Assemblyman Phil Ting introduced a bill Monday that would clear the criminal records of certain people once they complete the terms of their sentence.
Assembly Bill 2978 would automatically clear the records of people with eligible convictions dating back to 1973 to make it easier for them to find a job, apply for housing or seek other potentially restricted opportunities. The bill is sponsored by Californians for Safety and Justice and has received the support of multiple district attorneys from around the state.
Currently, residents with a prior conviction can only clear their record by filing a legal petition, which can necessitate costly actions like hiring a lawyer and filing paperwork.
According to Ting, the bill is a companion to his AB 1076, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last year and will offer the same record clearance to new cases beginning in 2021.
Both bills apply to most misdemeanor and felony convictions, save for major felonies like rape, murder and sexual misconduct with a minor.
“While I’m grateful my law from last year will help those arrested after Jan. 1, 2021, millions of Californians today are still living in a paper prison,” Ting said in a statement. “Their records prevent them from getting jobs or housing. Let’s give people with past convictions the same clean slate that individuals in the future will be entitled to.”
According to Ting’s office, some 8 million people in California have a prior conviction on their record that can lead to a litany of legal restrictions.
The state legislatures in Pennsylvania and Utah have enacted similar laws and Michigan is considering record clearance legislation. Ting’s office expects the bill to head to committee this spring.
30 comments
Ok let’s remove anything that might keep someone from committing a crime. Less reasons on how your own actions affect your future removed. I am sick of all this go easy on the criminals. A person needs to be held accountable for there actions and choices. With this commit a crime and no it will be off of your record shortly and go about your business. And then companies and small business’s have no clue who are what they are hiring that may have the potential of putting them at risk as the criminal is hidden by this law. Crime is increasing in this state and these idiot democrats keep going easier and easier in them. Vote all of them out before this state is completely lost. Hold people accountable for there actions
The California Democrat politicians sure do love criminals. They expend more time, effort and money supporting and protecting criminals, then they do serving the law abiding middle class.
Prior criminal record is frequently a factor for determining severity of punishment for a crime. I wonder how it will be applied to repeat offenders. I also wonder if this will reduce the number of plea bargains.
No way to know how many homeless became that way, not being able to get a decent job due to having a record.
Bill text changes date of previously passed bill and has no new crimes in past three years which is good.
Read bill for yourself.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2978
Yeah, cuz drug addiction and mental illness never held anyone back from a good, high paying job in the Bay Area. I mean, who wouldn’t hire them? They’re just oppressed by the Man since they look at things like past criminal history whether or not they want to give them a job working in a bank or working with cash, or being in charge of all of the iPhones and electronics at the warehouse.
Wow! I’m not disputing that this is a bad law being introduced (I’m leaning against it), what I don’t like is that we should all be voting of these kind of laws being introduced. Isn’t that what we used to do? But nowadays there are only a few measures in the ballots.
No no no no no.
I hope this bill doesn’t pass.
Convicted criminals should never have their criminal history’s expunged.
This is something that should be decided on a case-by-case basis. Not blatantly let all criminals off.
These people put themselves in the paper prison, it was not an accident. They earned their way in, so they should earn their way out.
All this does is shift the liability to employers who won’t be able to rely on background checks. There are compassionate employers who give people a break. But it’s only fair that they know they are giving someone a chance; it shouldn’t be blind.
People hit water hydrants all the time. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t negative consequences when it happens. Having some experience with people in the ‘criminal justice system’, I can state that many convicts plead down to lesser charges offered by the DA. Weapons charges and manufacturing Meth disappear in exchange for no trial. So many of these folks are more dangerous than they appear on paper.
Erasing History has been a bad idea since 1984!
hey ting
instead of slapping all of the people who are not criminals twice and three times by invoking criminals have more rights than good non criminals
why don’t you use your obvious bloated power and come up with a bill that would have these criminals you soo seek to dismiss from all wrong doing because they in your eyes need to be cleared …that would put them to work cleaning up garbage from the bums camps and or building tables and chairs or small shacks ….
.have them earn their way back in instead of entitling them for being criminals
why does the democrat gov want to slap the good people and bend over for the criminals
answer that question ting and maybe just maybe you will keep your job
because any politician who is fighting to give rights to criminals and stabbing good tax paying citizens in the back taking away their freedoms
is a criminal as well …..and should be treated as such ….
how dare you and any politician cram down our throats that criminals should be released early and expunged and treated as normal people
we as citizens have to earn our rights every day by choosing to be good in a state that is fraught with criminal politicians trying to slap us down for being good hard working citizens
yet you want to give away everything we work hard for to those who care not …who don’t care about laws and even your job since they cant vote you in …..
stop being a democrat dog and show us you for the people who work and abide by the laws show some respect for those who strive and seek to succeed and provide for our families
instead of trying to increase democrat votes through our suffering by entitling criminals
we are constantly being barraged with stupid bills while our roads are still crumbling …these same roads we take to work every morning …
constantly being reminded that politicians only care about themselves and what they get …votes and contributions….
while they constantly tax and burden the working good Americans with their agenda driven policies …..shoving illegals and criminals and bums down our throats …..
if your so concerned for these criminals have them work at your house ….show some photos and bring in the media ….politicians need to own their choices as well ….
the free ride of democrat reign can only go on for so long when you are throwing us and our children to the wolves repeatedly and telling us its good for us to boot
stop wasting our time …..do something for us for once
Bring back the three strikes, you’re out law. We need to know who the career criminals are.
Agree! Bring back three strikes.
Oh goody, once a felony is erased the ex-felon will be able to legally purchase a gun.
Politicians are not stupid people, they are educated and most possess a pretty decent IQ. It boggles my mind how they can still be so stupid.
so misdemeanor and felony gun possession will be erased …..
hmmm seems counterintuitive to the democrat political platform of treating gun owners as criminals …..
say one thing do another as long as it gets dem votes right ….oh sorry left
Why should somebody’s record be wiped clean like a juvenile? What happened to accountability? Oh that’s right politicians need votes…
Phil you needed to be fired ASAP.
How’s that for Gratitude?
If the criminal record is dismissed post incarceration, it’s only dismissed publicly. Anything the criminal did prior can still be used against them if they commit another crime. Also, the 3 strikes law is still in effect and prior convictions that were dismissed count towards the 3 strikes. You can also not be bonded (in the case of financial crimes) even if the charges are subsequently dismissed.
DUI and driving on a suspended license are both felonies. Do you think that being convicted of either of those should automatically disqualify someone from owning a gun because they made a mistake 30 years ago?
With that being said, I do agree that dismissals should be done on a case by case basis, and not automatic for everyone. A criminal should have to prove that they have rehabilitated, and are deserving of the dismissal
Seriously…I’m just about done with this State…
Forgot to add that not all dismissed felonies will restablish a person’s right to own a gun. Obviously, any violent crime is one example, but even misdemeanor domestic violence charges that are dismissed will automatically forfeit one’s right to own a gun for life
Why?Aconvict is now equal to a well behaved never been arrested citizen?I smell liberals trying to clean up a big mess that wont ever happen.What ever happened to”being tough on crime” as they once said in this state.They are losing all their voters and that’s a;; this is about.Cleaning up the voter roll,trying to expand it,and trying to normalize criminals living and working among people that are actually safe.recipe for hidden disaster but they thrive on turmoil in Calif.It creates”clean it up” and “fix this situation” jobs.Self created by chaotic criminal policies.
Just doing this for his fellow politicians…
Remember folks…George Soros funded multiple DA campaigns…yes…even our own DA in CCC accepted his dirty money. Prison Reform as they are changing laws are not working. So many people are being repeated victimized by the watered down laws. Stop voting for this stuff.
We voted in 3 strikes and you’re in for good, WE didn’t vote to get rid of it. Why do they keep making all these ridiculous laws favoring everyone but us hard working citizens? I have no record, not even a traffic violation in Ca, and I am in my mid 70’s. .So they want us to hire someone for a retail business to handle our merchandise and $$ who had his record of stealing wiped clean? I don’t think so. Ca keeps getting worse. Every week another stupid idea or llaw.
OMG! More legislation to help criminals. We already need to repeal the three pieces of “Catch and Release” legislation that had given criminals a free pass and now more. Hey! How about some legislation to ease the WAVE of crime we are drowning under.
We used to think that crime doesn’t pay..Our liberal politicians appear to want to disprove that theory by alleviating criminals of their records and cash in with their votes and support…what’s next? are they gonna extract votes from the deceased.. Oh sorry, they have already done that…This win at all costs mentality must stop or they all will have lost total moral turpitude….
So disgusted with the crap of these liberal democratic (Socialists) politicians. The honest tax paying hard working people who support all these lazy ass folks have taken it for far to long.
There has to be a way to stop this horrendous group from continuing on and trying to pass law that jeopardize the rest of us law biding citizens.
Wake up and Step Up NOW>
If someone has a checkered-past, but has turned it around and kept their nose clean for 20 or more years after the fact, why not be given a clean slate?
Reading all of the comments on here really sucks because I am one of those people who this bill would affect. 10 years ago I was charged with receiving stolen property for picking up my boyfriends cell phone from the police department after we both were arrested. The reason why we were arrested was becuase someone had reported a suspicious vehicle on their cul-de-sac in Lafayette. They tried to charge us initially with burglary because there was a house on the street completely empty with no roof on it that at the time was being renovated . But they had no evidence to prove that was even true. So when I went to go pick up my boyfriends cell phone from police department they charged ME with receiving stolen property. The phone he had was purchased off the street and I guess was at one point in time reported stolen. So I took it it to trial and lost and even though this was my first time ever being in trouble since I didn’t take a deal they hit me with three years probation 45 days in jail and $1000 in restitution. Ten years later I’m just now finally getting off probation . Thank god . I have a two year old son and I have had to relocate from where I was born and raised in Martinez to STOCKTON. I’ve filled out so many applications for jobs , apartments and even state funded housing all of which I have gotten big fat NOs because of this misdemeanor receiving stolen property charge. The only place we are able to afford because I can’t get a job because no one will hire someone with a theft charge is out here in stockton where I hear gunshots nightly and since I have been here I’ve had three immediate neighbors who were shot and killed. I’m not a bad person i was on the honor roll my whole life cheerleader at Alhambra high school was a foreign exchange student who went to japan when I went to Martinez junior high. I was just having issues at the time I got in trouble I did the time finished probation successfully showed up to every court date and did everything the court asked of me but that misdemeanor still haunts me so now I’m stuck in Stockton one of the WORST places to raise a child. All because I can’t get rid of that misdemeanor
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