Don't Get Your Hopes Up About Felony Expungement Bill
Because it does NOT restore voting rights to people who have paid their debt to society, and if this bill really did help former felons get jobs, housing, etc., the repugs who run the Kentucky state senate will never, ever accept it.
John Cheves at the Herald:
The Kentucky House voted 80 to 11 Friday for a bill that would let people convicted of Class D felonies erase their criminal records and get a second chance at jobs, housing and other opportunities sometimes denied felons.HA! Of course Governor Lying Coward has "concerns." It would help poor people who don't contribute to his campaign.
State law allows people to petition a court to have misdemeanors and violations expunged from all public records five years after they complete their sentences. House Bill 40 would expand that right to Class D felonies — the lowest level of felony, punishable by one to five years in prison — with exceptions, including sex offenses, crimes against children or the elderly, human trafficking and public corruption.
“I believe this legislation’s time has come. There is an overwhelming and growing army of support for expunging the records of people who commit Class D felonies and helping these individuals become successful, productive, employable citizens of the commonwealth,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, said in a floor speech before the vote.
“House Bill 40 is about redemption,” Owens said. “It’s about second chances. It’s about acknowledging that there, but for the grace of God, could go each of us.”
Gov. Matt Bevin previously said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk. But on Friday, Bevin’s office said the governor has “concerns that the bill in its current form expands beyond the original intent.” Bevin did not elaborate.
Also the repug thugs in the state senate have warned him to stay in line if he expects his economy-destroying budget to pass.
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