Marijuana expungement bill heads to governor’s desk

Hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans could see their criminal records cleared under a bill awaiting Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature.

On Monday, state lawmakers in both the Assembly and the Senate voted in favor of a measure that would make it easier to expunge certain criminal records, particularly of individuals with past marijuana offenses.

If signed into law, possession of up to five pounds of marijuana would be eligible for expungement. The bill would also create an expedited expungement process for certain marijuana-related offenses and would offer a “clean slate” expungement to individuals with multiple convictions who have been out of the criminal justice system for at least 10 years.

But some have raised concerns about clearing old records while people continue to be arrested for the same offenses.

In May, Murphy questioned the sense in “expunging something in the past that is still illegal today.”

He has not indicated whether he will sign or veto the bill.

Originally published here by njtvonline.com