Should NY Seal Criminal Records After Societal Debt Is Paid? [POLL]

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders came to an agreement Thursday on the budget for fiscal year 2023.

Included in the $220 billion spending package are tax relief for the middle class and small businesses, suspending fuel taxes to help reduce the rising cost of gasoline, increased funding for and access to child care and a five-year transportation infrastructure plan.

One of the priorities in the budget was to make changes to the state's bail laws.

Hochul got the Democratic-led legislature to change some provisions of the 2019 bail law that altered the way judges set bail for some defendants who face less serious charges, The New York Times reported.

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The revision will let judges consider other factors in setting bail, such as whether someone is accused of seriously harming another or has a gun-use history.

Something crime-related that didn't make the cut was a measure to seal criminal records after a person has paid his or her debt to society.

Supporters of the Clean Slate Act, including the Clean Slate New York coalition, said automatically sealing conviction records would help stimulate the economy, increase participation in the workforce and enhance public safety.

Hochul had endorsed the Clean Slate Act in her State of the State.

Clean Slate New York said the state loses $2 billion in wages when formerly incarcerated people are shut out of the workforce. People who have served prison time lose an average of $484,400 in lifetime earnings. That, in turn, entrenches poverty and worsens the racial wealth gap.

The sticking point between lawmakers and Hochul, according to Spectrum Local News, was a disagreement over how long the records should be sealed.

Hochul wanted to seal felony records after seven years and misdemeanors after three once the sentence was completed, Spectrum reported, while the legislative proposal was for earlier sealing.

The Clean Slate New York coalition was obviously disappointed in the outcome.

"The ball is now in the Legislature's court," the coalition told Spectrum, and said the governor needs to make good on her word.

Now it's your turn to weigh in on the issue. Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us what you think in the comments.