Senate Committee Approves Solobay Second-Chance Bill

The Senate Judiciary Committee this week unanimously approved a bill sponsored by state that will help minor lawbreakers get a job and stem Pennsylvania’s rising prison costs.

Senate Bill 1220 would allow individuals who were convicted of certain misdemeanors of the second and third degree to apply to have the record expunged if they keep a clean record for seven years and 10 years, respectively.    

“The recession has brought two problems into very clear focus,” Solobay, D-Canonsburg, said. “One is the difficulty for workers to find a job and the other is Pennsylvania’s booming prison costs.  This bill is aimed at both problems and today’s vote is an important step forward.”

Pennsylvania’s prison population has jumped from just more than 8,000 to more than 51,000 in the past 20 years, and costs have risen 37 percent in the past 10 years, he said in a release.

Experts have testified before Senate committees that part of the problem is recidivism, exacerbated by a convict’s difficulty finding a job.

“It’s tough for anyone these days,” Solobay said. “But someone with even a minor criminal record has almost no chance. That raises the chances of returning to prison at a taxpayer cost of more than $30,000 a year. This bill will give some offenders a second chance and hopefully save taxpayers that cost.”

The bill allows courts to grant expungement of a criminal record if the crime is a misdemeanor of the third or second degree and the individual has not been arrested or prosecuted for seven to 10 years following the completion of the sentence or judicial supervision.

It would not apply to offenses punishable by more than one year in prison or pertaining to certain forms of assault, sex offense, cruelty to animals, firearms offenses, and certain other crimes.

Under current law, the crimes could not be expunged until after the offender reaches the age of 70, or had been deceased for more than three years.