Business Leaders, Bipartisan Organizations Unite to Urge Immediate Expansion of Clean Slate Legislation
PENNSYLVANIA LED THE NATION WITH FIRST AUTOMATED EXPUNGEMENT LAW IN 2018, LEGISLATURE HAS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND WITH JUST WEEKS LEFT IN LEGISLATIVE YEAR
Cumberland County, PA (November 8, 2023) – Today, on Wednesday morning at 10 am, a group of business leaders, policy experts and impacted people held a press conference at Pyramid Construction Services in Wormleysburg to discuss the urgent need to expand Pennsylvania’s successful automated expungement framework, giving more people access to meaningful work and increasing the pool of available labor for businesses.
Click here to view and download footage from the event
Hosted by local business owner Steve Conway of Pyramid Construction Services, the press conference included comments by representatives of the nation’s largest bipartisan criminal justice and public safety advocacy organization, Justice Action Network; Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania; Associated Builders & Contractors Keystone Chapter; and Community Legal Services; along with those who have been impacted by Pennsylvania’s record sealing policies.
Expanding eligibility for Clean Slate expungement will help address the Keystone State’s workforce crisis and boost public safety by ensuring that Pennsylvanians with low-level, nonviolent drug offenses who have turned their lives around and meet safety criteria can be eligible to have their records sealed.
"[People like me] have since owned up to our mistakes, and for fifteen years I have been hindered," shared Kendell Bell, a local man who has been directly impacted by expungement legislation. "That's why we need to help pass the Clean Slate bill so that we can provide better, better stability for our families, help break these barriers, and be better role models in the future."
"This legislation will allow more individuals who have served their sentence and kept their record clean to stay crime-free, help their families, and earn a living," shared Fran Chardo, Dauphin County District Attorney. "Clean Slate works; it's worked in the cases on the offenses that we have on the books. Expanding it makes sense, and will make Pennsylvania a safer place."
"We need to find ways to encourage those that may be hesitant to apply for jobs or enter the workforce to remove that barrier for them. And it's a big reason why we're here today," said Ryan Unger, President & CEO, Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. "When you ask a business, what's hindering them or stopping them from expanding, you often think it might be something like taxes or regulation or economic climate. Almost every single time, it's workers: you need to find good workers. You need to have people come in those doors, and we need to remove any type of barrier that could hinder that."
"I'm here to speak in support of people like me that could have benefited a lot from the passage of this law," shared Tristan Maschke, a local Pennsylvanian who is directly impacted. "It's been something that's really affected my life in a big way. Because of some mistakes I made when I was 18 years old, 17 years ago now, it's really made it hard ever since then; I had to kind of dig myself out of a hole to be able to find a job."
"A job is not just a paycheck. While we should never understate the importance of someone being able to provide for their family, a job is also the foundation of dignity for someone to build a family life, contribute their communities, and is how we build thriving economies at the community, state and national levels,” said Diana Rademacher, Director of Communications & Coalitions, Justice Action Network. “As we continue to see record-low unemployment rates here and across the nation, Pennsylvania’s business owners are urgently in need of an expanded workforce. But they’re not just in need of any worker, they’re in need of talented and dedicated people who have demonstrated that they know how to build back even better after a setback. Those are exactly the kind of Pennsylvanians we’re talking about here today."
"[House Bill 689] will help hardworking individuals be able to honestly answer job application questions when asked about their record, and employers not have the potential to be legally or contractually limited in any work due to past criminal records," said Steve Conway, Vice President of Pyramid Construction Services and Chair of the Associated Builders and Contractors Keystone Chapter. “We're all trying to get more people back into work, and continue to be able to build infrastructure. Legislation like this is extremely helpful and necessary.”
"I'm honored to stand here today in support of Clean Slate expansion, as this is the next step in achieving public safety through sound employment, and redemption for a population that is deserving of a second chance," stated Emily Greene, Deputy State Director, Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania. "This legislation properly balances the equally important interests of corrections, the restoration of victims, the offender, and the residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We look forward to continuing to work with members of both parties within the Senate chamber to advance this legislation and send this to Governor Shapiro's desk."
"Pennsylvania is one of only 13 states in the country that do not currently allow any felonies to be sealed," added Sharon Dietrich, Litigation Director, Community Legal Services. "That's just wrong. It makes no sense. It's keeping our friends in business from hiring these folks who are ready to work. And so we need to take the step now to get this law passed so that we can correct that problem. We are falling behind other states in terms of both our businesses and our workforce. And so we are here today to call for the General Assembly and Governor Shapiro to pass House Bill 689 immediately before we lose more ground."
Justice Action Network is the nation’s largest bipartisan criminal justice reform organization working to advance evidence-based policies at both the state and federal levels.