Our Legislative Agenda in PA
Straight Ahead lobbies Pennsylvania’s state legislature in support of our campaigns to liberate people from mass incarceration and its horrors.
Expand Decarceration
Straight Ahead works to advance and support legislation that promotes decarceration in Pennsylvania. As a leading member of the Free Our People Coalition, we lead lobbying efforts to pass parole eligibility for all so we can bring our people home. In addition, as a founding member of the PA Justice Alliance we work to organize and provide public education to counter legislation that increases incarceration.
Currently, we are supporting the following bills in the PA legislature:
PA State House
House Bill 150 (HB 150)—Medical Release
Introduced: April 17, 2025
Committee: House Judiciary
Prime Sponsor: Reps. Rick Krajewski and Torren Ecker
Cosponsors: Hill-Evans, Rabb, Guenst, Mcneill, Fiedler, Mayes, Cepeda-Freytiz, Venkat, Sanchez, Khan, Daley, Borowski, D. Williams, Webster, Waxman, Kinkead, Warren, Hohenstein, Madden, Davidson, Green, M. Jones
Summary: Modeled after the bipartisan-supported Federal First Step Act, passed in 2018. It would create a process for courts to modify the sentences of incarcerated people with compelling hardships, including:
- a terminal illness, chronic and debilitating physical or medical condition/disease, serious functional, or cognitive impairment;
- deteriorating physical or mental health to due aging;
- the death or incapacitation of the caregiver for the incarcerated person’s minor child(ren) or the death or incapacitation of a spouse where the incarcerated person is the only available caregiver.
House Bill 1550 (HB 1550)—Release Opportunities for Aging Incarcerated People
Introduced: June 4, 2025
Committee: House Judiciary
Prime Sponsor: Rep. Danilo Burgos
Cosponsors: Curry, Rabb, Carroll, Waxman, Hill-Evans, Hanbidge, Sanchez, Khan
Summary: It would provide for parole for reasons of age and for medical parole under certain circumstances by creating a pathway for incarcerated people aged 50 and older, who have served the lesser of 25 years in prison or one-half their minimum sentence.
House Bill 443 (HB 443)—Parole Eligibility for Felony Murder Sentence (formerly 2296)
Introduced: February 3, 2025
Committee: House Judiciary
Prime Sponsor: Rep. Tim Briggs
Cosponsors: Howard, Sanchez, Kinkead, Hill-Evans, Webster, Khan, Giral, Kenyatta, Cerrato, Cepeda-Freytiz, Pielli, Mayes, Guenst, Hohenstein, Donahue, D. Williams, Boyd, Green, Smith-Wade-El, K. Harris, M. Jones
Summary: It will change the mandatory life without parole sentence for second degree murder by:
- establishing maximum sentences at 50 years for adults, 40 years for 15-17 year-olds, and 30 years for children under 15;
- retroactively allowing parole consideration after 25 years for adults, 20 years for 15-17 year-olds, and 15 years for children under 15.
House Bill 908 (HB 908)—Sunset Parole
Introduced: March 13, 2025
Committee: House Judiciary
Prime Sponsor: Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El
Cosponsors: Khan, Krajewski, Madden, Sanchez, Kinkead, Waxman, Kenyatta, Burgos
Summary: It allows someone to petition the sentencing court for a termination of their parole sentence, if the person:
- is at least age 40;
- has been under parole supervision, as a result of the sentence, for at least five consecutive years.
PA State Senate
Senate Bill 136 (SB 136)—Medical & Geriatric Parole
Introduced: January 29, 2025
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Prime Sponsor: Sen. Sharif Street
Cosponsors: Saval, Kearney, Hughes, Tartaglione, Costa, Haywood, Kane, Schwank, L. Williams, Collett, Comitta
Summary: It will allow the Parole Board to consider granting parole to:
- an individual with a terminal illness, serious medical condition (mental or physical), or deteriorating health;
- an individual who is (a) at least 55 years old and (b) served at least 25 years in prison or half the length of the minimum sentence imposed.
Senate Bill 135 (SB 135)—Parole Eligibility for Individuals Serving LWOP
Introduced: February 3, 2025
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Prime Sponsor: Sen. Sharif Street
Cosponsors: Kearney, Saval, Tartaglione, Kane, Schwank, Haywood, Cappelletti, Hughes, Muth, L. Williams, Comitta
Summary: It will allow the Parole Board to consider granting parole to:
- an individual who is convicted of second-degree murder and served at least 25 years;
- an individual who is convicted of first-degree murder and served at least 35 years.
Senate Bill 387 (SB 387)—Parole Eligibility for Felony Murder Sentence
Introduced: March 6, 2025
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Prime Sponsor: Sens. Sharif Street & Camera Bartolotta
Cosponsors: Saval, Cappelletti, Haywood, Schwank
Summary: It will change the mandatory life without parole sentence for second degree murder by:
- establishing minimum sentences of 25 years for adults, 20 years for 15-17 year-olds, and 15 years for children under 15;
- retroactively allowing parole consideration after 25 years for adults, 20 years for 15-17 year-olds, and 15 years for children under 15.
Improve Conditions of Confinement
Straight Ahead, as a partner in the Solidarity Not Solitary campaign, lobbies to end solitary confinement in adult and youth carceral facilities throughout PA. We are supporting the following bill in the PA legislature:
PA State House
Establishing Mandela Rules for Imprisonment in Pennsylvania
Introduced: Awaiting introduction
Committee: TBD
Prime Sponsor: Rep. Emily Kinkead
Cosponsors: Davis
Summary: It would end solitary confinement in prisons, jails, and detention centers in Pennsylvania by:
- ensuring that everyone receives a minimum of at least four hours of out-of-cell time;
- establishing much stronger criteria for the offenses that can get people placed in solitary. Eliminates placement in solitary for things like disobeying a verbal order or having small contraband like extra pens, ketchup packets, etc.; and
- further limit solitary confinement for certain vulnerable populations, including people with mental illness, and pregnant and prenatal individuals.
PA State Senate
