BILL NUMBER:  S4705

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to expungement of records for certain juveniles convicted of
a nonviolent offense after seven years

 PURPOSE :

This bill would establish a procedure for an individual with a
non-violent criminal record, who has completed his or her sentence and
has been crime-free for a specified waiting period, to apply to the
sentencing court, on notice to the prosecutor, for an order expunging
the record of conviction. The bill's purpose is to help current law
abiding individuals keep, regain or gain employment by strengthening
mechanisms intended to prevent employment discrimination against
ex-offenders.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one of the bill adds a new section 440.75 to the Criminal
Procedure Law, setting out the criteria and procedures for expunging a
non- violent record of conviction.

Section two is the effective date.

New CPL 440.75's provisions include the following:
              

(Subdivision 1) An applicant must have served the full sentence,
including any supervision component, and must have completed a seven
year waiting period.

 EXISTING LAW :

Criminal possession of marihuana in the fifth degree is defined as
knowingly and unlawfully possessing marihuana in a public place, and
such marihuana is burning or open to public view; or substances
containing marihuana that in the aggregate weigh more than twenty-five
grams.

 JUSTIFICATION :

A criminal offense can follow a person for the rest of his or her
life. Even if he or she has been fully reformed and has committed no
further criminal acts, the record still exists and often forms the
basis for discrimination in college entry, vocational training,
employment or other areas.

While New York has a public policy of assisting ex-offenders by
prohibiting employment discrimination based on criminal history (see
Correction Law Article 23-A), information available over the internet
that provides criminal history information about individuals, may
reflect a conviction that occurred long ago and that may hinder
college entry, vocational training or employment opportunities for
someone who has been a law abiding citizen for several years. Current
law does not provide a mechanism for addressing the employment
discrimination problems created by technological advances. This is
especially true of juveniles who succumb to peer pressure and other
outside influences as their brain was not fully developed and hence
lacked the ability to make rational and sound judgments regarding
their behavior. This bill provides such a mechanism.

Many young adults who made mistakes in the past and have led law
abiding lives since their convictions have been denied entry into
colleges, vocational trainings or have either lost jobs due to the
economic downturn, have lost jobs because employers began checking
criminal records, or have afraid to apply for new and better jobs
because they fear they will be asked about criminal records. Job
applicants are routinely asked about criminal records and eliminated
from consideration for crimes that occurred years, or even decades,
ago.

Over the last ten years, the free flow of information over the
Internet, live data feeds, sales of databases, etc. have made it easy
for colleges, and employers to obtain criminal record information.
Even applicants for low paying jobs are subject to criminal records
questions on applications and/or criminal records checks. It is
critical that the Legislature act now to establish a mechanism for
expunging records before our youth, the future of New York, are unable
to contribute to society in a meaningful way and become a burden upon
the taxpayers of the state.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

03/20/15 REFERRED TO CODES
01/06/16 REFERRED TO CODES

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.