Press Releases

Workshop sheds light on Virginia’s new Clean Slate Law — residents learn how the upcoming law will allow some misdemeanor and felony convictions to be sealed or expunged, offering a path toward second chances and reduced barriers to employment and housing.

Rep. Jehan-Gordon Booth calls the passage of the Clean Slate Act “a labor of love,” marking the culmination of a decade-long effort to automatically seal or expunge certain misdemeanors and low-level felonies for 2.2 million Illinoisans — offering a true second chance.

Illinois joins a growing national movement as the 13th state to pass Clean Slate, giving 1.74 million residents a fair chance at a fresh start.

Representatives Laurel Lee (R-FL) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) introduced the Fresh Start Act, a bipartisan bill to provide support for rehabilitated individuals to have access to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.

In a powerful display of unity across party lines, bipartisan lawmakers, advocates, stakeholders, and directly impacted individuals celebrated the reintroduction of the Clean Slate Act and Fresh Start Act. These bills would reduce the barriers faced by millions of people in America who remain saddled with arrest and conviction records many years after completing their sentences and living crime-free.

The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI) today announces the results of a groundbreaking survey that provides the first comprehensive confirmation of the effectiveness of Clean Slate policies in Utah, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI) celebrates the introduction of S. 5266, sponsored by Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Bob Casey (D-PA). The legislation is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 2930, The Clean Slate Act of 2023, and its filing represents a major bipartisan achievement, standing out amidst the heightened partisanship of election season. Read more in this press release.

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Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced executive actions granting pardons for misdemeanor convictions for possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.

In a breakthrough for public policy creation, a new data model unveiled by The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI) offers detailed insights into the crisis of arrest and conviction records in America. The data model powers The CSI Data Dashboard, which presents data visualizations and population estimates for people in the U.S. impacted by arrest and conviction records, with data further broken down by race, ethnicity, sex, and type of record within each state and over time.