Bill Passes Through Senate Judiciary Committee

In February, SB 22-099 was introduced to the senate and it could help Colorado residents with non-violent criminal backgrounds secure jobs and housing. The bill was originally drafted to help ease some of the impacts certain people and businesses have faced after the pandemic.

The workforce shortage that struck the state in the last two years was the main motivating factor for the introducing the bill. The idea is that automatically sealing certain criminal records could eliminate one barrier for those looking for jobs with criminal backgrounds and re-stimulate the state’s economy.

The bill would not change what crimes could be sealed after a set amount of time; it would just streamline the process. Currently, people with non-violent criminal pasts must petition the courts to get their records sealed, which can be a difficult process. The bill would eliminate the hurdles and create a system where a record will automatically seal after the amount of time that is set in state law.

According to CNBC, a study was conducted by RAND Corp. and it found that 6 percent of men at age 35 are unemployed and 64 percent of those unemployed had been arrested as adults.

The legislation has already dodged its first obstacle by getting through the senate judiciary committee in late February. The bill that was drafted by Republican State Senator Dennis Hisey (who represents Colorado Springs) has thus far seen bipartisan support since it has been brought up.

According to Mark Wester, the executive director of COMCOR in Colorado Springs, it is hard to say how many people in the Colorado Springs area have trouble finding jobs and housing with criminal records. “I do talk regularly to clients about the challenges they face in leaving Comcor,” Wester said. “They often describe that housing is difficult to find and the housing that is available to them is often in areas with higher crime rates.  As a result this negatively impacts their efforts to build a healthier lifestyle. Clients often ask our case managers and management for help in finding safe and affordable housing.”

Wester also said that people with criminal backgrounds that don’t find housing or jobs are at a higher risk for repeating a crime. “As I visit with our clients, I often hear stories about how they were homeless and jobless when they became involved with the criminal justice system,” Wester explained. “This is often a cycle that repeats itself.  It is in this context that people often become desperate and hopeless and turn to drugs to escape. So having a job and a place to live are two important factors to sustain a healthy lifestyle and to avoid involvement in the legal system. As with anyone in our community, a job loss or lack of work, and homelessness can be devastating, especially for people who have a criminal history.”

What Exactly Will SB 22-099 Do If Passed?

In 2017, Governor Polis signed HB 17-1266 into law – this automatically sealed misdemeanor marijuana charges since recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012 and possession of small amounts of the drug is no longer against the law. SB 22-099 is designed to extend this automatic sealing process to all criminal charges and civil infractions that are not subject to the victims’ rights act.

For example, non-violent felonies and misdemeanors such as drug charges or theft are eligible for record sealing. But other crimes such as domestic violence or assaults where there was a victim will not be available to seal.

The bill will also make it an “unfair employment practice” to terminate or refuse to hire or promote a person based entirely on the contents of a sealed criminal record. If passed, the legislation would also make it an “unfair housing practice” to refuse to show, sell, transfer, rent or lease housing based on what is in someone’s sealed criminal record.

Proponents of the Bill

So far, SB 22-099 has been well-received by both sides of the political spectrum. Many have spoken up in support of it as a way to help people retain jobs and secure housing.

According to Sen. Hisey (R) (who is the bill’s main sponsor), the idea of record sealing has been in Colorado for a long time and the facts show how much it can help someone with a criminal background.

“After record sealing, 11 percent more people are in a steady job and they are making 25 percent more than they were prior,” Hisey said. “So, it’s good for the economy, it gets people back in the workforce, we have employers that love it, and it’s good for families.”

Since State Representative Kerry Tipper (D) is an attorney, she has seen the need for this bill for quite some time. “Really why I am interested in this bill is, for one we are seeing this labor shortage,” Tipper said. “We have employers coming to us saying, ‘We have folks we want to hire, but because of some long ago conviction we can’t.’ And we have heard that from individuals trying to get employment as well. So, what people might not realize is even though their conviction is eligible for sealing it can be a pretty cumbersome process to go through. For the most part, you have to hire a lawyer and that’s expensive. That’s why most the people by and large that are eligible to have their records sealed, just don’t do it.”

The bill’s sponsors, including State Representative Robert Rodriguez (D), thought that as the pandemic is nearing to an end, it would be a good time to introduce the new legislation. “During the COVID 19 pandemic, a variety of circumstances have made it harder to hire and maintain a workforce, in addition to the challenges of finding a place to live,” Rodriguez explained. “In order to ensure the security of the Colorado economy and the well-being of individuals, sealed criminal records should not be used against prospective employees or renters. Allowing people to seek work and housing despite minor convictions will boost Colorado’s workforce and give more people the opportunity to find secure housing.”

Opponents of the Bill

When the bill was first introduced, the Colorado District Attorney Council (CDAC) was against the legislation. But since then, the CDAC has changed their stance to “neutral” after some amendments were made.

“Our main objection originally when the bill was introduced, was that the bill removed a standard that exists in current law right now,” the CDAC’s Executive Deputy Director Arnold Hanuman said. “Current law requires that someone must petition to seal their record. They have to demonstrate that the harm to them as an individual and the adverse consequences of still having that information available outweighs the public’s interest to have access to those records for public safety. That standard was going to go away.”

Therefore, while the bill was still in the senate judiciary committee an amendment was made that preserved that standard, prompting the CDAC to cease opposing the legislation.

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