Non-profit prison reform organization the U.S. Justice Action Network has retained WPP lobbying unit Ogilvy Government Relations for Washington representation regarding a series of criminal justice-related bills moving through Congress that make changes to current U.S. criminal sentencing laws.
The U.S. Justice Action Network has hired Ogilvy Government Relations for lobbying help with H.R.3713, also known as the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015. That bill would allow courts to reduce certain mandatory minimum prison terms on non-violent individuals convicted of high-level first-time or low-level repeat drug offenses. The bill was introduced in October by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and has been endorsed by the NAACP, the ACLU and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
The reform group is also going to Capitol Hill for S.2123, or the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. Introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), that bill amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to reduce life- and 20-year mandatory minimum sentences for some nonviolent defendants convicted of certain repeat drug offenses.
Finally of issue is H.R.759, the Recidivism Risk Reduction Act, which mandates the Attorney General and the Federal Board of Prisons to develop a system that assesses prisoners' risk of recidivism. That bill was introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).
The U.S. Justice Action Network account will be led by Timothy McGivern, a 15-year AT&T veteran who was formerly chief of staff for Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), now governor of Kansas.
Knob Petroleum, which is based in Panama City, has retained Ballard Partners to explore opportunities in Venezuela.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has signed to represent Eastern Air Holdings, which operates deportation flights for Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
Ballard Partners has lined up Australia’s Energy Transition Minerals company, an explorer and developer of rare earths minerals opportunities. It touts its Greenland property as having the potential to become the biggest rare earths producer in the western world.
Abbvie has retained Trump-connected Winston-Salem-based Checkmate Government Relations for healthcare matters and issues related to the life sciences sector.
Netflix has retained Bloom Strategic Counsel for regulatory matters regarding its proposed $83B merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
