Statement from State Rep. Fishbein regarding potential delay of “clean slate” legislation

I just wanted you to know that the website CTNewsJunkie is reporting that state officials have asked for clarification to recently passed “clean slate” legislation that will erase certain crimes from a person’s record.

As the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee I find this troubling, however, not unexpected as I shared similar concerns about this legislation during the committee process and during debate on the floor.

Today, I issued the following statement in response to this report:

Statement from State Representative Craig Fishbein, Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee, regarding potential delay of clean slate legislation:

“Unfortunately, this poorly crafted legislation is the result of a legislature that was more concerned with rushing to erase convictions than it was in considering the impacts to the victims of the original crimes, or even how the erasure program would be implemented. Despite our best attempts during the committee process and debate on the floor to clarify and fix the original bill, this legislation was crafted to achieve a specific goal without regard to the reasonable objections and requested modifications from the agencies who are now tasked with its implementation. That rush is now undermining the ability of the judicial department and law enforcement to properly and safely process requests and could potentially harm thousands of people.

“With the legislative session only weeks away, now is the time to demand open and expeditious public hearings to listen to the concerns from experts, the agencies forced to contend with these policies and the people they directly impact. These highly technical issues are too important to leave solely to interpretations between committee chairs and judicial branch staff and must be addressed by the full legislature.

“There should be no ambiguity when it comes to a person’s freedom and the state’s ability to restrict their rights.”