Antonio Felipe

Recently we have seen a disregard and lack of respect for two black women who lost their lives. The families of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls have a right to know what happened to them. A process should be in place to notify families when they lose their loved ones.

House Bill #5349 calls for notification of next of kin within 24 hours of finding and identifying a body or reasonable explanation of a delay in reporting. The bill will have a public hearing in the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 9 at 10:00 am via Zoom.

It’s deeply upsetting that this legislation is even necessary. This is a wrong being righted. The right to know the wellbeing of loved ones should be recognized as a human right. I thank chairs Stafstrom and Winfield for hearing my plea and raising this important legislation.