Committee backs narrow clemency publication exemption for verified survivors
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Summary
HB 1300 would let verified survivors of human trafficking or domestic abuse request that clemency‑publication requirements be waived to protect safety; survivors and advocates described digital publication risks and the committee advanced the bill unanimously.
Representative Nicole Yuri Balk introduced HB 1300B as a narrowly tailored fix to modernize a 1939 publication requirement that can endanger survivors when notice is published online. "This bill creates a narrow exception to that publication requirement," Balk said, emphasizing that it does not change the Board of Pardons and Paroles’ decision‑making or notification duties.
A survivor identified as A. Foster testified that digital publication creates permanent, searchable trails and can expose victims to trafficking networks; she described living in confidential programs and paying to have her information scrubbed from the internet. "For survivors, publication is no longer a notice. It's exposure," Foster said.
Tracy Decker, who helped draft the bill, described affidavit and verification requirements — the applicant must submit a sworn statement and two affidavits from qualified professionals — and stressed the bill preserves victim‑notification duties and parole‑board oversight. The committee voted 7‑0 to pass HB 1300 and place it on consent.