Legislative Advocacy

I have been involved in several legislative advocacy campaigns in California and across the South, as both a full-time advocate and contract consultant. Below is a list of bills I have worked on, organized by subject matter and state.

Wages for Incarcerated Workers:

• California

  • AB 247 (Bryan, 2025-2026) - Addresses pay parity among firefighters in California by increasing wages for incarcerated firefighters while they are actively fighting a fire.

  • AB 248 (Bryan, 2025-2026) - Removes the maximum wage of $2.00 per 8-hour shift for incarcerated workers in county jails, allowing counties to set their own equitable wages for incarcerated workers under their jurisdiction.

Parole, Rehabilitation, and Release:

• California

  • AB 622 (Kalra, 2025-2026) - Requires the application of all relevant CDCR credits to reduce the minimum term or minimum period of confinement of a person imprisoned under one or more life sentences.

Youth Fees and Fines:

• Louisiana

  • HB 216 (Duplessis, 2021) - Ends the assessment and collection of juvenile fees for youth and families in the state of Louisiana. 

• Arkansas

  • SB 455 (Clark, 2021) - Eliminates court-ordered fees and fines for youth and families in the state of Arkansas.

  • HB 1754 (Hodges, 2023) - Eliminates court-ordered fees and fines for youth and families in the state of Arkansas.

• Tennessee

  • SB 2172 (Akbari, 2022) - Ends fees and fines for families with youth involved in the juvenile and criminal legal systems and cancels outstanding debt and collateral consequences.

  • SB 0889 (Akbari, 2023) - Ends fees and fines for families with youth involved in the juvenile and criminal legal systems and cancels outstanding debt and collateral consequences.

Youth Restitution:

• California

  • AB 1186 (2023-2024) - Repeals youth restitution fines, waives uncollectable youth and adult restitution fine debt that is over 10 years old, eliminates wage and trust garnishment for youth, and ends joint and several liability for youth.