IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – 2009 Advocacy Day at the General Assembly!
Virginia C.U.R.E.’s Annual Advocacy Day at the General Assembly will be held on the Martin Luther King Holiday, January 19, 2009.
Families and friends of prisoners, and interested individuals and organizations, will meet at 8:00 a.m. in Room 7 West of the General Assembly Building, Capitol Square, Richmond, Virginia (corner of Broad & 9th Streets) for a briefing on legislation and plans for the day, receive handouts for your legislators and to breakout into groups.
This is the opportunity to join with others to show your support or opposition to legislation that affects prison and criminal justice issues. Please call your State Senator and Delegate to arrange for an appointment after 9 a.m. on January 19th.
YOU are an outside voice for your loved one, friend or acquaintance who is or was in prison. You can make a difference by taking this opportunity to participate with a group in support or opposition to legislation before the General Assembly. All are welcome to take part in this event. Ex-offenders are urged to attend.
Contact Virginia C.U.R.E. by email or phone if you plan to attend Advocacy Day so we will have enough materials for everyone to handout to their senator and delegate (two orange informational folders and two C.U.R.E. ballpoint pens) as a reminder the legislation we support or oppose. Please reply to [email protected] or call 703-272-3624.
Below are excerpts from the General assembly website: http://legis.state.va.us/
General Assembly Members’ Responsibilities
The General Assembly’s chief responsibilities are to represent citizens in the formulation of public policy, enact laws of the Commonwealth, approve the budget, levy taxes, elect judges and confirm appointments by the Governor.
Contacting Your Legislator
As a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of your greatest responsibilities is to help elect the legislators who represent you, your family and all Virginians. There are a number of online resources available on the Virginia General Assembly website to assist you in taking an active role in the legislative process:
Know who your legislators are and how to contact them. If you don’t know who represents you, you can find out by using Who’s My Legislator. In addition, a biographical page on each delegate and senator is available from the General Assembly’s homepage.
Contact your representative about a particular issue before the Legislature takes action on it. Using the Legislative Information System, you can track legislation and review committee agendas prior to a meeting. You can also testify before committees on issues important to you.