This month we’re recognizing the critical role employment plays in empowering individuals on their path to success, and building economically resilient communities. At JAN + JANF, we believe robust workforce development must include everyone, including people who are ready to earn their second chance.

Yesterday, Governor Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma reaffirmed the state’s role as a national leader in modernizing its justice system with the ceremonial signing of House Bills 1460 and 1462. This marks the continuation of building a smarter justice system that prioritizes real accountability, smarter re-entry, and justice for everyone.

Minnesota took a nation-leading step in ending the practice of towing vehicles for unpaid parking tickets when Governor Walz signed the state’s annual transportation omnibus bill, House File 3436, into law Wednesday morning. Under previous Minnesota state law, towing a vehicle from an expired meter was explicitly prohibited with the exception of vehicles associated with five or more unpaid parking tickets. Originally filed under House File 4762 and Senate File 4926, but later included in the annual omnibus, the measured signed into law today removes that exception.

Sponsored by Representative Tara Simmons (D-Bremerton) and championed by a broad coalition of community organizations, the bill acknowledges that financial obligations disproportionately burden low-income individuals and contribute to a cycle of poverty and recidivism that is detrimental to those individuals and to the safety of Washington communities.