Senate Public Safety Committee Approves Bill to Reduce Employment Barriers for People Living with an Old Conviction Record

AB 1924 would improve economic opportunity for Californians living with an old conviction record by streamlining the process for applying for a Certificate of Rehabilitation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California Senate’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday approved AB 1924, a bill that would streamline the process for applying for a certificate of rehabilitation, which can significantly increase a person’s employment prospects, make it easier to acquire professional licenses and otherwise enable a person to successfully contribute to their families and communities.

The bill, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) and co-sponsored by Californians for Safety and Justice, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and Root and Rebound, prioritizes the state’s collective health and safety by reducing existing barriers to applying for a certificate of rehabilitation, a discretionary judicial relief that allows a court to find that a person has been rehabilitated and serves as a recommendation that the person be granted a pardon.

The following can be attributed to Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice:

“California needs to focus on getting people back to work, creating jobs, and job training – not perpetuating the leftover harm from failed criminal justice system policies of the past that voters have repeatedly rejected. The reality is, all Californians pay an economic cost when we limit opportunities for people with old conviction records. We applaud the Senate’s Public Safety Committee for recognizing that California laws that prevent people living with a past conviction from positively contributing to our communities make us all less safe.”