State Rep. Graham Filler and the House Judiciary Committee today voted overwhelmingly to approve a plan to expand Michigan’s expungement laws and give hundreds of thousands of residents with old, low-level criminal convictions a new opportunity to start fresh.

Filler, who chairs the committee, said the innovative proposal would make Michigan a leader in criminal justice reform.

“Too many good people are held back in life because of mistakes they’ve made in the past,” Filler said. “By removing barriers for people who have already answered for their crimes, we will build stronger communities, help local businesses grow and improve public safety.”

A University of Michigan Law School study published earlier this year found that people whose criminal records are cleared tend to experience a sharp upturn in their wage and employment trajectories. On average, wages went up by 25 percent within two years of the expungement.

Filler said these results were observed under our state’s current expungement law, which is very narrow in scope. Right now, only individuals with one felony or two misdemeanors qualify, and they must wait a minimum of five years before they can start the process.

The plan Filler is backing would:

• Expand the number of people who qualify for expungement.
• Allow marijuana convictions and some traffic offenses to be expunged.
• Shorten the eligibility period for expungement.
• Establish automatic expungement for certain offenses.

“We want to make it as simple as possible for people who have made up for their past mistakes to clear their records and move on with their lives,” Filler said. “This plan will help struggling people earn a decent living, obtain stable housing and access education and training opportunities to help them get ahead.

“I’m incredibly proud to work closely with representatives from both sides of the aisle on this important issue.”

House Bills 4980-4985 and 5120 now advance to the full House for consideration.

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