Payday & Title Lending Reform

Alabama Arise unveils people’ 2021 roadmap for modification

Sentencing reform and universal broadband access are a couple of brand new objectives on Alabama Arise’s 2021 legislative agenda. Users voted for Arise’s issue priorities this week after almost 300 people attended the organization’s online annual meeting Saturday. The seven problems plumped for had been:

• Tax reform, including untaxing food and closing the state’s deduction that is upside-down federal taxes, which overwhelmingly benefits rich households.
• Adequate budgets for peoples solutions like training, medical care and son or daughter care, including Medicaid expansion and expansion of pre-K to serve all qualified Alabama kiddies.
• Criminal justice reform, including repeal associated with the Habitual Felony Offender Act and modifications to civil asset forfeiture policies.
• Voting legal rights, including automated voter that is universal and elimination of barriers to voting legal rights renovation for disenfranchised Alabamians.
• Payday and title lending reform to protect customers from getting caught with debt.
• Death penalty reform, including a statutory legislation to need juries become unanimous in just about any decision to impose a death sentence.
• Universal broadband access to aid Alabamians who have low incomes or reside in rural areas stay linked to work, school and wellness care.

“Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for many Alabamians,” Alabama Arise administrator manager Robyn Hyden stated. “And our 2021 problem priorities would break straight straight straight down most of the policy obstacles that continue people in poverty. We could and certainly will build a far more comprehensive future for our state.”

The need that is urgent criminal justice reform

Alabama’s unlawful justice system is broken plus in hopeless need of repair. The state’s prisons are dangerously and violent overcrowded. Excessive court fines and costs enforce hefty burdens check over here on several thousand families every taking a disproportionate toll on communities of color and families who are already struggling to make ends meet year. And Alabama’s asset that is civil policies let legislation enforcement seize people’s home just because they aren’t faced with a crime.

Arise continues to look for required reforms in those areas into the year that is coming. The corporation will also work with repeal for the Habitual Felony Offender Act (HFOA), the state’s “three-strikes” law. The HFOA is definitely an unjust motorist of sentencing disparities and jail overcrowding in Alabama. What the law states lengthens sentences for a felony conviction after a previous felony conviction, even if the last offense had been nonviolent. A huge selection of individuals in Alabama are serving life sentences for non-homicide crimes as a result of the HFOA. Thousands more have experienced their sentences increased as an effect. Repealing what the law states would reduce jail overcrowding and end some of Alabama’s most sentencing that is abusive.

Universal broadband access would assist alabamians that are struggling linked

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the fundamental part that the world-wide-web plays in contemporary life. Remote work, training, medical care and shopping are a real possibility for millions within our state today. But too many Alabamians, specially in rural areas, can’t access the broadband that is high-speed these types of services need. These access challenges additionally expose a racial disparity: About 10percent every one of Black and Latino households do not have internet membership, in comparison to 6% of white households.

Policy solutions can facilitate the investments needed seriously to guarantee all Alabamians can stay connected. Lawmakers might help by guaranteeing that most communities have actually the ability to possess, run or deploy their very own broadband services. The Legislature can also enact targeted and clear income tax credits to advertise broadband for underserved populations.