Rep. Lezlye Zupkus on Passage of “Clean Slate” Legislation

Last week, I voted on two important pieces of legislation that passed out of House of Representatives. SB 1019, called the “Clean Slate” bill, aims to automatically erase any misdemeanor from a person’s criminal record after seven years and any class D or E felony after ten years. The second, SB 1093, made some changes to that legislation and included other public safety measures.

While SB 1093 removed some of the originally applicable crimes in the “Clean Slate” bill, several dangerous crimes remain, including possession of a weapon on school grounds, dissemination of revenge pornography, certain hate crimes, and criminal violations of civil protection and restraining orders. Multiple amendments were called to remove some of these crimes, but they failed.

The shocking scope of the crimes included aside, it is important to consider the impact this legislation would have on the victims of these crimes. Not only are there no protective orders included for them, but there is also no way for them to appeal their offender’s erasure. We would effectively be silencing victims who may still feel their safety is at risk or deal with the ramifications of the crimes committed against them. Ultimately, while I believe in second chances for offenders, I could not support this legislation.

On a positive note, SB 1093 included additional provisions that I was proud to support. Namely, there were several provisions that made adjustments to the Police Accountability Bill passed last summer. One establishes a process by which an officer can perform a consent search on a pedestrian. This practice, which will increase our officers’ ability to safely assess a situation and do their job more effectively, was banned in last year’s bill.

At the time of writing, both bills have passed the House and Senate and are awaiting action from the governor. You can read more about them at www.cga.ct.gov.