Today, leading New York civil rights and criminal justice organizations sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urging him to keep the EQUAL Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is now being negotiated in the Senate. The House of Representatives has already included the EQUAL Act in its version of the NDAA, passed in July.

Yesterday, Democratic and Republican lawmakers joined a virtual event on the importance of second chance legislation pending in Congress—the Clean Slate and Fresh Start Acts. These bills would expand automated record sealing at the federal and state levels, giving individuals who have served their time and remained crime-free better access to employment, education, and housing. 

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday to discuss expansion of Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate Law. The state was the first in the nation to pass the Clean Slate Law in 2018, helping more than 1.2 million of its residents with misdemeanors.

Advocates say a bipartisan effort to seal criminal records for low-level felonies would give more people second chances and boost the Pennsylvania economy.

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to discuss House Bill 1826, which would expand the Clean Slate Act by automatically sealing some low-level felonies.

Today, Pennsylvania lawmakers from across the political spectrum announced new legislation that would expand Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate laws. House Bill 1826 and Senate Bill 1314 build upon Pennsylvania’s groundbreaking Clean Slate laws, which have given more than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians access to meaningful employment, continuing education, and stable housing.

Thousands of nonviolent federal prisoners eligible for early release under a promising Trump-era law remain locked up nearly four years later because of inadequate implementation, confusion and bureaucratic delays, prisoner advocacy groups, affected inmates and former federal prison officials say.