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The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a bipartisan legislation to seal certain criminal records such as those related to juvenile matters. The bill provides low-level, non-violent criminal offenders a second change to succeed in life.

On Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf praised the General Assembly for passing House Bill 1419 also known as the Clean Slate bill. He is looking forward to signing the legislation into law.

In a statement, the governor said the Clean Slate bill will help make Pennsylvania;s criminal justice system fairer and more focused on rehabilitation.

“Passage of the Clean Slate law allows for many people to move on with their lives with greater chances for success. This means better career, housing and education options,” said Gov. Wolf.

Additionally, he said, “I thank the General Assembly for its bi-partisan efforts to pass this important piece of legislation that will help Pennsylvanians. It’s another step in the right direction to reform the state’s criminal justice system and allow people the opportunity to succeed. I look forward to signing this bill into law.”

Clean Slate bill is about getting people back to work

The Clean Slate bill provides a process requiring the automatic sealing of the criminal records of people who committed minor criminal offenses, served their sentence and had no subsequent criminal arrests for ten years.

Currently, almost three million Pennsylvanians of working age have minor criminal records. Individuals can start filing for petitions to seal their criminal records 180 days after Gov. Wolf signed the Clean Slate bill into law.

Pennsylvania House Representatives Sheryl Delozier and Jordan Harris sponsored the legislation.

During a press conference, Rep. Delozier emphasized that the legislation provides a second chance to individuals who made “stupid mistakes” and paid their dues when they were young.

On the other hand, Rep. Harris said, the Clean Slate bill is about getting people back to work and reducing recidivism. He emphasized, “We need to give people a second chance.”