Website Offers Support for Solobay Expungement Bill

A nationwide justice-reform advocacy group has launched a website in support of a Pennsylvania bill that would help former offenders find jobs and help trim the rising costs of incarceration, state Sen. Tim Solobay announced this week.

Solobay, the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 391, said his legislation has drawn attention and support from across the United States.

“Recidivism and soaring costs are not unique to Pennsylvania’s prison system,” he said. “We spend more than $40 million each year giving prisoners vocational training but their job prospects are limited because no matter how dedicated they are to overcoming their past mistakes, minor criminal records make finding a job difficult.”

Solobay’s bill, now supported by Pennsylvania’s largest prosecutor’s group, unanimously cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, but has not been scheduled for a full Senate vote.

The web site, pa-expungement-now.com, is aimed at recruiting support for the bill among Pennsylvanians and in the Senate.

“We’ve already taken steps toward a more rational and productive prison system, including sentencing reforms,” Solobay said. “This is the next step toward reforming our justice system to prevent offenders from repeating their mistakes and becoming contributors to society.  It’s fair and it’s good for taxpayers.”

To help with future employment prospects, Senate Bill 391 would allow individuals who were convicted of certain misdemeanors of the second and third degree to apply to have the record expunged if they keep a clean record for ten and seven years, respectively.    

The Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association has announced its support and newspaper editorials have also praised the objectives.

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.