Clean Slate Backers Brace For Delays

Disappointed and resolved, Mark Douglas spoke out about about how years-old misdemeanor convictions still haunt his bid for gainful employment — as he and other statewide criminal justice reform advocates pressed to keep a spotlight on Connecticut’s ​“clean slate” bill even if its rollout is slower than expected.

Douglas stood alongside two dozen fellow reformers from Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (CONECT) and the state American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Wednesday morning for a press conference at Community Baptist Church on Shelton Avenue that focused on the real-world consequences of expected delays to the rollout of state Senate Bill (SB) 1019.

That’s the so-called ​“clean slate” legislation that Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in June 2021. The bill originally intended to automatically erase hundreds of thousands of eligible misdemeanor and low-level felony convictions on Jan. 1, 2023 in an effort to help formerly incarcerated Connecticut residents move on with their lives.

According to Tuesday’s Newhallville press conference and this article by CTNewsJunkie’s Christine Stuart, the state now anticipates that many of those convictions eligible for automatic erasure won’t take place on Jan. 1 as scheduled. That’s in part because of a number of outstanding questions that the state Criminal Justice Information System Governing Board has for state legislators about how best to fully implement the law. 

“It’s definitely a big disappointment to me,” said Douglas as he described two misdemeanor convictions — one from two years ago, one from four years ago. (Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Douglas’s two misdemeanor convictions were eligible to be erased by Jan. 1 under the clean slate bill’s original timeline. Douglas’s misdemeanor convictions actually are not eligible for erasure under this bill, because his convictions are less than seven years old.)

He said he recently lost his job with a downtown parking company when a background check turned up these convictions.

“It definitely affects all of us on a monetary level,” he said about the persistence of these misdemeanor conviction records. Douglas said he’s turned his life around and is trying to hold down a stable job — but that these convictions stand in the way.

Tuesday’s presser took place one day after Gov. Lamont announced in an email press release that roughly 44,000 Connecticut residents convicted of cannabis possession will have those convictions fully or partially erased on time by Jan. 1. Lamont also addressed advocates’ concerns around the timing of the bill-mandated conviction erasures during an unrelated press conference in Hartford Wednesday morning. (See more below.)

Most of the CONECT and ACLU press conference at the 143 Shelton Ave. church featured criminal justice reform advocates and the co-chairs of the state Judiciary Committee, New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield and Bridgeport State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, sought to strike a balance between expressing their frustration that erasures are behind schedule — and praising Lamont for working in good faith to make the bill a reality.

“There is real work going on,” Winfield said. This is not a delay just because state government doesn’t want to do the work of implementing the bill. ​“This delay is legitimate,” he said.

And yet, he continued, this delay is frustrating — for those who fought to get an ​“aggressive” clean slate bill passed, and for those who have been eagerly waiting for such a bill to take effect.

“Some of the most standup people in the neighborhood,” Winfield said about his home neighborhood of Newhallville, ​“did something” 20 or 30 years ago that still shows up on a piece of paper when they’re looking for a new job or place to live. ​“This piece of paper does not reflect who that person is now.”

“This is nation-leading legislation,” Stafstrom said. Even though the state legislature may have to amend the already on-the-books law, and even if that means that the updated law won’t be done until June or July, this clean slate bill is worth fighting for.

Philip Kent, who is one of the co-chairs of CONECT, said that advocates would like to see ​“a reassurance, a recommitment from Gov. Lamont to fully implement the clean slate as soon as possible.”

He said they’d like to see monthly progress reports on this bill’s being put into effect, as well as assurance from the governor that ​“there is urgent progress being made on implementation.”

Kent also called for ​“regular communication with the public about progress” on the clean slate bill, as well as the creation of a Clean Slate Implementation Office.

“We want to counteract some of the cynicism” that some may feel when they find out that convictions slated to be erased on Jan. 1 will be erased later than that deadline, Kent said.

Cannabis Conviction Clearances Almost Ready

On Tuesday afternoon, Lamont sent out an email press release announcing that at least part of the clean slate bill would be able to take effect on Jan. 1 on schedule.

That part, the governor announced, pertains to cannabis possession convictions.

“Governor Ned Lamont today announced that thousands of Connecticut residents convicted of cannabis possession are set to have these records cleared in January using an automated erasure method,” that press release reads. ​“Records in approximately 44,000 cases will be fully or partially erased. The policy is an integral part of the 2021 legislation Governor Lamont signed into law to safely regulate the adult use of cannabis.”

That press release also states that ​“residents who have had their records erased may tell employers, landlords, and schools that the conviction never occurred.”

Here’s which convictions will be eligible for erasure come Jan. 1, to quote directly from Lamont’s press release:

• Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-279(c) for possession of under four ounces of a non-narcotic, non-hallucinogenic substance imposed between January 1, 2000, and September 30, 2015, will be automatically erased on January 1, 2023. People included under this provision of the law need not do anything to make these convictions eligible for erasure.
• Convictions for the following violations can be erased if one files a petition in Superior Court:
  • Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-279 for possession of less than or equal to four ounces of a cannabis-type substance imposed before January 1, 2000, and between October 1, 2015, and June 30, 2021.
  • Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-267(a) for possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia for cannabis imposed before July 1, 2021.
  • Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-277(b) imposed before July 1, 2021, for manufacturing, selling, possessing with intent to sell, or giving or administering to another person a cannabis-type substance and the amount involved was under four ounces or six plants grown inside a person’s home for personal use.

As for other eligible to-be-erased convictions, the press release states: ​“The Clean Slate automated erasure system is expected to be fully implemented during the second half of 2023. Implementation involves significant information technology upgrades to allow criminal justice agencies to send and receive data to determine who can have their offenses erased and to update record systems. The state already has invested more than $5 million to implement information technology upgrades as part of a large-scale system development and integration project spanning multiple state agency systems. The information technology systems involved are complex, and some are outdated. In addition, significant interpretation issues may require clarification by the General Assembly this session, as detailed in a letter delivered to the co-chairs of the Judiciary Committee by the Connecticut Criminal Justice Information System Governing Board.

“People eligible for Clean Slate include those who have not had any other criminal convictions for seven or ten years (depending on the conviction to be erased), have completed sentences for all crimes for which that person has been convicted, and meet other eligibility criteria under the laws. Eligible offenses include most misdemeanors, most Class D and Class E felonies, and most unclassified felonies with a possible prison sentence of five years or less.”

In an unrelated press conference in Hartford Wednesday morning, Lamont was asked about the delayed implementation of the full clean slate bill.

“My understanding is those marijuana-related convictions, we’re gonna get that clean slate done the very first part of next year,” the governor said.

“Low-level felonies may take a little longer,” he said, though those two should ​“be done in the first half of the coming year.”