After years of work by the leaders at CONECT,  Gov. Ned Lamont signed the Clean Slate bill into law on the afternoon of June 10, 2021!

Congratulations to the many leaders who contributed to this campaign and victory over many years.

CONECT Leaders united to fight for Clean Slate

To truly understand this momentous win, we have to understand exactly what Clean Slate is and how it positively impacts the state of Connecticut and its residents. 

CLEAN SLATE is the automatic erasure of criminal records for certain convictions after a set period of time, for individuals who remain free of the criminal justice system upon release from custody. There is currently a process to apply for erasure in CT, but the application process is burdensome, costly, bureaucratic, and subjective. This process needs to change. Clean Slate is the solution.

Clean Slate is a racial justice issue.

  • In Connecticut, black people are 9.4x more likely than white people to be incarcerated, and Latinx people are 3.9x more likely to be incarcerated than white people. The effects of this systemic racism will persist for decades to come without Clean Slate. 

Clean Slate improves public safety.

  • When people's records are erased, they gain access to jobs, housing, and higher education. Recidivism rates dramatically decrease as a result. That makes everyone safer.

Clean Slate boosts the economy.
One 2016 study estimates that the collective national impact of the shackles of a criminal record reduces our GDP each year between $78 billion and $87 billion. Based on Connecticut's population, this means the loss of between $859 million and $958 million in economic activity each year in our state. Clean Slate will create job opportunities for thousands of CT residents, thereby expanding our state’s economic growth.

MEDIA LINKS HERE

For more information, read the text of the original bills: