Bridges of Hope

06/17/2026

AB 1645, The HUGS Act, has officially passed the Senate Public Safety Committee on consent as a bipartisan bill and is now headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee! 🎉

We are incredibly grateful to the families, advocates, community partners, legislative champions, and everyone who has supported this effort every step of the way. Your voices, stories, letters, calls, and advocacy have helped move this bill forward.

AB 1645 is about preserving family connection, supporting rehabilitation, and ensuring that appropriate physical contact between loved ones is protected during visitation.

Thank you for standing with us and believing in the power of family connection.

Senate Appropriations, here we come! ❤️

Restoring Hope California Essie Justice Group

06/05/2026

Hey Families,

AB 1645, the HUGS Act (authored by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez), has passed the Assembly with bipartisan support and is now headed to the Senate.

We need your help. If you are an impacted family member, loved one, or formerly incarcerated individual, please submit a letter of support explaining why family visits matter and how AB 1645 would help families across California.

Deadline: Tuesday at 3:00 PM
Support Letter Template: Please submit your completed Support Letter through the California Legislative Portal.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/150CT7aBlnok9WkpC_Fp1nKxdx7wn2panzuwuxjYOFNA/edit?usp=drivesdk

Thank you for supporting AB 1645 and helping protect family connection while strengthening opportunities for rehabilitation and successful reentry

06/03/2026

Come on y’all! Do you like paying for EACH text?! Do you like little Ms. GTL disconnecting you after 15 minutes MID SENTENCE?! ☎️

Advocates made calls free with SB 1008. Now let’s help remove the barriers that continue to interrupt communication.

‼️End the 15-minute tablet call limit
‼️Make electronic messaging free

🔁 CLICK THE LINK TO SEND IN YOUR SUPPORT LETTERS BY THIS THURSDAYYY!!
It couldn’t be easier!! Here’s how:

SUBMIT LETTER VIA CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE ADVOCATE PORTAL
How to submit a Letter of support :
Please click FILE then MAKE A COPY before drafting your letter
Edit your letter with the information highlighted below
Click the link https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/
Create an account, register as an Individual
Click submit a letter
Enter 498 next to SB, click search, then click next
Click submit a letter as yourself
Select Stance: Support, Subject: SB 498, upload your letter, review, and submit. BAM. 💥 YOU’RE DONE!!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzxg9mLIeVr8z9CT1uFQFKCNms1wvAh9geVShot7TU80BW6A/viewform

Assemblymember Nick Schultz, Chair Assembly Public Safety Committee 1020 N Street, Room 111 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: SUPPORT – SB 498 (Becker) Keep Families Connected 2.0: Prison Tablets Messaging and Voice Communications Dear Chair Schultz, My name is [Full Name], and I am a [relationship to inca...

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Olivia Gleason | [email protected] | 424.545.0578

June 3, 2026

California Legislature Backs Another Prison Closure as
CDCR Floats Staggering $73 Billion Prison Infrastructure Plan
CURB urges Governor Newsom to capture closure savings for struggling communities
SACRAMENTO, CA – Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) thanked legislative leaders today after both houses of the California Legislature responded to Governor Gavin Newsom’s May Revision by calling for another state prison closure by 2027-28.

“The Legislature is showing real foresight,” said Dax Proctor, Statewide Coordinator with CURB, a coalition of more than 100 organizations committed to reducing wasteful prison spending. “California cannot afford to keep pouring money into empty prison beds while families are being told there is not enough money for housing, health care, food, and basic support.”

Advocates say Governor Newsom deserves credit for helping prove California can safely reduce the number of prisons across the state. But despite years of community demands, continued population declines, and a recommendation from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to select another prison for closure, his May Revision failed to take that next step. The LAO identified the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad as a strong candidate, noting that it does not serve a unique system function and faces major infrastructure needs.

“These savings must be used for the people of California, not recycled back into the department that was supposed to shrink,” said Proctor. “Every dollar saved through prison closure should help blunt the cuts California faces to housing, health care, food assistance, and other safety net programs. Billions in savings should not disappear back into CDCR’s spiraling costs.”

CDCR’s May Revision budget totals $14.6 billion, including $14.2 billion from the General Fund. That is about $1 billion higher than the 2025-26 Enacted Budget. At the same time, CDCR’s released a new 20-year infrastructure master plan identifies roughly $73 billion in repair and replacement needs to reimagine the state’s current prison system.

“A department being told to shrink its footprint is already laying the groundwork for decades of enormous prison infrastructure spending,” Proctor continued. “That is exactly why the Legislature must act now. If California does not close more prisons with an eye toward reinvestment and repurposing, CDCR will keep finding ways to spend closure savings before communities ever see the benefit.”

The LAO has warned that California still faces operating deficits of roughly $10 billion a year through 2029-30. Closing one more prison could save around $150 million annually and avoid hundreds of millions in one-time infrastructure costs. California has already proven the savings are real: the Governor’s May Revision estimates recent prison downsizing will generate approximately $4.9 billion in cumulative savings by 2027-28. Unlike reserves or borrowing, prison closure saves money year after year.

“Governor Newsom has one of his last chances to hand the next governor a real tool for ongoing savings,” said Proctor. “The Legislature has put prison closure back on the table. Now the Governor should meet the moment, close another prison, and make sure those savings go where Californians need them most.”

Advocates are calling on state leaders to finalize an additional prison closure in the 2026-27 budget, secure the Governor’s support, and redirect all savings toward jobs, housing, health care, and services that support survivors of harm.

06/01/2026

50 Years of the Failed Death Penalty is Enough!
Tues, June 30
10:30 am
West Steps of the California Capitol
10th Street, between L and N Streets
Sacramento, CA
RSVP here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclkXcZvTlX2zw-jkbcd62DJvGYI_Muoe3_qUhIQrtn0IwQTw/viewform?usp=header)

Advocates will mark the 50th anniversary of the return of the death penalty to the United States with the US Supreme Court decision in Gregg v. Georgia. Advocates will display a 20 foot banner calling on Gov Newsom to commute all death sentences and 570 candles illustrating the number of people under sentence of death in California. Speakers will include leading state civil rights and faith leaders. Advocates will deliver petitions to the Governor's Office urging him to commute all death sentences, and an original work of art, “Justice through Mercy.”

06/01/2026

06/01/2026

Hey families,

Please read, share this post and fill out the Google doc to help the Bill Sponsors move this very important bill forward.

AB 1279 (Sharp-Collins), which would have protected California children from receiving juvenile adjudication strikes and allowed people currently in prison to petition for resentencing if their prior juvenile adjudication was used as a strike to enhance an adult felony sentence, died on the Assembly Floor earlier this year. Assemblymember Sharp-Collins and our coalition are committed to ending strikes for youth.

As part of that fight, we need stories! If you, or if you know someone who has been impacted by a juvenile adjudication strike, please fill out this form and we will follow up with you.

You can remain anonymous and we will only share information that you give us permission to share.

AB 1279 (Sharp-Collins), which would have protected California children from receiving juvenile adjudication strikes and allowed people currently in prison to petition for resentencing if their prior juvenile adjudication was used as a strike to enhance an adult felony sentence, died on the Assembly...

05/28/2026

Join Clemency Coalitions June 1st Townhall on Commutations and Pardons

While the federal government is ramping up ICE operations and we are sliding back to tough on crime rhetoric, California has a chance to move in the opposite direction and heal our hurting communities. The governor's seat is open, a new leader is coming, and we deserve to have our voices heard and make clemency an issue that the next governor cannot ignore.

Clemency, including commutations and pardons, is one key way to alleviate decades of brutal prison and immigration policies. Clemency is also a tool to unite, organize, and keep our families together. Behind every petition is a story of survival, healing, transformation, and resilience. These are stories of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, siblings and loved ones who have transformed their lives.

We invite you to join us, The California Clemency Coalition’s town hall to learn how to turn these stories into action - commutations and pardons. We will gather impacted community members, advocates, and partners to move this work forward, bring family members home, and keep our loved ones where they belong, with family, here. Will you join us?

Monday, June 1, 2026
6:00 - 8:00 PM PST
Register Here - https://bit.ly/June1Townhall

The CA Clemency Coalition is a network of organizations advocating for mass clemency by activating collective power of communities most impacted, advancing education, base building, and working with CA Clemency Stakeholders. We envision a future where pardons and commutations are granted for all, mass incarceration and deportation are abolished, and the power to make these decisions belongs to the communities most impacted.

This townhall will cover the following:
A brief overview of what coalition members are currently focused on
Clemency 101
Hear directly from community members who were commuted and/or pardoned, their process and lessons learned
Come ask your questions

Speakers:
Okha, Deputy Director, California Clemency Coalition
Thanh Tran, Director, California Clemency Coalition
Barbara Chavez, Ella Baker Center
Kelly Savage-Rodriguez, Coordinator, Drop LWOP
Tin Nguyen, Senior Program Specialist, API RISE

Join us by registering at https://bit.ly/June1Townhall.

With love,
The California Clemency Coalition

05/28/2026

A hug is not a security threat. ❤️

On Friday AB 1645 — The HUGS Act — made history in California, passing the Assembly Floor with 73 AYES and only 2 NO votes. This overwhelming bipartisan support sends a powerful message: family connection, healing, and humanity matter.

This victory belongs to every child, spouse, parent, and loved one impacted by incarceration. Together, we are changing the conversation around rehabilitation and proving that love can cross every barrier.

We are headed to Senate Public Safety Committee! Thank you families for all your support!