From the Center for American Progress (http://www.americanprogress.org):
Finally, some much-needed good news.
Pennsylvania has enacted the nation’s first Clean Slate law, which automatically seals low-level criminal records for people who stay crime-free for a set period of time. The policy model was developed by the Center for American Progress and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.
The groundbreaking policy will help thousands of Pennsylvanians with old arrest or conviction records get a second chance.
- 1 in 3 Americans has a criminal record—in Pennsylvania, that means 3 million people have a record.
- Nearly half of American kids have at least one parent with a criminal record.
- Roughly 90 percent of employers, 80 percent of landlords, and 60 percent of colleges conduct criminal record background checks. Even a decades-old arrest or conviction can disqualify an applicant, turning a criminal record into a lifetime sentence to poverty.
New CAP polling shows that 70 percent of Americans support clean slate policies—including NFL players Malcolm Jenkins and Torrey Smith, who have been vocal supporters of the reform. Following the success in PA, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) plans to introduce similar legislation at the federal level.
Please thank your Senator and Representative for voting YES on Clean Slate—find contact information at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/index.cfm#address. (NOTE: Only two House members opposed, 10 were on leave. Senate was unanimous. See final House vote at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2017&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_nbr=1096.)
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