Millions Of Formerly Incarcerated New Yorkers Given 'Clean Slate'

NEW YORK CITY — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Thursday to remove formerly incarcerated folks' "scarlet letter" by sealing some criminal records, opening up doors to employment and property ownership.

The Clean Slate Act — signed at a momentous ceremony at the Brooklyn Museum — will seal certain misdemeanor criminal records after three years and some felonies after eight, so long as a person has no additional convictions.

Lawmakers say the legislation will remove unfair barriers and unfair "collateral consequences" that often restrict formerly incarcerated folks from securing employment and property.

"They paid their debt to society," said Hochul. "They've gone through the process, they did their time, they're done. But when they re-enter society, there's still barriers to housing and jobs.

"I say, no more."

Some convictions, such as sex crimes and some violent offenses, will remain unsealed, Hochul said. The legislation will not affect law enforcement, sex offender registries or gun safety background checks.

"Employers and the public have a right to know about the sex offenders and the worst violent criminals before they give them a job," Hochul said. This only seals crimes for certain civil purposes such as for job applications, which is what we're doing here today, and housing applications,"

It's a move that will have significant repercussions on the state's economy, public safety and inequity in the criminal justice system, Hochul said.

The state currently has 460,000 jobs unfilled — and the wages lost on individuals with unsealed records have left $12.6 billion on the table for the state economy, according to the governor's office.

"We've waited too long to rectify this," Hochul said.

The economic benefits are just one part of its popularity, which has inspired an unexpected but powerful coalition, multiple electeds said. The state's business community broadly supports Clean Slate, from JP Morgan Chase to small businesses, Hochul said.

"How often do you see law enforcement, criminal justice advocates, unions and businesses coming together around the same piece of legislation, how often? I'll tell you right now, it's a rare day."

State Senator Zellnor Myrie added that Clean Slate has been overwhelmingly popular amongst staffers and constituents, garnering a huge number of texts, calls and emails.

"I believe that what separates Clean Slate is that it is fundamentally about hope," Zellnor said Thursday. "Sometimes we don't understand what that means, but we know very clearly what the absence of hope looks like."

For Myrie, Thursday's decision sends a message to New Yorkers that they won't be judged on the worst thing they've ever done.

For many families — and especially communities of color — a "clean slate" will mean an actual chance to build generational wealth and come out from under the "thumb" of the criminal justice system, said Assemblymember Catalina Cruz.

"We're gonna start breaking that cycle of poverty and injustice that's been perpetrated by a criminal justice system that was designed to do exactly what it's doing right now,"

"To keep people eternally under its thumb."

Melinda Agnew, a member of the Center for Community Alternatives, has been "shackled" throughout her life by a three-year probation in 1999, she told the crowd Thursday. Despite obtaining a master's degree, she has continuously seen "doors closed in her face" because of her conviction record.

"I am not alone. There are more than two million New Yorkers who have conviction records and who face the same barriers year after year after year," Agnew said.

"Today, a new future of possibility awaits."