House Committee May Take Action on 391 In February

Tuesday, January 28 2014

After being approved in a unanimous vote by the Pennsylvania State Senate in October, Senate Bill 391, the expungement bill sponsored by Senator Timothy Solobay (D – 46) is waiting for action in the House Committee on the Judiciary. Supporters of the bill say that Committee Chairman Ronald Marisco (R -105) may allow for a vote on the bill in February.

Chairman Marisco has strong law-enforcement connections and a solid anti-crime voting record, so he may be having an knee-jerk reaction to this bill. Hopefully, he will see that the bill is supported by the state’s district attorneys and that other red states have passed laws that expanded expungement.

What The Senate Bill 391 Will Accomplish

SB 391 will expand the Pennsylvania courts ability to expunge criminal records to include low level misdemeanors after waiting periods have been met. Under current law, no misdemeanor convictions are eligible to be expunged.

Please contact representative Marisco and ask him to allow a vote on SB 391.
He can be reached via email at rmarsico@pahousegop.com or you can call his office at 717-783-2014.

Mathew Higbee Esq.: Mathew K. Higbee is a lawyer and chairman of the Foundation for Continuing Justice.