Massachusetts will divest from Sudan
Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill which will divest Massachusetts’s pension funds from companies that do business with the government of Sudan. S2255 targets only those companies which are considered the worst offenders of enabling the Sudanese government’s continuing genocide in Darfur. Massachusetts is the twenty-first state to divest from Sudan.
Voting rights restoration moves slowly in Florida
Florida’s decision to restore civil rights to many ex-felons is proving only a partial victory for ex-offenders. Until this year, Florida was one of 3 states that permanently disfranchised anyone convicted of a felony. The new law returns the right to vote, serve on a jury, hold public office, and apply for certain occupational licenses to ex-felons. Released prisoners convicted of nonviolent crimes can automatically have their rights restored, while those convicted of more serious offenses must still go through a lengthy clemency process. The system already faces a backlog of applications which could take years to get through, and the prison system estimates that nearly 300,000 ex-inmates are eligible to have their rights restored. Many may not even know about the rule change and if they do, they must go through a lengthy process to have their rights restored. Furthermore, ex-offenders cannot have their rights, including the right to hold an occupational license, restored until they pay all court-ordered restitution. This provision creates a barrier to employment which just makes it harder for the individual to pay restitution. Gov. Charlie Crist made ex-felon enfranchisement a priority when he assumed office.
States outlaw smoking in cars with kids
Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a bill that will protect children in cars from secondhand smoke. SB 7 fines drivers $100 if they are pulled over for another offense and are then caught smoking while a minor is in the car. California is the third state to limit smoking in cars with children, although it is the only one to extend the ban to protect children up to age 17. Louisiana bans smoking in cars when children under age 14 are in the vehicle and Arkansas bans it when children under age seven are in the vehicle. Health experts have testified that “second-hand smoke in a car can be up to 10 times more dangerous than in a home.”
SCHIP bill vetoed
President Bush vetoed a bill which would have reauthorized and expanded the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). SCHIP gives children whose families are ineligible for Medicaid but cannot afford private health insurance access to insurance. The bill would have increased funding for the program by $35 billion over the next 5 years and expand the program to cover 10 million children.
New Jersey ends use of the death penalty
In December, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in the state. New Jersey’s legislature is the first in the country to ban the use of the death penalty; New Jersey has not executed anyone since 1963.
For more information on these state policy updates and others, visit the Center for Policy Alternatives at http://www.cfpa.org/blog/.
NAACP National Headquarters
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215
Toll Free:
(877) NAACP-98
Local:
(410) 580-5777
© 2008 NAACP
All Rights Reserved