State & Local Executive Branches

Maryland: State Awaits Governor's Signature on Disenfranchisement Bill Formerly incarcerated individuals are expected to be able to vote again as a disenfranchisement reform bill awaits Governor Martin O’Malley’s approval, according to the Washington Post. The bill would repeal the three-year waiting period and lifetime voting ban on certain people with felony convictions under current Maryland law. The bill was approved by both the House and Senate after advocates and organizations rallied behind the legislation, according to the Baltimore Times. For additional coverage, see the Baltimore Sun and WJZ-AM.

[Courtesy of Larry D., a prisoner correspondent in California] The Fleecing of California The fleecing of California is being perpetrated under the guise of “Prison Reform.” Recently there was a loud cry over California’s over-crowded prisons. And, once again, our great Governor has come up with this brilliant plan to reform the prison system, or should we say, fleece the public? He wants to spend $10 billion dollars to build more prisons. Common sense tells us that if we “build-em” we’ll “fill-em.” In other words, no matter how many prisons California builds, the system will always be overcrowded because of California’s outrageous sentencing laws.

For Immediate Release-October 19, 2006 Contact: William Dolphin 510-919-1498 Medical Marijuana Policy Signed by CHP, Attorney General, Governor ASA Lawsuit Settlement Yields Binding "Consent Decree" and $75,000 in

RIVERSIDE DA GROVER TRASK MAKES SWEEPING CLAIM THAT PROP 215 IS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW -- ADMITS STATE LAW PROTECTS PATIENTS AND COOPS, BUT NOT DISPENSARIES Riverside DA Grover Trask has joined with San DIego, San Bernardino and Mercced counties in opining that Prop 215 is unenforceable because marijuana is against federal law. His opinion may be found at http://www.canorml.org/temp/Trask_white_paper.pdf.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance and Americans for Safe Access Step In to Represent Medical Marijuana Patients in Lawsuit SAN DIEGO A San Diego Superior Court ruled today that lawyers from