Hawaii’s House of Representatives approved a bill that will automatically expunge arrest records and convictions for marijuana possession charges of low level.
The House of Representatives passed Tuesday the complementary expungements bill from Rep. David Tarnas, (D), which will be sent to the Senate. This comes four years after the State decriminalized the possession of up three grams of marijuana.
Although there is a formal process for requesting the sealing of court records, some advocates claim that it can be difficult to navigate. It often requires people to hire legal counsel or pay high court fees.
This measure would automate this process by mandating that, on its own initiative and without a petition, the office of the state attorney general “issue an expungement or cancellation order cancelling all criminal records including arrest records and any records relating to convictions” for possession up to three grams marijuana.
This would include civil violations, minor misdemeanors, juvenile convictions as well as arrests, convictions or pending charges.
The bill’s Findings section states: “Despite decriminalization some people still have prior arrest or conviction records related to charges that can affect their employment and housing opportunities.”
The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center will be required, under the law, to identify all cases that are eligible for expungement, within 30 days after the enactment of the bill, and to provide this information in biannual reports to the Attorney General’s Office, county prosecuting attorney, county police departments, and each state court.
The Attorney General’s Office would then need to issue orders expunging these records within 60 days after receiving the lists. After receiving these orders, the judiciary must then facilitate relief within a year.
Tarnas, who is the sponsor of the proposal, stated on Tuesday that the proposal would allow for the expungement of “approximately 30 000 people”.
He said that many states, such as Utah, Michigan, and Minnesota, have adopted a state initiated record clearance system because they found out that most people don’t follow through with the process if it is based on a petition. It’s an intimidating and complicated process. We’re also trying to create a state-initiated process for record clearance.
Frank Stiefel is a senior policy associate with the Last Prisoner Project. He submitted a testimony to bolster the legislation at a hearing in this session. Frank stated that “nobody should suffer the collateral effects of cannabis criminalization.”
He said that “HB 1595 will ensure that those who are still suffering the consequences of a punishment the state decided to enforce in 2019 is applied equally so no one gets left behind.”
The House passed the expungements bill on the same date that approved the Senate’s bill to legalize adult-use marijuana and regulate it in the state. This sent the proposal to its opposite chamber.
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Last year, the Senate approved a separate bill for legalization that was later blocked by the House. Advocates are hopeful the proposal this year will go further. Gov. Josh Green (D), who said that last month, legalization was a “big issue” that needed to be addressed by the state. He indicated that he would sign a bill ending cannabis prohibition if legislators sent him one.
In January, Democrats who control Hawaii’s Senate stated that legalizing cannabis is one of the top priorities for this legislative session. They framed the reform as a way to boost the economy of the state.
In April of last year, the Hawaii Legislature also passed a resolution urging the Governor to create a program for those with previous marijuana convictions.
In other drug policy issues, lawmakers introduced a bill last month that would give certain protections to patients who engage in psilocybin assisted therapy after a doctor’s approval. The bill would not legalize the drug itself, but instead would create a positive legal defense in cases where psilocybin is used under the supervision of a facilitator and approved by a doctor.
The first time Marijuana Moment published the post Hawaii House Approves a Bill to Automatically Expunge Marijuana Records and Sends It to Senate.
