Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1679 into law this year. Known as the Sarah Stitt Act, this law provides IDs, employment records, and other documentation for prisoners upon their release. By dispensing these, Oklahoma will equip thousands of returning citizens with the identification and employment documents they need to become meaningful contributors to their communities.

Lawmakers passed legislation to make sure more Texans in community corrections are equipped with the skills and training they need to provide for their families and contribute to their communities.

Texas lawmakers passed legislation to introduce text reminders to the Texas Judicial System. Now, each county will have a court reminder program to notify defendants of court appearances.

House Bill 385 passed, reducing the number of unnecessary and arbitrary conditions people on probation face, basing those conditions instead on a person’s risks and needs, and helping people succeed on community supervision.

In addition, this bill created an earned time credit for probationers who take part in faith-based programs.

As Texas lawmakers considered pretrial reform over the course of regular legislative session and two special sessions, Prison Fellowship urged lawmakers to ensure jail before trial is carefully focused and that low-income, low-risk defendants not be incarcerated due to unreasonable money bail requirements.

Although Prison Fellowship did not endorse SB6, the final pretrial reform package passed by the legislature, our team worked to improve the legislative language as it moved throughout session. However, our advocacy contributed to its improvement over time, including careful consideration of a defendant’s ability to pay before a money bond is set and religious liberty protections for charitable organizations that cover money bail for low-income defendants.

The Alternatives to Incarceration Act expands access to safe prison alternatives, ensures reasonable pretrial release conditions, and establishes fair probation policies that limit needlessly lengthy terms or extensions.

The Re-Entry Success Act creates rehabilitation and public safety-oriented policies, provides reentry supervision support to individuals about to rejoin society, incentivizes local jails to provide rehabilitative programming, and removes unnecessary employment barriers.

For Virginians with a felony to have their right to vote restored, Virginia must pass a constitutional amendment. This year, legislation passed the General Assembly as a first step to restore voting rights to these Virginians who have paid their debts to society.

Due to the prescribed process for constitutional amendments, the Virginia General Assembly must pass the voting rights resolution for a second time in 2022. Once passed, the resolution will be placed on the 2022 ballot for voters to consider in the Commonwealth.

Ever since 1995 when Virginia abolished parole eligibility for prisoners with a felony conviction, incarcerated people have lived without the hope of this meaningful mechanism for second chances. But because of the tireless work by justice advocates this year, Virginia has laid the groundwork for legislation that will restore parole in future legislative sessions.