When A Debt Is Paid, It’s Paid
Why Expungements are Long Overdue for Returning Citizens
By FRRC Staff Member, Chasman Barnes
Desmond Meade, the Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), has many sayings.
One of the things Desmond always says is,
“At FRRC, we don’t lean to the left, nor do we lean toward the right: we lean forward into the issues.”
Those words guide the work that the FRRC does daily, including our efforts on policy and legislation. FRRC works with legislators and partners across political affiliations to improve the lives of people impacted by the criminal legal system.
This legislative session and throughout the year, we’re fighting for the passage of legislation that would remove barriers to opportunity for returning citizens.
One of the most significant opportunities is a clean slate.
Clearing your record gives returning citizens more opportunities to access jobs, housing, and education. Nearly 9 in 10 employers, 4 in 5 landlords, and 3 in 5 colleges check people’s records when considering applicants.
Record clearing benefits not only returning citizens but all of us. Our national economy loses up to $87 billion in GDP yearly because people with records are locked out of the job market. Meanwhile, just one year after having their records cleared, these individuals are 11% more likely to be employed and earn 22% higher wages.
Our state lawmakers can pass reforms that would make more people in Florida eligible for a clean slate.
We’ve been watching Florida House Bill (HB) 605 and its counterpart in the Senate, SB 504. These two bills change who is eligible to have their record expunged. Expungement means the record is physically destroyed by any criminal justice agency that has it, except for the Department of Law Enforcement, which must keep the record confidential. The record may be viewed or used only under a court order.
While clearing your record is life-changing, many people in Florida are not eligible. First, only non-conviction records, such as arrests, can be expunged. Even if you want a non-conviction record cleared, you will not qualify if you have ever been convicted (adjudicated guilty) as an adult. And for many people, having your record expunged once makes you ineligible for having another one expunged later; you can have only one in your lifetime.
HB 605 and SB 504 would reduce these restrictions and make more people eligible for record clearing. These bills would allow someone eligible to have a second record expunged in their life if the first record they had expunged was for an offense for which the person was charged as a minor. In other words, if you had a record in which you were charged as a minor and that record was expunged, the bills would make it so you are now eligible to have another record expunged.
The bills would also make more types of records eligible for expungement. Right now, you cannot have a record expunged even if a court dismissed the case. The bills would make it so these types of records would be eligible for expungement unless the court dismissal was due to the person being found incompetent in the adult or juvenile case.
FRRC supports this legislation and appreciates the strong bipartisan support that legislators have put behind this reform.
But these bills still have to go through a few more steps — and we need your help to get them over the finish line!
Legislation has to be reviewed and approved by Committees, voted on by the full legislature, and then signed by the governor in order to become law. Here’s where the bills stand in that process:
- House Bill 605 was approved by all of the Committees it was referred to and will soon be voted on by the House of Representatives.
- Senate Bill 504 was approved by its first Committee. It was up for a vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice on April 12, where it was approved unanimously. Next, having already been placed on the Committee Agenda, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee will review the bill on April 25, 2023.
At FRRC, we fundamentally believe that each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. Expungement is an opportunity for the state of Florida to affirm second chances and that past mistakes should not define a person’s future.
Join Us and Make Your Voice Heard!
If you support reducing barriers to a clean slate, call your Florida Representative and Senator to share why House Bill 605 and Senate Bill 504 matter to you. Ask them to vote “Yes” on these bills and to show their support for second chances.
- Visit www.flsenate.gov to learn more about specific Senate bills and to find your Florida Senator, and visit www.myfloridahouse.gov to look up House bills and find your Florida House representative.
- Click here for information on FRRC’s priority bills for the 2023 legislative session.
- Follow @FLRightsRestore on social media for updates and ways to take action.
About the author:
Chasman is a Policy Professional, Advocate for Returning Citizens in Criminal and Social Justice Reform, TEDx Speaker, and sought-after Communicator.
