to Thousand Kites who have done all the work of creating the website and who will continue to help us improve it and move it out into the public arena. Your feedback will help us. Let us know if you experience any difficulties. But most importantly, please use it.]
(We need videographers in the Ithaca, Syracuse, and Binghamton areas. 1000 Kites supplies the cameras and the training, please email parole.reform@gmail.com if interested.)
FOLLOWING ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEES WHERE OUR BILL WILL REMAIN UNTIL THE CHAIRS OF EACH RELEASE IT FOR A VOTE. We still need a sponsor in the Assembly. These committees have to pass our bill before it can be voted on by the respective full house. If one of them represents you and you want to change the Parole Board’s policies, you need to convince him or her to vote yes to pass the SAFE Parole Bill, S.5374. It is now in the Senate Committee.
NYS ASSEMBLY CORRECTION COMMITTEE
Chair: Jeffrion Aubry
William Colton
Janet Duprey
Joe Giglio
Hakeem Jeffries
Tom Kirwan
Alan Maisel
Félix Ortiz
Teresa Sayward
Eric Stevenson
Harvey Weisenberg
Keith L.T. Wright
SENATE CRIME VICTIMS, CRIME AND CORRECTIONS COMMITTEE
Chair: Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio
John A. DeFrancisco
Patrick M. Gallivan
Joseph A. Griffo
Ruth Hassell-Thompson
Timothy M. Kennedy
Betty Little
George D. Maziarz
Velmanette Montgomery
José Peralta
Michael H. Ranzenhofer
Patty Ritchie
Gustavo Rivera
