Based in Oakland, CA, the Ella Baker Center advances racial and economic justice to ensure dignity and opportunity for low income people and people of color. We are grateful for the incredible work put in by people who are currently and formerly incarcerated, loved ones, and our allies who are impacted by these policies.
2025 – 2026 Co-Sponsored Bills
At EBC, we are driven by our vision for Truth and Reinvestment: acknowledging how “tough on crime” laws, segregation, disenfranchisement, and racial profiling have harmed Black and Brown communities, and advancing policies that reinvest in the resources our communities need to thrive. Our strength lies in our community and people power – people like you, who care and are willing to move our work forward. Our policy strategies are informed by directly impacted folks in order to make necessary and effective change.
AB 622 (Kalra) – Rehabilitation Recognition Act
A recent lawsuit has delayed parole reentry for our friends and loved ones who have participated in rehabilitative programming, earned a parole hearing, and found by the Board of Parole Hearings to be appropriate to release to parole supervision and reentry programming. This bill will end the delay and:
- Uphold voters’ decisions on decade-old laws;
- Continue to incentivize rehabilitation in California prisons;
- Protect current legal processes & prevent unnecessary delays in parole; and;
- Prevent wasteful spending of millions in taxpayer dollars.
Status: PASSED in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety, 5-0.
AB 1071 (Kalra) – RJA Follow Up
The Racial Justice Act prohibits the state from seeking, obtaining, or imposing a criminal conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin. While the intent of the Racial Justice Act (RJA) is clear, courts have struggled with how to properly resolve violations of the Racial Justice Act. This bill provides clarity and a more efficient process for determining if a violation has occurred. This bill also helps guarantee that those who may have suffered a violation are afforded an attorney and an opportunity to obtain the information necessary to file an RJA challenge. These procedural clarifications are vital to ensure that all individuals with viable claims have equitable access to justice to address the racism or discrimination that they have experienced.
Status: Passed in the Appropriations Committee and is now with the Senate.
SB 498 (Becker) – Indigent Hygiene Access
This bill will establish a standardized indigence threshold in county jails and juvenile detention facilities across California, ensuring all incarcerated individuals have equitable access to essential hygiene products. By addressing inconsistencies across counties, this legislation will prevent the harmful consequences of hygiene debt, promoting dignity and basic rights for those impacted by the justice system.
Status: On suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
2025 – 2026 Bad Bills
Below are some of the harmful bills — among many others which we are tracking — that EBC is fighting against to limit rollbacks of our past victories and preserve conditions of release, resentencing, and improving conditions inside.
AB 292 (Patterson) – Expansion of the draconian Three Strikes Law
AB 292 will expand the draconian Three Strikes law and further harm the very people it seeks to protect — all while diverting limited state resources that would be better spent on critical survivor services. We are all committed to preventing domestic violence, intervening to support victims, and taking steps to ensure real accountability, but AB 292 is not the answer that survivors deserve.
Status: Pulled by author; dead for 2025.
AB 1464 (Macedo) – Rollback of protections for incarcerated TGI people
This bill would undo current laws that allow transgender individuals to choose where they would like to be housed; forcing people to be placed in facilities based on the sex they were assigned at birth.
Status: Is currently being reviewed by the Senate.
SB 311 (Grove) – Creation of Involuntary Separate Prison Facilities for TGI People
This bill would deny some incarcerated transgender, gender-diverse, and intersex (TGI) people the ability to access housing that aligns with their gender identity. Specifically, it would deny transgender women convicted of specified offenses from being housed at women’s prisons. SB 311 would further require CDCR to establish a facility at each women’s prison to house transgender women separate from cis women. This proposal is part of the nationwide wave of hate-filled attacks against transgender people, and California must firmly reject it.
Status: Failed to pass in the Assembly Committee!