Gov. Hochul Signs Law to Seal Criminal Histories

New Yorkers who full their sentences and keep out of bother for a sure time period could have their felony information robotically sealed beneath an extended awaited invoice signed into legislation by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday.

New York now joins a slew of different states together with California, New Jersey, and Michigan, which have handed related measures lately.

The years-long endeavor to get the laws over the end line is seen as a significant victory in felony justice reform by varied organizations together with labor and advocacy teams.

New York’s “clean slate” laws, the most recent felony justice invoice signed by the Democratic governor, will robotically seal most felony information three years after serving time or parole for a misdemeanor and eight years for felony convictions. Sex crimes and most Class A felonies, reminiscent of kidnapping or terrorism, won’t be eligible for sealing.

“They’ve paid their debt to society,” Hochul mentioned about these with felony information throughout the invoice signing ceremony on the Brooklyn Museum. “They’ve gone through the process. They did their time. They’re done. But when they reenter society, there are still barriers to housing and jobs. I say no more. We’re here today to correct that injustice.”

The invoice was handed by state lawmakers final June on a party-line vote. Advocates for the laws say it’s essential for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers with felony information who, regardless of finishing their sentences, face hurdles in accessing safe jobs, housing, and training.

Melinda Agnew, a Syracuse resident who was sentenced to three years of probation for an assault cost greater than 20 years in the past remains to be coping with the ramifications. Throughout the years, she mentioned she was shunned from reasonably priced housing, rejected from a number of different housing applications, and denied job promotions due to her file.

“People have to stop thinking of those with records as permanent outcasts. I know countless others in my position who want to live healthy and stable lives but are locked out of employment and housing due to their criminal records,” Agnew, 47, mentioned.

She mentioned the brand new legislation is “like a dream come true.”

About 2.2 million individuals in New York have felony convictions, in accordance to a examine by the Data Collaborative for Justice, a analysis middle at John Jay College. The examine was primarily based on New Yorkers who had convictions from 1980 to 2021.

In New York City, almost 400,000, or 80% of individuals with felony conviction information are Black or Latinx, in accordance to one other examine carried out by the analysis middle.

Business teams together with firms like Microsoft and JP Morgan Chase have additionally lauded the invoice signing, saying a rise within the labor pool would make the state’s financial system extra aggressive amid a nationwide labor scarcity.

“Bills like this are going to make positive strides in the workforce,” Crystal Griffith, director of workforce improvement on the New York Business Council, mentioned.

Employers can ask about conviction information at any level within the hiring course of beneath New York state legislation, nevertheless they have to think about elements reminiscent of whether or not the conviction has any bearing on the individual’s capability to do the job. Advocates for the laws say regardless of this, these with felony information face substantial roadblocks to secure employment.

Some Republican lawmakers oppose the invoice, advocating as an alternative for an present sealing statute for felony convictions via which individuals can apply to get their information sealed relying on the kind of conviction and whether or not they’re a repeat offender.

“Make no mistake, we’re already a state of deserving, reasonable second chances. Judges have existing discretion to seal records,” mentioned Republican state Senator Jake Ashby in an announcement. “During a time of rising antisemitism and bigoted violence, employers will be totally in the dark about many hate crimes and terrorism offenses.”

But those that again the state’s “clean slate” invoice say the applying course of for the sealing statute is prolonged, cumbersome, and oftentimes costly.

Less than 1% of New Yorkers eligible for sealing felony information via that statute have efficiently performed so, in accordance to a examine carried out by Santa Clara University.

The new legislation wouldn’t apply to an individual who has a pending felony cost in one other state, and the brand new legislation will go into impact in a single yr.

In the meantime, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, in coordination with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, will want to present knowledge to state administrative businesses to allow them to seal eligible convictions.

Federal and state legislation enforcement businesses will nonetheless give you the chance to entry these sealed convictions beneath sure situations, in addition to courts, prosecutors and protection attorneys. Gun licensing businesses, legislation enforcement employers, and employers for work with weak populations reminiscent of kids and older adults can even be allowed to entry the felony information.

State Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, a Democrat, mentioned the brand new legislation is about giving these with convictions a second probability.

“This legislation isn’t just about criminal justice. It isn’t just about public safety. It isn’t just about economic justice. It’s about redemption, because people can change. People can get better. People can repent, and people can and should be forgiven,” she mentioned on the invoice signing ceremony.