Bernard Pollack

We are pleased to have released, "Voting Rights of the Formerly Incarcerated: Knowledge, Outreach, and Data Patterns of Qualified Electors in Pennsylvania," as directed by House Resolution 47 of 2023. The report examines when and how persons involved in the criminal justice system lose their right to vote and how those rights can be restored. In general, only a felony conviction can cause one to lose voting rights in Pennsylvania, and the disenfranchisement is automatically revoked upon completion of the sentence of incarceration. Commission staff organized and analyzed over nine million voter registration records covering the past 20 years and cross-referenced them to two decades of records for over 235,000 individuals released from Pennsylvania's correctional institutions. Four recommendations are included: 1. Codify the felony disenfranchisement judicial opinion. Current statutes had been found unconstitutional. 2. Improve access to voting materials for inmates of county and local jails. 3. Require non-governmental organizations providing reentry services to include voting rights education. 4. Add notice of voting rights to criminal court proceedings. The full report can be found on our website: http://jsg.legis.state.pa.usSee less

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Interesting analysis of federal use of P3s: ‘Privatization’ of non-inherently governmental functions: Why public-private partnerships are so effective—and so rare—in the federal government https://lnkd.in/giTRrTEZ

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Wow! After an earlier denial, President Biden this week reversed a FEMA decision that had denied federal disaster relief to Massachusetts communities impacted by flooding during an extreme rainstorm in September. Biden approved a disaster declaration last night, finally allowing residents to apply for federal financial relief— eight months after the storm. I wrote about the lingering financial burden of that flooding on local governments and residents in February. Intense and localized storms like these can devastate a town and upend the lives of its people, but they're not always large or disastrous enough to qualify for federal aid. But as climate change worsens, homeowners and municipalities are struggling to pick up the tab of these worsening storms. Now, with the presidential disaster declaration, residents will be able to access grants for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. Read the original story here: https://lnkd.in/eX3fUtzW Disaster declaration: https://lnkd.in/e8FPMjq6 #disasterrecovery #disaster #climatedisaster #climate #climatechange #disasteraid #emergencymanagement #emergency #emergencyresponse #floods

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It was my pleasure to moderate a high-level panel on Climate Change Finance Accessibility at NY Climate Week with Secretary Serena McIlwain of the Maryland Department of the Environment and Deputy Undersecretary Leslie Biddle of the Commercialization program at the US Department of Energy. This event was part of the Green Recovery Alliance, a partnership between Climate Group and the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS). During our session I provided remarks to an international audience and led a discussion with the following takeaways: 1) Markets for the goods and services that drive the American economy are becoming cleaner, greener, and more equitable as a reflection of our nation’s changing needs and the value added of these attributes to consumers, businesses, and investors.  2) New, policy-driven investments in technology and infrastructure are leading the way to this new economy.  3) Now is the time for communities across the US to capitalize on historic federal funds and incentives to accelerate the transition to sustainable markets and financial mechanisms, formulate new products and services, create a newly skilled workforce, and form new enterprises. I am pleased to report that CCS is working with states and localities across the United States as well as international partners to accelerate and broaden this trend with thought leadership, capacity building, tools, and collaboration. Thomas D. "Tom" Peterson, President and CEO of the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) Center for Climate Strategies Climate Group

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Today, more than 20 federal agencies updated Climate Adaptation Plans that expand agency efforts to ensure their facilities, employees, resources, and operations are increasingly resilient to climate change impacts like extreme weather #climate #climatechange #adaptation #climateleadership

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