JEFFERSON CITY – Low-wage workers with Missouri Workers Center and community allies are scheduled to be in Jefferson City today for a Lobby Day for bipartisan Clean Slate Initiative legislation that, if passed, would grant more than half a million Missourians automatic expungement of eligible arrest and conviction records.
Two versions of the policy have been introduced this legislative session in the state Senate and House: SB 1161 by Sen. Curtis Trent (R-20) and SB 763 by Sen. Brian Williams (D-14); and HB 2108 by Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R-104) and HB 2555 by Rep. Justin Hicks (R-108). Both Senate bills have been assigned to the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
Low-wage workers, several of whom have or know someone who has an expungement-eligible record that has prevented them from accessing better job opportunities and housing, will meet with their elected representatives to urge the policy’s passage as a way to strengthen the labor movement and build a flourishing economy in which everyone has a fair chance to participate.
“I support the Clean Slate Initiative because everyone deserves a second chance,” said Marieta Ortiz, low-wage restaurant worker who will attend the lobby day. “Being a felon feels like, when you check that box, no matter if you did your time, you still feel like you are being punished. Getting my felony expunged would allow me to find better paying jobs and stable housing. It would also show the new generation, like my eight-year-old son, that yes, mommy did the crime but she dealt with her mistake and there is a pathway to start a new life.”
While 518,000 Missourians are eligible for record sealing, the process is complex and costly, resulting in a mere one percent successfully obtaining expungement. Nationally, only 6.5 percent of people get their records cleared within five years of becoming eligible, while tens of millions of eligible people are unable to get relief. Clean Slate has been signed into law in 12 states, allowing millions of people — especially Black and Brown people who are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system — to move on with their lives and secure a brighter future.