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Dozens tell Judiciary committee: automatic ‘clean slate’ sealing would open jobs, housing for hundreds of thousands

3674214 · June 3, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Advocates, employers, legal-aid groups and people directly affected urged lawmakers to pass automatic record-sealing (Clean Slate) measures, saying the current petition-based process is slow, confusing and disproportionately affects communities of color and those seeking work and housing.

Dozens of witnesses pressed the Joint Committee on the Judiciary to enact automatic sealing of eligible criminal records, commonly called “clean slate.” Supporters — legal aid groups, business leaders, workforce advocates and people directly harmed by records — said automation would remove a confusing, costly bottleneck that prevents people from obtaining employment, housing and education.

Testimony included personal accounts from people who only discovered eligibility to seal after being denied a job or being turned down for housing. Legal-aid lawyers and court…

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