Bipartisan plan gives reformed citizens access to better job opportunities

State Rep. Graham Filler today led the Michigan House in approving a plan to expand Michigan’s expungement laws and give hundreds of thousands of residents with old criminal convictions a new opportunity to start fresh.

Filler, a former assistant attorney general who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said the innovative proposal would make Michigan a leader in criminal justice reform.

“This plan is going to change lives,” Filler said. “It’s going to open up new doors for good people whose past mistakes have kept them from accessing well-paying jobs. It’s going to help these citizens access financing options for housing and educational opportunities to better their future.”

A University of Michigan Law School study published earlier this year found 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 Michigan’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.

·       Require judges to expunge marijuana convictions if the behavior that led to the conviction is allowed under current law.

·       Make most traffic offenses eligible for expungement.

·       Shorten the eligibility period for expungement.

·       Establish automatic expungement for certain offenses.

“Removing barriers for reformed citizens is the right thing to do,” Filler said. “People have committed a crime, they have paid their price and we acknowledge that they broke the social trust. Now we’re giving them the opportunity – if they want – to move on from that.”

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

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