I am Scott E. Peyton, Director of Government Affairs at Prison Fellowship, and I am writing to express Prison Fellowship’s support of HB 16 and HB 17. Prison Fellowship believes these measures promote accountability, public safety, and successful reentry, while upholding human dignity and using taxpayer resources wisely. We respectfully ask the committee to vote in favor of HB16 and HB17.

We need better public defenders that don’t not mind fighting for client then getting them take a plea deal young men that’s first time offenders getting sent to prison for years and there fines be so high when they out it be hard to get a job pay high fines and get on they feet they need programs to bring love ones homes to have a second chance program some of this young men went in at a young age and changed there life around and are amazing citizen but will never get a chance to show there improvement and why was parole taken away and why isn’t house arrest a opition for inmates to come home when they can be monitored by a system then sit behind bars when most times they have lack of staff to operate prison and staff are over worked we need a change

I am Scott E. Peyton, Director of Government Affairs at Prison Fellowship, and I am writing to express Prison Fellowship’s support of HB 16. HB16 requires courts to allow individuals to earn credits toward fines and court costs through community service or work performed while incarcerated. It changes community service from a discretionary option to a guaranteed alternative and applies to work performed on or after July 2020. We believe this bill reflects sound criminal justice policy that promotes accountability, public safety, successful reentry efforts, and human dignity. 

Something’s should have been looked into before and changed way before now.

Comments Document

My name is Seychell Williams, and I am the Founder and CEO of The Ruby Grant Project, a re-entry reform initiative dedicated to transforming the way returning citizens are supported as they transition back into their communities. I also serve as a Manager at Virginia Correctional Enterprises, where I lead workforce development, mentorship, and re-entry preparation for individuals preparing to return home or serving their sentence productively. Please read the following attachment regarding my support of bill HB16. Thank You

I support this bill. Out of my 15 years I’ve worked approximately 13.5 years doing jobs that people in the community get paid minimum wage and more for while I get paid 45c to do so. This work helps the prison community, DOC, and some jobs even help the outside community. We’re not asking to put the money in our pockets but for our work to have more meaning (working 14-16 hour days).

This bill is very important because this bill gives a man or woman the chance to work off fines that will have them stressing to pay after being set free - which may or may not result in more bad decisions because they feel as if they can’t get ahead. Having unpaid fines prohibits some progression moving forward, like trying to obtain a drivers license, buy, credit building, things that are needed to help a successful person stay successful.

This is personally one of the bills I support the most. One of the biggest barriers for guys to transition out of probation and parole is the fact that they have outstanding fines but have spent years working for anywhere between 1 to 3 hours a day just to make a dollar. If you’re not going to pay the population a wage proportionate to the increases in prices for items we’re charged for, then that work should at least count towards paying off those fines. The incarcerated populations’ work sustains the operations of the Department of Corrections just as much as any officer, counselor, or upper administration. On a daily basis, the DOC will not pay citizens at least a minimum wage to maintain the work handled by inmates.

Most men and women who have to pay fines cannot find work . There given a list of companies who supposedly hire felons but they do not hire they except the application but do not hire so these people have no way to actually pay money . Making community service work help pay is an excellent idea the only problem with that is finding companies who will allow you to do it . So if they broden the community services work to non profits and churches maybe even parks and rec it would give multiple choices and could be compketed successful

It is time to enact ong overdue reform in our prisons, jails, and courts.

I am Scott E. Peyton, Director of Government Affairs at Prison Fellowship, and I am writing to express Prison Fellowship’s support of HB 16 and HB 17. Prison Fellowship believes these measures promote accountability, public safety, and successful reentry, while upholding human dignity and using taxpayer resources wisely. We respectfully ask the committee to vote in favor of HB16 and HB17.

We need better public defenders that don’t not mind fighting for client then getting them take a plea deal young men that’s first time offenders getting sent to prison for years and there fines be so high when they out it be hard to get a job pay high fines and get on they feet they need programs to bring love ones homes to have a second chance program some of this young men went in at a young age and changed there life around and are amazing citizen but will never get a chance to show there improvement and why was parole taken away and why isn’t house arrest a opition for inmates to come home when they can be monitored by a system then sit behind bars when most times they have lack of staff to operate prison and staff are over worked we need a change

Something’s should have been looked into before and changed way before now.

It is already difficult when being incarcerated but to be released and everything you own is gone how do you live again . Court cost and fines are usually very high and the interest that builds on top of it makes it difficult to start all over for the most part just finding employment not having an address or vehicle is already a hinderence depending on the charges . If incarcerated any interest should be stopped because they will not allow work release if your not sentenced work release should be available to all and should be able to work to pay any fines or cost . If it retains to child support they should be forced to work release and made work until paid

I am opposed to any all bill that make it easier to cheat in elections like these bills being presented. I am opposed to any and all bills that make same sex marriage acceptable. I am opposed to any and all bills that allow full term abortion and allow minors to have abortions with out the parents knowledge. I am opposed to any and all bills that would allow minors to undergo transgender surgery . I am opposed to any and all bills that will raise taxes while the politicians are trying to give themselves a 150% increase no that is not acceptable.

Oppose Democrats and Socialists forcing gerrymandering in Virginia. We know that the left is trying to get power. We know the illegal aliens are one source for getting democratic votes. What happened to following the Rule of Law in America and following it without causing chaos, lockdowns, destruction, propaganda, riots, censoring, spying, fraudulent schemes, mail in ballots, and other forms of corruption?

The League of Women Voters supports HB44. Requiring electronic filing of all campaign expenditure reports is a significant step toward promoting transparency and making campaign funding information more easily accessible to the electorate, in the ability both to access the reports and to analyze the information they contain. The League of Women Voters supports HB162. The League believes that a public financing option for funding electoral campaigns reduces candidates’ reliance on large private donations and donations from vested special interests. A public funding option for campaign finance gives qualified individuals who don’t have deep pockets, or friends with deep pockets, more incentive to run for elected office, and increases the electorate’s opportunities to evaluate candidates on their merits and not just from paid advertisements. HB162 will give localities that wish to provide a public funding option for certain local elections the opportunity to do so via local ordinance. The League of Women Voters of Virginia supports the proposed Constitutional Amendment to restore the rights, including the right to vote, to those released from incarceration due to felony convictions, and those who, regardless of guardianship status, do have the capacity to understand the act of voting. The League also urges you to approve this implementing legislation, HB963. Democracy is most representative when everyone has a voice, and thus voting should be protected in our state Constitution. Only two or three states permanently disenfranchise individuals who have felony convictions. At present, it is estimated that many thousands of eligible people are still disenfranchised in Virginia, with a disproportionate effect on minority and lower income Virginians. People whose incarceration has ended should not be penalized for life without the vote. Everyone deserves a second chance. With respect to any citizen subject to adjudication of capacity, it is imperative that the court make an individualized determination as to the person’s capacity to understand the act of voting. Voter registrars have frequently lacked clear guidance from the court and, as a consequence, have disenfranchised citizens who should have the right to vote, because those citizens understand what it means to vote, know how to do it, and they wish to do it. If this resolution passes, the voters of Virginia would have an opportunity to voice their support or opposition at the ballot box in November. We approve the text of the resolution and urge the Committee to vote in favor.

The League of Women Voters supports HB44. Requiring electronic filing of all campaign expenditure reports is a significant step toward promoting transparency and making campaign funding information more easily accessible to the electorate, in the ability both to access the reports and to analyze the information they contain. The League of Women Voters also supports HB162. The League believes that a public financing option for funding electoral campaigns reduces candidates’ reliance on large private donations and donations from vested special interests. A public funding option for campaign finance gives qualified individuals who don’t have deep pockets, or friends with deep pockets, more incentive to run for elected office, and increases the electorate’s opportunities to evaluate candidates on their merits and not just from paid advertisements. HB162 will give localities that wish to provide a public funding option for certain local elections the opportunity to do so via local ordinance.

The Virginia Coalition for Open Government supports this bill because it turns campaign finance disclosure from a formal compliance exercise into a meaningful transparency tool that the public can actually use. Transparency only works if information is usable.
 Requiring reports to be filed is not enough if the data is buried in PDFs, scanned forms or systems that are difficult to navigate. A searchable, sortable database makes disclosure real, not just theoretical. Journalists, watchdog groups, academics and ordinary voters would benefit from an intuitive interface and would democratize access to information that already belongs to the public.

My husband and I are extremely concerned about proposed abortion bills and legislation. We have lived in this state for many years and never dreamed of these bills moving forward and are aghast at the thought of it. We are vehemently opposed to any such passage of abortion and whole heartedly in favor of preserving and protecting all life espeically of the most vulnerable unborn life that all science now admits. Please say "no" to such bills.

SUPPORT House Bill 120 the Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman established by this bill will help to support residential public utility customers by providing an independent resource to assist in navigating utility-related concerns. The Ombudsman can offer impartial guidance, help resolve disputes, and improve access to information for individuals and communities that lack the resources or familiarity with regulatory processes to effectively advocate for themselves. By institutionalizing this function, HB 120 strengthens transparency, accountability, and equitable access to assistance and oversight.

HB3 Why do we have to pay for another "group" to tell people they get free money to fix their homes? Why should I have to work 3x as hard for what little I get, because someone else isn't willing to work? HB67 Offshore wind isn't going anywhere. Why are we having this? This is useless. HB74 How about we can recover the costs of lobbying out of the executives' pay. The SCC keeps approving garbage, and if VEPCO was required to be as watched as the regular people are, and with public reporting for all their fraud and abuse, we'd have lower rates (removing the clean energy money sucking mandates). Stop taking VEPCO's money, you're paid off just like a crook and then vote for it. HB120 The SCC is supposed to protect us!! We don't need MORE layers of govt doing the same thing. Either the SCC is doing it or it isn't. It is not, so get rid of it.

SUBJECT LINE: VOTE YES on Delegate Cohen's HB231 Dear Members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Government and Capital Outlay, Please Vote YES on HB231. I am a parent of a daughter who is autistic. I am very grateful to the Behavioral Health Commission, the Autism Advisory Council, and the Disability Commission for endorsing the concept and/or recommending an Autism Commission. An Autism Commission could address the unique and diverse needs of the autism community. Virginia's services are fragmented and insufficient to provide families with consistent support. A dedicated commission could streamline and improve service delivery by recommending comprehensive systems that bridge these gaps to the autism community. This bill is important to me because I have struggled with disproportionate burdens on families and significant financial, emotional, and logistical burdens due to the high cost of therapies, inadequate public support, and limited crisis support options. Becoming a Commission means there will be staff to assist with research on complex issues and look for data-driven answers. Please VOTE YES on HB231. Sincerely, Piumini Wanigasundera.

I support creating this group to help people like me who have Autism and need help in getting our voices heard.

I support creating this group to help people like me who have Autism and need help in getting our voices heard.

As Vice President of the Virginia Autism Project and parent of an adult daughter with profound autism, I would strongly encourage the subcommittee to support this bill. Our community needs a comprehensive autism commission that is adamantly focused on targeted issues that are important to the autism community, without delay and without a gap in time or resources.

I am the parent and advocate of a 28 year old non speaking autistic with seizures. I also work with Our Stomping Ground, a nonprofit in NOVA that supports people with disabilities in inclusive housing and community. I support HB231, which would elevate the Autism Advisory Council to an Autism Commission. This was a recommendation from both the Behavioral Health Commission and the Autism Advisory Council. An Autism Commission could address the unique and diverse needs of the autism community. Virginia's services are fragmented and insufficient to provide families with consistent support. A dedicated commission could streamline and improve service delivery by recommending comprehensive systems that bridge these gaps to the autism community. Outcomes in employment and education are still quite abysmal for this population and an Autism Commission could take the Commonwealth a long way in improving lives for this vulnerable population. Thank you for your consideration.

I support HB231, which would elevate the Autism Advisory Council to an Autism Commission. This was a recommendation from both the Behavioral Health Commission and the Autism Advisory Council. An Autism Commission could address the unique and diverse needs of the autism community. Virginia's services are fragmented and insufficient to provide families with consistent support. A dedicated commission could streamline and improve service delivery by recommending comprehensive systems that bridge these gaps to the autism community. Adult autistics often require job support, communication support, or more intensive levels of care in the community and the home. The needed support is non-existent and families are unable access the services.

I am both a Parent and service provider. I support HB231, which would elevate the Autism Advisory Council to an Autism Commission. This was a recommendation from both the Behavioral Health Commission and the Autism Advisory Council. An Autism Commission could address the unique and diverse needs of the autism community. Virginia's services are fragmented and insufficient to provide families with consistent support. A dedicated commission could streamline and improve service delivery by recommending comprehensive systems that bridge these gaps to the autism community. A Commission will allow for research of proven and effective methods to address autism-specific challenges.

Please vote YES on HB231: The Virginia Autism Project joins with the Behavioral Health Commission, the Autism Advisory Council, the Arc and other autism advocacy groups in the Commonwealth to ask that you VOTE YES ON HB231 by Delegate Cohen. This will elevate the Autism Advisory Council to an Autism Commission and allow for staff to do research and thus enable the Commission to provide autism focused recommendations to the legislature to address the gaps in Virginia’s policies for job support, housing options, crisis services, communication needs, and Medicaid Waiver services, to name a few. Virginia’s autism community needs proven and effective methods to address autism-specific challenges within the multiple support networks of agencies providing services. One example is the gaps in crisis services that result when an autistic individual is sent to an inappropriate placement, like a jail or a mental health hospital, when they are in crisis. JLARC has reported inappropriate admissions to state psychiatric hospitals: “These inappropriate admissions include individuals with neurocognitive disorders (i.e., dementia) and neurodevelopmental disorders (i.e., autism spectrum disorder), who accounted for 10 percent of state psychiatric hospital discharges in FY23. While they are a small percentage of state hospital patients, they stay for relatively long periods, even though state hospital staff generally do not have the expertise to appropriately care for them. In addition, state psychiatric hospital staff frequently reported concerns regarding the safety and well-being of patients with neurocognitive and neurodevelopmental diagnoses.” https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/summary/Rpt584Sum-1.pdf Rates of autism in the population are increasing rapidly. This population has unique and diverse needs. The needs of this community permeate throughout society as the autistic population ages into adulthood. Integration with support and acceptance of diversity does not happen without a focus on improving public policy. No other commission currently exists in Virginia that can and will provide this research based autism focused scrutiny. Please vote YES on HB231.

Our Virginia Autism Foundation is in full support of this legislation and respectfully ask for your support as well. Our Autism community will benefit from a full commission and will serve many in our commonwealth. Thank you, Mark Llobell Virginia Autism Foundation Founder CEO