New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signing the Clean Slate Act at the Brooklyn Museum.
Photo: Susan Watts/Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul
New York State took a significant step towards criminal justice reform on Thursday with the signing of the “Clean Slate Act” by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
This groundbreaking legislation, hailed as a crucial step towards restorative justice, is designed to automatically seal millions of criminal convictions, fundamentally changing the landscape for many New Yorkers with past convictions.
“With the signing of this law, it adds to our momentum to get people back to work, give them those opportunities,” Hochul said. “And all those people who’ve been convicted are not able to find someone who will believe in them again, help lift them up, give them a home, independence again, have the dignity of a job, it means everything to people.”
The Clean Slate Act aims to create new opportunities for individuals who have served their time, addressing the long-term consequences that criminal records can have on employment, housing, and education prospects.
This initiative is seen as a pivotal move in breaking the vicious cycle of incarceration and recidivism, offering a second chance to those who have been marginalized by their criminal history.
Under the provisions of the Clean Slate Act, criminal convictions in NYS will be automatically sealed from public view after the individual completes a waiting period post-incarceration. This period is set at three years for misdemeanor convictions and eight years for felonies.
The sealing of these records means that they will be effectively hidden from the public, including potential employers and housing providers, thereby reducing the risk of discrimination based on past criminal history.
The law excludes serious crimes such as sex offenses and most Class A felonies, including murder and arson. This exclusion is part of an effort to balance the act of giving second chances with the need to…
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