Clean Slate Act rollout scaled back prior to Jan. 1
Low-level marijuana possession convictions will be cleared, but about 250K people must wait
HARTFORD — New Haven resident Mark Douglas loved going to work at his job in the city.
He worked his way up the ranks to a leadership position.
But Douglas was never able to fully step into the leadership role, as he was let go from the company on the same day he was to be promoted into the position in September.
Through a background check, he said the company’s human resources department said that they found two misdemeanor charges: one for larceny and one for breach of peace, that he had acquired in his past, which is the reason they gave for letting him go.
A silver lining Douglas said the company gave him is that if the Clean Slate Act were activated Jan. 1, then he would be eligible to get his position back.
While that was the intended date for him and more than 300,000 Connecticut residents to have their criminal records erased for misdemeanors and some felonies, the full implementation date has been pushed back until the “second half of the year,” which could be sometime in the summer months, according to Gov. Ned Lamont. That means only cannabis possession convictions will be fully or partially erased in January; which are records in about 44,000 cases
General Assembly Judiciary Committee co-chair Sen. Gary Winfield, D-new Haven, a prominent advocate for the Clean Slate Act, said that for many people this will be a letdown, especially for individuals who will be impacted the most by the delay.
He said he is in conversations with the governor and his staff about issues impeding the implementation of the Clean Slate Act.
“Look, I live around some folks who have been some of the most standup people in the community, but maybe 20 or 30 years ago, they did something,” he said. “And somebody got a piece of paper and found out about that day, and think they know who that person is. Now what I can tell you is that piece of paper does not reflect who that person is now, it doesn’t reflect who they were 10 years ago. And you can’t see it.”
Winfield said “people think they’re doing the right thing, by not giving them housing, by not giving them a job or not giving them a chance. They’re doing exactly the wrong thing. They are taking the opportu
nity, not just for that person, but for our whole community. The reason for Clean Slate was not just for them, it was for all of us, so we get back our community.”
Lamont said the delay is caused by Clean Slate automated erasure system needing “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 has spent more than $5 million to implement information technology upgrades for multiple state agency systems, the information technology systems are complex, and some are outdated, according to Lamont.
Lamont also said there are interpretation issues that may require clarification by the General Assembly this session.
It is the 300,000 individuals such as Douglas that brought CONECT, or Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut, allies, and community partners together for a press briefing Wednesday, with the goal of pushing to make sure residents have a true second chance at life, through this bill’s quick implementation.
Held at Community Baptist Church, 143 Shelton Ave., New Haven, the Rev. Philippe E. C. Andal said that they were demonstrating what love looks like, while working for the justice of their siblings in the state who have a past.
“We are partisan when it comes to our people…[they] need to fully experience the redemption, that we as a people of faith, believe, preach, and pray about all the time. And to be clear…this redemption is not needed just for those who have a record in the state system,” he said, “Because the reality is, we all have a record in a higher system. And redemption is needed for all of us, as we have for far too long made the collective simple mistake of keeping people bound to their mistakes, when God Almighty has already absolved them from it.”
Lamont signed the Clean Slate Act in 2021, with it slated to begin erasing records in 2023. Convictions for misdemeanors would be erased if the person were not convicted of another crime for seven years, while some felonies would be erased 10 years after the most recent conviction.
Convictions that will not be erased include burglary with a firearm, stalking, voyeurism, sex-related crimes involving minors and assault on the blind, elderly or pregnant women, among others.
Many of the 300,000 residents impacted by the bill have never served time in prison after being convicted of crimes such as drug possession, breach of peace, bar fights and others.
Douglas, the New Haven resident, said what bothers him the most about the delay is that he lost a good job that helped him provide for himself and his family.
“I lost gainful employment for two misdemeanor charges, both non-drug related, both nonviolent. And that job could have taken me to other places. It’s a step forward. And you know, to lose the job for such insignificant charges. It’s two steps back for somebody like me,” he said.
While major components of the bill are delayed, Lamont announced this week that around 44,000 Connecticut residents convicted of cannabis possession are set to have these records cleared starting Jan. 1, using the automated erasure method.
State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-bridgeport, said that he believes and trust that the governor’s office and executive branch agencies are working with due diligence to implement a complicated and robust statutory scheme, yet there is more work that needs to be done to get the act fully activated.
“We need to double redouble our efforts. That’s all of us. That’s the governor’s office. That’s the executive branch. That’s those of us in the legislature. And that’s the allies staying behind us to make sure that this law is fully implemented as quickly as possible,” he said.
He shared the story of a friend of his, who was the motivation for why he helped to fight for the bill being passed. His friend was arrested 31 years ago for a misdemeanor larceny conviction. However, she took a job through which he is very familiar with her work.
“For every morning of those 15 years, this woman has been there. She’s opened the door, she’s got a huge smile. She loves coming to work every day. She knows every single person by name, she knows every single car by color,” he said.
Yet last week, his friend was placed on administrative leave after years of working in her position, as a new employer found her past misdemeanor conviction while conducting new background checks.
“It’s three weeks before Christmas. Her grandkids live with her. Every year, me and a number of other folks, we do what we can. We give her a little extra money and help buy birthday presents for her grandkids, because we know she’s living paycheck-topaycheck, and otherwise could barely make ends meet, let alone do a little extra to get her grandkids gifts at Christmas. Now she’s out of work,” he said.
“She’s waiting for Jan. 1, We walk into a courthouse on Jan. 2, hopefully the form is ready to go or we present a form for a judge in order to get this larceny conviction (off ) ... her record, so she can go back to work. These are the real experts. These are the people across Connecticut, nearly 300,000 of them, who are desperately waiting for this law…,” he said.
While Douglas waits for the delay to be resolved, he said he is remaining positive and looking into other avenues to help him get back into the workforce.
He is a member of many different community organizations and charities to keep himself busy, along with working with the NAACP Million Jobs Campaign, which is a program that helps people with criminal charges on their record to get good job positions.
He also has a message for individuals who may not believe that he deserves a second chance, due to his previous charges.
“Should I not be able to be a contribution to society? If I’m working, if I’m employed, I’m making a contribution to society. And that’s trying to do. I’m not wasting my time. I’m not sitting around using the government or using other means, as a crutch,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you want me to work? You know what, regardless of committing a crime or not, I still have to eat, I still need a roof over my head. I still got to feed my children. So wouldn’t you rather have me working, then sitting around doing nothing or making it more difficult for me to get a job?”