Filed and sponsored by Representatives Dave Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York, the bill is titled the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement Act – or HOPE Act, for short.

This bill would incentivize local and state governments to expunge cannabis records in their jurisdictions.

Bipartisan Bill Incentivizing State-Level Expungements

So how does the HOPE Act work?

Outdated cannabis law violations can negatively impact opportunities ranging from employment to education to housing for one’s entire lifetime. And it doesn’t just affect the individual. Over several decades, entire families, communities, and regional economies can be hit.

The two Representatives occupying seats on opposite sides of the aisle saw a need to address this issue by proposing the HOPE Act.

If passed, the bill would encourage states to grant relief to people with non-violent marijuana convictions. The costs connected with identifying and clearing specific cases would be provided through federal grants.

These grants could be used to automate the relief process, purchase necessary technology to facilitate expungements, support partnerships for mass relief, and fund badly needed legal clinics. The program would appropriate $2 million in funding for each fiscal year starting in 2023 and ending in 2032.

Ocasio-Cortez said that “as we continue to advocate for the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana, this bipartisan bill will provide localities the resources they need to expunge drug charges that continue to hold back Americans, disproportionately people of color, from employment, housing and other opportunity.”

The Positive Impact of Coming Together

We’re not going all Pollyanna on you or anything here. We’re well aware that there’s a level of division in our political system that’s hard to grasp.

But the fact that this particular bill holds bipartisan appeal is small sliver of silver lining on an otherwise dark cloud. Sure, it’s an incremental move to right the heinous wrongs of the drug war. But it’s an important one. Especially since the majority of cannabis arrests happen on the state level.

And since it doesn’t involve the legalization of marijuana in any way, there’s a better chance that Biden will pass it. While he’s still in opposition to adult-use legalization, he’s does believe that records should be expunged and nobody deserves to be incarcerated over cannabis.

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act also holds a provision to incentivize state-level expungements. It cleared the House Judiciary Committee in September. However, that legislation includes federally descheduling cannabis, so its fate is sketchier.

There are other bipartisan efforts at play though – demonstrating a growing consensus for marijuana policy reform and addressing the damage caused by prohibition.

Final touches are being put on a bill to federally legalize marijuana presented by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, and Senator Cory Booker – all of whom are Democrats.

Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers recently filed a legalization bill that also contains expungement provisions and is framed as a compromise between progressive proposals as well as scaled-back legislation Republican legislators introduced recently.

The War Wages On

As the battle to legalize marijuana and end federal prohibition continues, there’s something positive to be said for the bipartisan bill incentivizing state-level expungements. It’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Keep an eye on cannabis happenings by continually checking back with our blog.

And in the meantime, if your cannabis marketing efforts feel like a constantly failing battle, then contact us today. With years of expertise in cannabis marketing, we’ll ensure that you get noticed.

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Last Wednesday, the Senate approved bipartisan legislation that was introduced by the House last September. Yep. A year ago.

The legislation consists of a number of bills that will enable people to clear their criminal records from public view as well as automate the process for certain offenses.

Governor Whitmer is expected to sign it.

Expungement Reform in Michigan Is a Long Time Coming

The passing of these bills is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of people and help to remove barriers to employment, housing, and other opportunities for those with criminal histories who have rehabilitated themselves.

Many have said their criminal convictions – even those from decades ago –  have held them back from finding meaningful work.

“With these reforms, thousands of good, hardworking people will become more employable at a critical time when job providers are in dire need of a ready, able and reliable workforce,” said State Rep. Graham Filler, R-DeWitt, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.

It’s also a milestone in state criminal record-sealing policy. The current process for sealing a criminal record from public view is complicated and cost-prohibitive. And there are narrow restrictions. People can apply to have one felony or two misdemeanors set aside five years AFTER their monitoring by the justice system ends.

Even at that, a study from the University of Michigan Law School found that only 6.5% of people who qualify for expungement in Michigan have their records cleared within five years of becoming eligible.

Not the best odds.

The study also found that those who are able to get their records expunged experience higher earnings and low recidivism rates.

What the Seven Bills Will Change

The automated expungement process bill – also known as the “Clean Slate” – gets the limelight for bringing the most major changes. It would create an automated system that would clear certain convictions after a period of time.

Similar to laws in California, Utah, and Pennsylvania, the Michigan law would be the first to automatically clear prior low-level felony offenses.

The bills would also change the following:

• increase the number of convictions eligible for expungement
• reevaluate multiple convictions resulting from “one bad night” as a single offense
• lessen the waiting period to apply for misdemeanor expungement
• allow for expungement of most traffic offenses

In addition, the bills would create a process that would streamline expungement of convicted marijuana offenses that if, under the recreational marijuana law, would have otherwise been considered legal.

It’s not clear exactly how many people would benefit from the reform, but currently in Wayne County alone, people who qualify for expungement is 152,000. The reform legislation, if enacted, would take that number to 358,000.

Both sides of the aisle have supported the bills, with the exception of a Republican who represents the Upper Peninsula and feels it’s “a terrible injustice” to excuse driving under the influence of marijuana while still criminalizing driving under the influence of alcohol.

Whatever the case, there was enough support from other Republicans to make this a reality. It’s truly a red letter day. Maybe we really CAN all get along…

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So if you have a cannabis business and want to work with professionals who have the inside scoop, contact us today for your marketing needs.

And for more informational articles like this one on expungement reform in Michigan, keep checking back with our blog.

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