BILL NUMBER: S3053A

SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to petition for
expungement of records for certain juveniles convicted of a nonviolent
offense after five years

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would establish a procedure for an individual with a non-viol-
ent criminal record, who has completed his or her sentence and has been
crime-free for a specified waiting period, to apply to the sentencing
court, on notice to the prosecutor, for an order expunging the record of
conviction. The bill's purpose is to help current law abiding individ-
uals keep, regain or gain employment by strengthening mechanisms
intended to prevent employment discrimination against ex-offenders.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

              

Section one of the bill adds a new section 440.75 to the Criminal Proce-
dure Law, setting out the criteria and procedures for expunging a nonvi-
olent record of conviction.

Section two is the effective date. New CPL 440.75's provisions include
the following:

(Subdivision 1) An applicant must be requesting expungement of a nonvio-
lent offense (s)committed between the ages of seven and eighteen.

(Subdivision 2) An applicant must have served the full sentence, includ-
ing any supervision component, and must have completed a five year wait-
ing period.

(Subdivision 3) The application along with any supporting documents
demonstrating the steps the petitioner has taken since the time of the
offense toward personal rehabilitation is to be made to the district
attorney servicing the county of conviction; the superintendent of the
state police and the police department in the jurisdiction of conviction
and the judge or justice who imposed sentence.

(Subdivision 4) law enforcement agencies must issue a written decision
stating reasons for the decision unless the application is granted with-
out objection.

(Subdivision 5) the applicant may appeal on unfavorable decision.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Criminal possession of marihuana in the fifth degree is defined as know-
ingly and unlawfully possessing marihuana in a public place, and such
marihuana is burning or open to public view; or substances containing
marihuana that in the aggregate weigh more than twenty- five grams.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

A criminal offense can follow a person for the rest of his or her life.
Even if he or she has been fully reformed and has committed no further
criminal acts, the record still exists and often forms the basis for
discrimination in college entry, vocational training, employment or
other areas.

While New York has a public policy of assisting ex-offenders by prohib-
iting employment discrimination based on criminal history (see
Correction Law Article 23-A), information available over the internet
that provides criminal history information about individuals, may
reflect a conviction that occurred long ago and that may hinder college
entry, vocational training or employment opportunities for someone who
has been a law abiding citizen for several years. Current law does not
provide a mechanism for addressing the employment discrimination prob-
lems created by technological advances. This is especially true of juve-
niles who succumb to peer pressure and other outside influences as their
brain was not fully developed and hence lacked the ability to make
rational and sound judgments regarding their behavior. This bill
provides such a mechanism.

Many young adults who made mistakes in the past and have led law abiding
lives since their convictions have been denied entry into colleges,
vocational trainings or have either lost jobs due to the economic down-
turn, have lost jobs because employers began checking criminal records,
or have afraid to apply for new and better jobs because they fear they
will be asked about criminal records. Job applicants are routinely asked
about criminal records and eliminated from consideration for crimes that
occurred years, or even decades, ago.

Over the last ten years, the free flow of information over the Internet,
live data feeds, sales of databases, etc. have made it easy for
colleges, and employers to obtain criminal record information.  Even
applicants for low paying jobs are subject to criminal records questions
on applications and/or criminal records checks. It is critical that the
Legislature act now to establish a mechanism for expunging records
before our youth, the future of New York, are unable to contribute to
society in a meaningful way and become a burden upon the taxpayers of
the state.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

03/20/15 REFERRED TO CODES
01/06/16 REFERRED TO CODES
02/24/17 REFERRED TO CODES
01/03/18 REFERRED TO CODES

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.