SB295 in Senate Health Committee...Please Write/Call

Today SB295 (the senate companion bill to HB214)a bill which would allow those convicted of drug felonies to be eligible for food stamps and TANF once they get out of prison is coming up in the Senate Health Committee. Please take a moment and send and email or call the members of the Senate Health Committee and ask them to pass this bill. Below is the letter I sent along with the email addresses. Please feel free to copy mine or write your own.

Dear Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,

I am writing today to ask for your support of SB295, which would allow those convicted of felony drug charges, who have served their time in prison, to be eligible for food stamps and TANF. Currently, under federal law, those convicted of drug offenses are the only persons denied food assistance. Child molesters, murderers and rapists are eligible for food assistance upon release from prison but not someone whose crime involved taking a substance and not harming anyone else in the process.

When the laws keep people starving it raises the chances that they will resort to crime to in order to simply survive. If that happens they will go back to prison where it will cost taxpayers far more to house them for one year than it would have if we had enabled them to eat to begin with. This law also adversely affects children. Children have no control over what their parents might do, but under current law, they too, are denied food if their parents can't get state assistance while they struggle with reentry and readjustment to society after spending time in prison.

Please do the compassionate, humane, Christian thing and pass this bill.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Loretta Nall

lindacoleman60@bellsouth.net,
senbutler@aol.com,
larry.means@alsenate.gov,
senbedford@aol.com,
larry.dixon@alsenate.gov,
priscilla.dunn@alsenate.gov,
steve.french@alsenate.gov,
hinton.mitchem@alsenate.gov,
myron.penn@alsenate.gov,
quinton.ross@alsenate.gov,
harriannesmith@graceba.net,
zeb.little@alsenate.gov,
jabo.waggoner@alsenate.gov

A bill to support this session

Here is an excellent bill that is up for consideration during this legislative session. Please get involved to ensure its passage.

HB214 sponsored by Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa).

HB214 would allow the state to opt out of the federal law which dictates that those convicted of felony drug offenses are not eligible for food assistance from the state government.

I've have wanted to see a bill that addresses this issue for years. Drug offenders are the only citizens that this law applies to. A child molester can get food stamps as can a murderer etc..Drug offenders also aren't eligible for public housing.

When the laws keep people homeless and starving it raises the chances that they will resort to crime to in order to simply survive.

You know for a former prosecutor, Rep. England is turning out to be an excellent legislator! Please keep up the amazing work Rep. England!

I'm just now beginning to sort through the massive amount of legislation for this session. Stay tuned for a post detailing the good stuff to support and the bad stuff to kill.