Bill package would ease expungement requirements, including low-level traffic violations
Nila Bala, R Street Institute’s associate director of Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, told The Center Square that one out of three Americans has a criminal record.
Bala said this package gives those people a second chance, citing a University of Michigan Law study from J.J Prescott and Sonja B. Starr that found individuals who expunged their records experienced a wage jump of more than 20 percent.
“Those individuals, if making more money, will be able to provide for their family in a better way, be a consumer, and pay taxes: all good things for Michigan,” Bala said.
Bala said these bills honor research that three or four years after a misdemeanor, an individual who committed the misdemeanor is no more likely than anyone from the general public to commit a future offense.
Michigan is the fifth state to introduce this “Clean Slate” legislation, Bala said.
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