Urge Gov. Hochul To Veto ‘Clean Slate’ Legislation
Written by on July 6, 2023
Before leaving Albany in early June, the New York State Legislature passed the Clean Slate Act (Bill S.7551-A-Myrie/Bill A.1029-C-Cruz). In a misguided effort to give second chances to New Yorkers who have committed crimes, the Clean Slate Act would conceal many people’s criminal records from New York employers and landlords who seek information about prospective employees or tenants. The Clean Slate Act is fundamentally dishonest, and it also compromises public safety. Gov. Kathy Hochul should not sign it into law.
The Clean Slate Act would cause most felony convictions to be automatically sealed eight years after a defendant has been released from incarceration and would cause most misdemeanor convictions to be automatically sealed three years after a defendant has been released from incarceration (or, if a misdemeanor defendant was not incarcerated, three years following the imposition of his or her sentence). The automatic sealing provisions of the Clean Slate Act would not apply to defendants who have criminal charges pending, who are on parole or probation, or who have been convicted of sex offenses or of most Class A felonies. The bill would, however, allow domestic violence offenses to be sealed. According to Spectrum News, the bill would affect approximately two million New Yorkers with criminal records.
When the state of New York seals a conviction, the state makes it impossible for information about that conviction to be revealed in a criminal background check. If the Clean Slate Act becomes law, a prospective employer or landlord who runs a background check on a prospective employee or tenant with a criminal history will receive incomplete information. This incompleteness may well result in employers and landlords offering jobs or apartments to dangerous individuals without knowing that those individuals are dangerous.
The Clean Slate Act lists 17 exceptions to its sealing requirements. What this means is that the sponsors of the Clean Slate Act believe that some New Yorkers—but not others—are important enough to be given true and complete information when they request criminal background checks. Also, Section Four of the proposed legislation would allow defendants to lie on applications that request information about aspects of their criminal histories that have been sealed.
Proponents of the Clean Slate Act contend that under current law, persons with criminal records who have completed their sentences are unfairly deprived of opportunities for jobs and housing even though they have already paid their debts to society. During the Assembly floor debate on the Clean Slate Act, the bill’s sponsor—Asm. Catalina Cruz (D-Queens)—commented, “‘People can change… People can get better. People can repent. People can be forgiven. Our society should not be judged on the behavior of one member at its worst moment, but on our ability to forgive them and to grant them the ability to move forward and heal and to become productive members of our society.’” As a Christian organization, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms agrees with Asm. Cruz that our society should make room for repentance and forgiveness, and should be open to giving second chances to persons with criminal histories. We also believe, however, that employers and landlords are entitled to know relevant facts about a given individual so that they can make wise choices.
Each house of the State Legislature passed the Clean Slate Act on June 9, 2023. The bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 82-65, and it passed the Senate by a vote of 37-25. There was bipartisan opposition to the bill in both the Assembly and the Senate. Even former Gov. David Paterson—hardly a rock-ribbed, tough-on-crime conservative—has spoken out against it.
The Clean Slate Act must not become law. Using New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms’ action center, please write Gov. Kathy Hochul today and ask her to veto this misguided legislation.
