House Judiciary Committee passes bill to expunge marijuana convictions, codify retroactive relief for inmates

161
1
House Judiciary Committee passes bill to expunge marijuana convictions, codify retroactive relief for inmates

The bill passed by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a series of criminal justice reform bills, including bipartisan proposals to expunge records of those who were convicted of prior federal marijuana crimes, and codify retroactive relief for people incarcerated because of crack-cocaine sentencing disparities, according to Marijuana Moment.

The House Judiciary Committee wrote in a tweet: 112 million Americans have a criminal record, that is 1 out of every 3 people. Even if you have a criminal record, it can present lifetime barriers to getting jobs, housing, and education, and put other opportunities out of reach. The Judiciary Committee broke the news of the passage of expungement and other criminal justice reform bills with this tweet:

The Fresh Start Act, sponsored by Rep. David Trone D-MD, would provide federal funding of up to $5 million in aid to states that have their own automated expungement systems, eliminating the need for each person to pay fees to get relief.

A growing number of states are taking steps to implement automatic expungement for marijuana convictions in order to benefit from the new funding, even though it does not specify the types of crimes that would warrant relief.