Today, we celebrate huge news: On December 13th, the PA legislature voted to expand Clean Slate to include record sealing for people with certain drug and property felonies, and on December 14th Governor Shapiro signed the bill into law. This landmark legislation will remove barriers to employment, housing, education, and other opportunities for hundreds of thousands of our friends and neighbors across the Commonwealth.
This crucial expansion builds on five years of success. In 2018, PA became the first state to enact automatic record sealing. In 2020, Clean Slate was expanded to allow cases to be sealed when fines are owed, removing a financial barrier. Finally today, PA joins 37 other states that allow for sealing of felonies.
CLS is proud to have led the way in creating and advocating for #cleanslate, a groundbreaking law that has changed lives and will open the doors for so many people. We’re grateful to the many directly impacted individuals who shared their stories in the fight for this law, as well as to the partners who helped make it a reality and the leaders that introduced this important legislation, including Rep. Jordan Harris, Rep. Sherlyn Delozier, Sen. Lisa Baker and Sen. Tony Williams.
We also want to extend a huge congratulations to CLS's incredible Employment Unit for their determination in helping people get a fresh start. After helping so many clients to get criminal record expungements, the Employment Unit knew we could dream bigger and change systems to address barriers to employment on a much larger level. From the first moment they published a paper in 2014 calling for a Clean Slate until now, this unit has never stopped fighting for justice and making this vital law bigger and better. We couldn’t be prouder of this incredible team as they work tirelessly to ensure everyone gets a fair chance at a Clean Slate.