Michigan Celebrates Clean Slate Implementation
Blog Post Contributed by John Cooper, CEO, Safe & Just Michigan
Most people in America share a couple of basic, life-sustaining goals: finding a steady job with a fair wage and securing a safe place to live. For hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents, this simple dream has been out of reach because they have a conviction record that blocks them from a wide range of employment and housing opportunities — until now.
On April 11, 2023, the automatic expungement provision of Michigan’s Clean Slate law went into effect. On day one, the law is projected to help over 1 million people clear their records fully or in part. About 400,000 people are expected to see their records completely sealed on April 11.
Safe & Just Michigan’s road to this moment started about five years ago when I was put in touch with Sharon Dietrich. Sharon was leading the trailblazing Clean Slate campaign in Pennsylvania, and she connected me with a broader group of advocates working nationally on the issue. That group was critical to developing the Michigan Clean Slate campaign and provided strategic advice, technical assistance, direct advocacy, and funding.
The Michigan Clean Slate Campaign launched in early 2019. It attracted early support from the business community, a bipartisan group of representatives in the House – led by Judiciary Committee Chair Graham Filler and Minority Vice-Chair David LaGrand – as well as prominent elected officials such as Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II and Attorney General Dana Nessel. The campaign featured strong voices from organizations that center directly impacted people, such as Nation Outside, JLUSA, and MI Liberation.
The bill package that ultimately became the Clean Slate law had two parts:
A major expansion of eligibility to seal conviction records through the existing petition process (see HB 4981-85 & HB 5120); and
An automatic expungement that would seal up to 2 non-violent felonies after ten (10) years, up to four (4) non-violent misdemeanors after seven years, and seal unlimited low-level (<93 days) misdemeanors (see HB 4980).
The Clean Slate law was passed in Fall 2020, making Michigan the third state in the country to pass and implement a Clean Slate policy, and on April 11, 2021, the first round of bills went into effect. Exactly two years later, the second round follows, and automatic expungement begins in Michigan. The law excludes some offenses, such as assaultive convictions, serious misdemeanors, and crimes of dishonesty, as well as certain other convictions.
The statewide impact of Clean Slate policies is important. Still, the very tangible impact that record sealing has on the everyday lives of Michiganders is the real success of this law. Thomas Barnes, president of TCB Youth Mentoring, is a prime example of the life-changing impact of an expungement. At 23 years old, Thomas was arrested for selling marijuana to help provide for himself and his family — and that arrest resulted in a felony conviction that remained on his record for nearly 20 years. Thomas’s record kept him from employment opportunities and held him back from volunteer opportunities that would have allowed him to spend more time with his kids and community. In 2021, Thomas was granted an expungement, a moment that “gave him a new life,” opening doors that had been shut for two decades. Never again would he have to check a box that says “felon.” With the implementation of automatic expungement, hundreds of thousands more people have the same opportunity as Mr. Barnes.
For people eligible for an automated expungement under the Clean Slate implementation, no action is required on their part. Additionally, no notice will be issued to the person when their record has been automatically expunged — so it’s recommended that people proactively check in on their record status by using the state’s record check system.
Michigan has been a path-paver in the Clean Slate work nationwide as the third state to pass and implement Clean Slate and the first state to include felonies and people with unpaid fines & fees in their legislation.
For more information on Clean Slate implementation in Michigan, visit Safe & Just Michigan’s website, or the state’s implementation information page.
Editor's Note: Clean Slate laws are gaining popularity in states across the country. Since this was published, the number of states that have passed Clean Slate policies may have changed. For the most up-to-date number of Clean Slate states, please check cleanslateinitiative.org/states.