We entered the 2023 legislative session knowing that it would be challenging – and it was. But the hard work of our team, our partners, and supporters like you resulted in many crucial legislative wins! Here are the highlights:
We’ll fight to defeat any bill that takes away a person’s right to decide what to do with their body.
That includes the governor’s 15-week abortion ban, or any other legislation that seeks to restrict access to reproductive healthcare. The decision to have or not have children should be in the hands of people, not politicians. We are also exploring options to permanently guarantee a right to reproductive freedom in our Commonwealth and will continue to work with our partners to determine the best path forward.
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The current administration seems to be focused on violating the rights and erasing the existence of LGBTQ+ people, especially young people.
We will fight to block any bill that will result in harm or discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in our communities and in our schools.
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The administration has prioritized classroom censorship with attempts to ban “divisive concepts” and has emboldened attempts across the state to ban books – typically authored by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people.
We will bring the full weight of our efforts to kill legislation that seeks to further censor books or ban the teaching of inclusive history in our schools. Such legislation is not good for students, for families, or for Virginia.
In recent years, Virginia went from being the second hardest state in the country in which to vote to being among the top states for ease of voting.
We will oppose any and all efforts to roll back that progress. And we have not lost sight of the need for an equitable Amendment that guarantees the right to vote for every Virginian over the age of 18.
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We’ll once again work hard to pass Second Look legislation this year.
Second Look allows people who’ve taken steps to rehabilitate themselves to go back before a judge to show they’ve done the work to merit a reduced sentence. Data shows that extremely long sentences don’t increase public safety. Everyone deserves a second chance.
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Last year, instead of passing bills to reduce profiteering in Virginia’s prisons and jails, legislators turned those proposals into studies. This year, we’ll be supporting these bills as they return to the General Assembly.
Incarcerated people and their families are deeply burdened by price-gouging for commissary goods and services like phone calls and emails. Families with incarcerated loved ones should not be funding prisons and jails, and they shouldn’t have to go into debt just to stay in touch with their loved ones. Updates on prison and jail profiteering are on page 2 of the end-of-session report below:
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We continue to push for legislation for independent oversight of the Virginia Department of Correction (VDOC).
VDOC has a $1.6 billion dollar budget, houses almost 25,000 people in 43 facilities, and employs 11,000 staff members. Yet it is allowed to operate in secret with no accountability for what happens behind bars. With no meaningful oversight, serious grievances from people who are incarcerated or from staff go unaddressed, while VDOC can take whatever actions it pleases without consequences. An agency of its size that impacts as many people as it does needs independent oversight to ensure that people are treated humanely.
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In 2022, Gov. Youngkin rolled back the Earned Sentence Credits expansion through a budget amendment.
That resulted in hundreds of people who had done the work to rehabilitate – and were scheduled to come home – being told their hard-earned releases would be delayed. That was just wrong. We anticipate there will be bills this legislative session aimed at making the governor’s budget amendments permanent, further rolling back the progress on Earned Sentence Credits. We will fight hard to stop those bills and to ensure opportunities for incarcerated people to earn their release. Updates on earned sentence credit repeal are on page 2 of this end-of-session report below:
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Existing parole processes are antiquated, unfair, and partisan.
Code failures have allowed the process to become politicized and resulted in incarcerated people becoming political pawns. We seek reforms to the parole board including but not limited to repealing Virginia’s Parole Board FOIA exception, transparency in decision-making about parole, and a more representative board structure. Updates on parole transparency are on page 3 of the end-of-session report below:
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We’ll be on guard to ensure that other criminal legal reform gains – like ending the death sentence and marijuana legalization – are not repealed during the 2023 session.
We’ll also continue our support of the Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement to debunk the myths that VDOC perpetuates about its use of the barbaric practice.
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