Rep. Fishbein Appointed to Council on the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Record

Will serve as a member of Employment Subcommittee

State Representative Craig Fishbein (R-90) today joined colleagues and fellow appointees for the first meeting of the legislature’s newly-established Council on the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Record.

At their convening meeting, the council, established during the regular session as part of a compromise on criminal justice legislation under Public Act No. 19-142, met to lay out their ground rules, create an outline for future work and to discuss the important topics facing the Council in the coming weeks and months. The group has been charged with studying “discrimination faced by people in Connecticut living with a criminal record and developing recommendations for to reduce or eliminate discrimination based on a person’s criminal history.”

Collateral consequences are generally defined as the legal or regulatory restrictions on housing, employment, voting rights, access to education and professional services and other opportunities for people who were convicted of a crime.

“There are many valid concerns regarding the continued pressures many people encounter after serving time in the criminal justice system, and how those lingering issues are dealt with can impact everyone in Connecticut,” Rep. Fishbein, a member of both the legislature’s Labor Committee and Judiciary Committee, said. “It is my understanding that this Council will endeavor to study these issues and develop recommendations to address various daily impediments facing previously convicted persons, and continue to press for policies that ensure all citizens are treated equally under the law. I am glad to be included in this process.”

Rep. Fishbein was appointed to serve on the Council as the designee of the ranking member of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. The 20-member Council is required to host at least three public forums in different Connecticut communities, and report their findings back to the legislature’s labor and Public Employees Committee no later than February 1, 2020.