Reps. Dave Joyce, R-OH and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY have reintroduced a bill bipartisan to encourage local and state governments to expunge marijuana convictions in their jurisdictions.
On Tuesday, the lawmakers introduced the Harnessing Opportunity by Pursuing Expungement Act (HOPE), describing it as a bipartisan reform which would support ongoing clemency initiatives.
The bill would encourage states to offer relief to those with non-violent marijuana convictions by providing federal grants. The Justice Department will run the State Expungement Opportunity Grant Program. This program would cover administrative costs for identifying and clearing cases.
The program will be funded with $2 million per fiscal year, starting in 2024 until 2033.
The grants can be used by the states to buy technology that facilitates expungements on a large scale, automates the relief process, funds legal clinics to assist people in getting their records cleared, and supports “innovative partnership” to provide mass assistance.
Joyce stated in a release that “the vast majority of minor, non-violent marijuana law violations occur at the state and municipal level, preventing millions of Americans access to basic opportunities like housing and employment.” As a former prosecutor and public defender, I know first-hand how these barriers negatively impact families in Ohio and throughout the country.
According to the bill, local governments and state governors “must submit to the Attorney General an application to be submitted at the time, manner and with the information that the Attorney General may reasonably require”, to qualify for grants.
The legislation also requires the attorney general conduct a study of the impact cannabis convictions have on individuals as well as on the financial cost to states who incarcerate non-violent marijuana offences.
Officials of the jurisdictions receiving the grant would have to “publish information on a publicly-accessible website about the process and availability of expunging cannabis convictions, as well as information for people living in another jurisdiction who had been convicted of cannabis offenses in the jurisdiction they are in.”
The report would have to include “a description of the use of these funds and the number convictions for cannabis crimes that were expunged by using such funds.”
The proposal would not end federal prohibition of marijuana, but it could help ease the burden on the states, where the majority of cannabis arrests occur in the U.S.
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Ocasio Cortez stated that “as we continue our advocacy for decriminalization, and legalization, this bipartisan legislation will provide localities with the resources they require to expunge drug convictions which continue to prevent Americans, and disproportionately, people of color from employment, housing, and other opportunities,”
The HOPE Act was first introduced by Joyce and Ocasio Cortez in 2021. The standalone bill didn’t move forward, but it was a key component of a package that Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) worked to develop through the last Congress.
Morgan Fox, NORML’s political director, stated that the HOPE Act offers “hope and a second opportunity for those who suffer lifelong consequences from a state level marijuana possession arrest.” As more states end their failed policy of criminalizing marijuana users, it is incumbent upon Congress to assist in repairing the harms associated with it for decades.
He said: “This legislation is an important step in redressing the injustices of prohibition and improving millions of lives across the country.”
Anthony Lamorena is the senior federal affairs manager for the R Street Institute. He said that the bill will “help provide direct resources to states and localities in order to create and implement programs of automatic expungement for cannabis offenses.”
Justin Strekal of the Better Organizing to Win Legalization PAC said, “In the previous Congress, the bipartisan HOPE act dramatically expanded the political discussion about what was possible in cannabis policy reform. Now is the time to do it.”
He said that the resources provided by this bill will have a multiplier effect by encouraging and supporting state- and local-level expungement programs. “Expanding the programs will help millions of Americans with cannabis records find employment, housing and other necessities to strengthen communities.”
Disclosure: Strekal is a Patreon supporter of Marijuana Moment and their work. )
The President Joe Biden has taken a particular interest in cannabis clemency. He granted a pardon to a large number of people who had committed federal marijuana possession crimes late last year, while also ordering an administrative review on cannabis scheduling.
Joyce recently reintroduced a bill designed to help prepare the federal government to legalize cannabis. The bill directs the attorney general create a panel that will make recommendations for a regulatory system that is similar to the one currently in place to regulate alcohol.
Schumer and his colleagues on the Senate side have already held meetings with members of both parties in this session, after the failure to pass the SAFE Plus package last year, which included marijuana exclusion and banking reform legislation.
Last week, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said that he believed marijuana “compromise laws” would be passed along bipartisan lines during this session.
Below, you can read the text relating to the HOPE Act:
Where Donald Trump, the presidential candidate, stands on marijuana
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