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Indivisible CA: StateStrong
A coalition of grassroots Indivisible groups using civic engagement to advance progressive values in the California state government

Newsletter

March 8, 2018

               

In This Issue:

 

Collect Signatures for Ballot Initiatives to Fund Schools and Restore Voting Rights!

 

1) Proposition 13 Reform and School Funding

Last December, a grassroots coalition filed a draft initiative with the state for a ballot measure to close the corporate property tax loophole in Proposition 13. The California Schools & Local Communities Funding Act of 2018 would help protect California from the Trump tax giveaway by restoring over $11 billion a year in revenue for schools and communities. The measure proposes a "split roll" system that would increase taxes on commercial and industrial properties while leaving protections on residential properties intact.

Action: Sign up to help with signature collection.

 

2) Restore Voting Rights to 162,000 Californians

The Voting Restoration and Democracy Act of 2018 is a ballot initiative seeking to restore the right to vote to approximately 162,000 people on parole or in state prisons in California. The initiative needs 585,407 voter signatures by April 25 in order to get on the ballot.

Maine, Vermont, and many countries (including Canada, the Netherlands, France, Norway, and Japan) never take away the right to vote when people are sent to prison. The Voting Restoration and Democracy Act is organized by a grassroots organization called Initiate Justice, which engages with people directly impacted by incarceration and their allies.

Action: To learn more, visit Initiate Justice's website, follow them on Facebook, and help gather petition signatures.

 

Contact Your DA about Marijuana Conviction Reform

District Attorneys from San Francisco, Alameda County, and San Diego County announced that they would automatically expunge or re-classify certain marijuana convictions. Passed in 2016, Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, allows people with marijuana-related convictions to petition the courts for their convictions to be reclassified or dismissed.

The process of petitioning for reclassification or dismissal is an arduous one that often requires legal assistance and can take months. The Drug Policy Alliance estimates that over 100,000 people are eligible for reclassification or expungement, yet only 5,000 people had petitioned for such changes as of September 2017.

People with convictions on their records, especially felony convictions, have a harder time finding work, housing, and securing loans. Having these records expunged automatically can make a huge difference for people with past marijuana-related convictions.

Not all District Attorneys are on board, however. Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles County and Mike Ramos of San Bernardino do not plan to follow suit, with Ramos even saying that he wants to use those past convictions to lengthen sentences for people convicted of other crimes in the future: "That's the biggest concern for me," he said. "We couldn't use those for sentence enhancements."

Action: Of course, the best way of facilitating this is to get in touch with your local DA's office - the ACLU has been pushing a lot on this, and the DAs are still in the process of deciding what to do. You can find out who your DA is and send them an email encouraging automatic expungement of marijuana convictions by going to the ACLU page "Meet Your DA."

 

Indivisible CA: StateStrong in Action!

 

1) Indivisibles at the CA AG's Office for Immigration

In response to draconian GOP immigration policies, Indivisible members reached out to immigrant rights groups and raised their concerns about California immigration policy during a meeting with Laura Stuber, Policy Director for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, in Sacramento on February 8, 2018.

Of particular concern were how the California Values Act (SB54) will be implemented, how the AG's staff will respond to violations of the Act, alleged abuses at immigration detention facilities, adopting the strongest guidance for law enforcement, and model policies in communities.

Hundreds are being cruelly snatched by ICE in unfocused raids in California. The families (often children) left behind experience tremendous loss and fear. Indivisible will continue to engage with immigrant rights groups and the Attorney General's office, but this important issue needs activism and support from the public.

Action: Support the work of the ICE Out of California Coalition, ACLU Northern California, and Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC). Stay informed through their websites, donate to their cause, or volunteer with them.

 

2) Indivisibles Work to End the Tampon Tax

Because they are medical necessities, several states and Canada exempt menstrual products from sales tax. Indivisible CA: StateStrong supports the effort to end this unjust tax in California.

In support of this effort, All Rise Alameda tabled at two events: On February 21, the group participated in "Political & Proud" at Encinal High; and on February 24, the group tabled at the 30th Anniversary recognition of the Vagina Monologues at a "VDAY" reading in Danville.

At both events, organizers found most people had no idea menstrual products were taxed. Once made aware, participants were highly motivated to support this effort. All Rise Alameda campaign leaders focused visitors on the petition to Governor Jerry Brown. The campaign aims to reach 35,000 signatures by March 31 in order to build momentum and drive the Governor and members of the Legislature to a budget fix that would eliminate the sales tax on menstrual products.

Action: Sign the petition to Governor Brown to end the tax on menstrual products in California, and encourage your networks to share it.

 

Candidate Forum for Assembly District 2 to be Held in Santa Rosa

Interested in AD2? Incumbent Jim Wood is being challenged from the left by Kevin Murray, lecturer at Humboldt State University. It's going to be an interesting race! Indivisible is not endorsing a candidate at the moment, but Indivisible Sonoma County is planning a forum with the candidates. If additional primary candidates pop up in the meantime, we will include them, too. The deadline for candidates to file their paperwork is March 9.

Action: We're in the planning stages to host a candidate forum, so if you want to be involved contact Heather Young at Indivisible Sonoma County indivisiblesoco@gmail.com or, if you're an active Indivisible member, on Slack.

 

Legislative Update

The deadline for bills to be introduced onto the floor of their originating House just passed on February 16. The only way for a new idea to be introduced after this deadline is a mechanism called "gut and amend" in which a previous bill's contents are replaced with new language. All new bills now that have been introduced have to wait 30 days before they are heard in a policy committee. But committees are still meeting and hearing bills from last year.

Action: We are sorting through to figure out which of the thousands of bills we should support. If you'd like to suggest a bill that we should follow, submit it at bit.ly/statestrongbillsuggest.

 

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Indivisibly yours,
The Indivisible California: StateStrong Team

               
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