People convicted of marijuana offenses are closer to getting their records cleared, as the Legislature voted Monday to pass an expungement bill.
“This move will make it possible for thousands of residents now and in the future to truly be able to turn the corner and not have long forgotten mistakes marking them like a ‘scarlet letter’ for the rest of their lives,” on of the bill’s sponsors, Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, D-Union, said in a statement.
The bill passed the Assembly 48-21 and the Senate 22-15, marking the second time expungement legislation has cleared both chambers. Gov. Phil Murphy now must sign the bill for it to become law.
In August, Murphy, a Democrat, conditionally vetoed an expungement bill. He added new details for a “clean slate” automated process that would clear convictions and criminal records. It also mandated creation of an e-filing system, elimination of fees and $15 million to expand the workforce needed to process expungement petitions before the automated system is ready.
That automation is the “gold standard” of expungement law, officials have said. Only two other states, Pennsylvania and Utah, have similar laws. [Read more at NJ.com]
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