Request to Speak for the Week of 1/30/2024
Don’t know about the Request to Speak (RTS) system? Click here to learn more!
We have had so many folks sign up for RTS accounts in the last several weeks! In order to help everyone learn to use their accounts, we will be publishing weekly blog posts about various pieces of Arizona legislation that are waiting for public comment!
Today we are encouraging you to explore the RTS System using HB 2054 (read the bill here). The Parole Compliance Bill is championed by our friends at the Arizona Food Bank Network, and has broad support from anti-hunger groups across the state, including the Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance. We supported this bill last year under the number 2211 as well! HB 2054 seeks to amend the process for formerly incarcerated individuals convicted of non-violent drug related felonies to access the SNAP program. Under this bill, as long as an individual is in compliance with their parole requirements, and meet the rest of SNAP’s eligibility requirements, they will be able to apply for and receive help from the program. Access to nutrition assistance is shown to decrease recidivism and childhood hunger rates, and ease a person’s transition back into society. However, the current application system for formerly incarcerated people convicted of nonviolent drug felonies is full of additional barriers that makes the program virtually inaccessible for some of the Arizonans who could benefit from it the most. For more information on the bill and its breakdown, click here!
LAMA is advocating in support of this bill, and we hope you will as well! If you have not used your RTS account before, or need a refresher, read on for a quick guide.
Click here to log into your account. If your account was set up by our office, you received an email from us with your password! After you log in, click on the RTS Application— the blue square with the microphone icon.
This will take you to the RTS dashboard. Select “My Bill Positions” from the menu on the list.
This is where you can add your opinion to the public record! In the search bar, enter the “HB2054",” then click on the bill that comes up.
Once you have the bill selected, click the green thumbs up to indicate your favor for the bill. Then, click the blue Add button.
After you click Add, your stance will be noted on record. It will added to the list of bills you support, and your name will be added to the list of the bill’s supporters.
And there you have it, you have now officially used your RTS account to support HB 2054! The RTS system offers many more opportunities to speak on bills, read bill texts, stay up-to-date on committee hearings, and see who else has spoken on a bill, and I encourage you to explore it! Bills will be open for written and spoken comments when it is being heard in committee— stay tuned for our alerts!
