Solobay Expungement Bill Heads to Senate Floor

State Sen. Tim Solobay’s effort to help transition former convicts to lawful employment and productivity cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee Monday and heads to the Senate floor with the support of both prosecutors and advocates for former inmates.

Senate Bill 391 would allow individuals who were convicted of certain misdemeanors to apply to have the record expunged if they keep a clean record for at least seven years.

“The bill now has wide support among those involved in the criminal justice system, even among those who don’t always agree on reform ideas,” Solobay, D-Canonsburg, said. “It’s a modest step toward reducing recidivism that would help former convicts redirect their lives and at the same time save taxpayers the high cost of incarceration.”

The Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association recently reiterated its support for Senate Bill 391.

“Prosecutors recognize that it is important that these individuals be able to find a job once they have paid their price to society,” the organization said in a recent letter to lawmakers. “This legislation will help achieve this goal.”

Community Legal Services, an organization that provides employment law help to low-income Philadelphians, has also expressed support for the bill, calling it “a real and necessary step forward. 

“We have to move forward carefully with justice system reforms but we must move forward,” the senator said.

Pennsylvania’s prison population has jumped from just over 8,000 to more than 51,000 in the past 20 years, at an average cost of $90 a day per prisoner.  Senate Bill 391 is similar to Senate Bill 1220 of the 2011-2012 session, which also cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously, but never received a floor vote.

The bill allows courts to grant expungement of a criminal record if the crime is a misdemeanor of the third or second degree and the individual has not been arrested or prosecuted for seven to ten years following the completion of the sentence or judicial supervision.           

It would not apply to offenses punishable by more than one year in prison or pertaining to certain forms of assault, sex offense, cruelty to animals, firearms offenses, and certain other crimes.        

Under current law, the crimes could not be expunged until after the offender reaches the age of 70, or had been deceased for more than three years.

Join Patch for more community news or join us on Facebook and Twitter.