The House unanimously passed a bill Thursday that would broaden a juvenile\u2019s ability to expunge their arrest record in Florida.<\/p>\n
State law limits expungement opportunities to minors who complete a diversion program after a first-time misdemeanor arrest.<\/p>\n
The bill (HB 195<\/b><\/a>), however, would broaden expunction eligibility to include most felonies. Winter Springs Republican Rep.\u00a0David Smith<\/b>\u00a0is the bill sponsor.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we would all probably agree that justice reform in Florida is a marathon,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThis bill is a good first step.\u201d<\/p>\n While the bill is indeed a first step, it\u2019s taken a marathon effort by Smith to get it singed into law.<\/p>\n He and Gainesville Republican Sen.\u00a0Keith Perry<\/b>, the companion sponsor (SB 342<\/b><\/a>), nearly enshrined the measure into law last year.<\/p>\n Gov.\u00a0Ron DeSantis<\/b>, however, vetoed the bill, citing public safety concerns. \u201cThe unfettered ability to expunge serious felonies, including sexual battery, from a juvenile\u2019s record may have negative impacts on public safety,\u201d DeSantis wrote in the\u00a0veto letter<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n The forcible felony exception is the most significant distinction between this year\u2019s proposal and the previous bill, though proponents note diversion would almost never be offered to a violent offender.<\/p>\n According to a staff analysis, more than 26,000 kids would benefit from the proposal if signed into law. Proponents note that an arrest record is often a hurdle to individual economic opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had parents call me in regards to having kids who are now adults and things like that, and having a hard time getting a job,\u201d said Democratic Rep.\u00a0Angie Nixon<\/b>.<\/p>\n Aware of Smith\u2019s efforts on the bill, many lawmakers jokingly voted against the bill before switching their votes. Laughs could be heard throughout the Chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cI thank you just for ensuring that our children, especially ones who have made mistakes, have an ability to have a future,\u201d said St. Petersburg Democratic Rep.\u00a0Michele Rayner<\/b>. \u201cI think this is the type of legislation that, you know, we can be proud of as a chamber.\u201d<\/p>\n If signed into law, the bill would take effect July 1. It now awaits Senate consideration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Juvenile expunction bill soars through House The bill is among the most ambitious criminal justice reform efforts in decades. The House unanimously passed a bill Thursday that would broaden a juvenile\u2019s ability to expunge their arrest record in Florida. State law limits expungement opportunities to minors who complete a diversion program after a first-time misdemeanor Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[860,1287,52,5,6],"tags":[1301],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16394"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16410,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16394\/revisions\/16410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}It requires the recommendation of law enforcement and the approval of a state attorney. Examples of forcible felonies include murder, rape and kidnapping, among others.<\/p>\n