LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Monday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law a “Clean Slate” bill, which is meant to expand criminal record expungement opportunities.
According to Whitmer’s office, House Bills 4980-4985 and 5120 reform Michigan’s criminal expungement laws, making it easier for people who have committed certain felonies and misdemeanors to have their record expunged.
Those changes include allowing a person to set aside one or more marijuana offenses if the offense would not have been a crime if committed after December 6, 2018, when recreational marijuana use by adults became legal in the state.
“This is a historic day in Michigan. These bipartisan bills are a game changer for people who are seeking opportunities for employment, housing, and more, and they will help ensure a clean slate for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders,” Whitmer said in a statement. “This is also an opportunity to grow our workforce and expand access to job training and education for so many people. I am proud to sign these bills today alongside Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist and many of the bipartisan leaders who worked on them.”
Whitmer adds that research conducted by the University of Michigan law school, which was recently published by the Harvard Law Review, found that people who receive expungements see a 23% increase in income within a year. This means more resources for families and communities, and a broader tax base, without any negative impact on public safety.
Lt. Governor Gilchrist speaks on the “Clean Slate” bill on Monday, October 12, 2020. (photo courtesy of the office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer).
“This anti-poverty, pro-job opportunity Clean Slate legislation will reinvigorate the economic potential of hundreds of thousands of Michiganders whose records have hindered their availability to get a job or secure housing, and it will help us grow our workforce,” Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II said in a statement. “This is the right thing to do on behalf of people everywhere who deserve another chance, and will help improve livelihoods. There is more work to do, but Michigan has now established itself as a leader in removing barriers to economic opportunity for people who have made mistakes. I will continue to stand tall for Michiganders across the state who need someone in their corner.”
The changes proposed by House Bills 4980-4985 and 5120 include the following:
- Creates an automatic process for setting aside eligible misdemeanors after seven years and eligible non-assaultive felonies after 10 years.
- Expands the number and revises the types of felonies and misdemeanors eligible to be set aside by application.
- Revises the waiting periods before being eligible to apply.
- Treat multiple felonies or misdemeanor offenses arising from the same transaction as a single felony or misdemeanor conviction, provided the offenses happened within 24 hours of one another and are not assaultive crimes, or involves possession or use of a dangerous weapon, or is a crime that carries penalty of 10 or more years in prison.
- Expands expungement eligibility to various traffic offenses
- Allow a person to petition to set aside one or more marijuana offenses if the offense would not have been a crime if committed after the use of recreational marijuana by adults became legal in the state.
“Everyone deserves the chance to build a good life for themselves and their families. But far too many people enter the criminal justice system and end up cut off from those opportunities and are pushed toward a cruel cycle of poverty and crime. That’s not right, and it creates bad outcomes for all of us,” House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) added. “These bills are an important step to righting that wrong and helping good people who’ve paid their debt get back on their feet. I am glad we were able to find common ground on this important issue and deliver reform that will help people statewide.”
During her 2018 campaign, Whitmer had previously said that she would make marijuana conviction expungement one of her priorities while in office.
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