The Hawaii House of Representatives has approved a bill to automatically expunge tens of thousands of arrest and conviction records for low-level marijuana possession cases.
About four years after the state decriminalized possession of up to three grams of cannabis—and as lawmakers consider a proposal this session to legalize marijuana—the House passed the complementary expungements legislation from Rep. David Tarnas (D) on Tuesday, sending it to the Senate.
While there’s already a process in place to request record sealing from the courts, advocates say the process can be difficult to navigate, often requiring people to seek out legal counsel and pay court fees that can be prohibitive.
This measure would automate the process, mandating that the state attorney general’s office “issue, without petition and on the department’s own initiative, an expungement order annulling, canceling, and rescinding all criminal records, including records of arrest and any records of conviction” for possession of up to three grams of marijuana.
That would need to include records for civil violations, petty misdemeanor convictions, juvenile convictions, arrests, convictions and any pending charges.
“Despite the decriminalization, some persons still have prior arrest records or conviction records for related charges that affect their employment and housing options,”
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