Pennsylvania governor signs law to seal certain criminal records

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has signed a bill to seal criminal records for certain low-level offenders if they go a decade without any other convictions, reports WHHY.

Pennsylvania to seal criminal records under terms

Under the “clean slate” new law, those who serve a year or more in prison can petition courts to have their records sealed after 10 years, as long as they’ve made all their court-mandated payments.

Second-or third-degree misdemeanors that require a shorter than a two-year prison sentence are also eligible for automatic record sealing.

No longer have to reveal record

If people with sealed records are asked about prior convictions, it will be as if the crime never happened, said state Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia.

“If this person is applying for a job, their answer is no,” he said. “And our hope is that folks who have 10 years free from crime won’t commit any. Quite honestly, the statistics show that.”

Pennsylvania is the first state to pass such legislation.