Pennsylvania made history in June with the passage of a landmark criminal justice reform known as “clean slate” legislation. The new law, House Bill 1419, authorizes three major changes:

·         Automatically limits access to certain criminal records for people who committed second and third-degree misdemeanors if they remain crime free for ten years.

·         Provides individuals with the power to petition a court to seal their criminal records for offenses that carry a sentence of no more than five years if the petitioner remains crime free for ten years.

·         Removes all arrests, indictments, or other indications of a criminal proceeding from criminal records if the charges did not lead to a conviction.

Petitioners can have their records sealed provided they meet all court-ordered financial obligations and their offenses are not exempt from the limited access provisions. Such exemptions include more serious offenses that involve danger to a person, offense against the family, or firearms.

Clean slate will help countless Pennsylvanians escape the unfair stigma attached to criminal records, allowing them to move on from past mistakes and look to their future. Such a reform was unthinkable just a short time ago when the “tough on crime” approach ruled the day.

The Commonwealth Foundation has been a leader in the effort to drive cultural change on this issue and bring commonsense reforms to our criminal justice system. In 2012, the organization led a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and advocacy groups to craft and pass bills bringing lasting reform to a broken system. This included sentencing reform, parole reform, and improved re-entry programs—reforms that improved lives and saved taxpayer dollars. Since these reforms were enacted, the prison population has declined by almost 2,000 inmates, the recidivism rate has dropped to its lowest point in recent history, and the crime rate declined.

Clean slate legislation builds on these achievements. CF has identified and will continue to advance further reforms that reduce costs while positively impacting society, ensuring that the commonwealth is not overspending on an ineffective system.

Criminal justice reform is an issue that crosses ideological lines, as evidenced by the overwhelming support clean slate received in Pennsylvania’s legislature. This bipartisan success story is a model for other states to follow. Why? Because everyone deserves a second chance.