Background for calls to legislators to co-sponsor the Justice Reinvestment Act for Criminal

Justice Reform

We are asking you to call your state representative and state senator to ask them to co-sponsor
this legislation on economic and racial justice by the deadline of February 2.
After the deadline, you can still phone your legislators to ask them to support this bill and to
encourage their colleagues to do the same.
To find out who your state legislators are go to www.wheredoivotema.com
All legislators can be reached through the State House Switch Board at (617) 722-2000
Sample Calling Script
Hi. My name is_______ and I live in ___________.
--Can I speak to the representative/senators aide who deals with legislation about their
co-sponsoring a bill?
---I want to ask Representative____________________/Senator____________________if they will cosponsor several bills. One is called the Justice Reinvestment Act on criminal justice reform.
Its being filed by Representative Mary Keefe and Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz.
---Should I go over briefly what the bill covers?
Justice Reinvestment Act bill with lead sponsors Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz and Representative
Mary Keefe
The bill calls for: 1) Ending long mandatory minimum sentences on drug convictions of nonviolent persons, 2) Raising the threshold for what's a felony on theft from $250 (the third lowest
in the nation) up to $1500, 3) Lowering probation and parole fees like the $65 a month exprisoners have to pay in parole fees when ex-prisoners are already working at low wage jobs, 4)
CORI reform to lessen the sealing time before employers can no longer see court appearances
on a CORI which leads to people not being hired (change the sealing time from 10 years for
felonies and 5 years of misdemeanors to 7 years and 3 years), 5) Increasing funding for inprison education and job training, and increasing funding for reentry services especially for job
training and job placement. 6) Possible medical release of terminally ill prisoners if a judge
approves
Would Representative___________/Senator_______________consider co-sponsoring this bill?
[NOTE: If they ask you a question, you cant answer, say you will get back to them and e-mail
Sara Weinberger at spw128@comcast.net to get an answer. If they ask to be emailed a summary of
the bill, get their email and e-mail Sara Weinberger.]