The Alaska House of Representatives passed a bill that would restrict the release of certain records of convictions. The intent is to reduce barriers to employment for people who have been convicted of low-level marijuana possession crimes that would be legal on January 1, 2023. By protecting the records of these low-level crimes from types of criminal history background checks, the legislature’s intent is to increase the likelihood that people convicted of these types of low-level crimes will become contributing members of society.
Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (Sitka):
“House Bill 246 does two things in relation to our regulation of marijuana. The first is that it removes from Court View convictions for simple possession of marijuana prior to the citizens initiative that legalized marijuana in Alaska. to be clear, this doesn’t make these convictions inaccessible by law enforcement or DPS background checks but relates to Court View and more public and external facing records on these simple possession charges from pre-legalization.
Rep. Kreiss-Tomkins adds:
“The other thing this piece of legislation does with an amendment that was incorporated in finance is that it changes possession of marijuana 18-20-year-olds to a Class B misdemeanor as is currently on the books to a violation, which mirrors how we sanction underage possession of alcohol for 18-20-year-olds that’s a violation and it establishes a fine schedule $125 elevating it to $250 for a second violation.”
Despite legalization of marijuana in 2014, many Alaskans remain blocked from employment and housing due to previous convictions. According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, 8,000 Alaskans have convictions for low-level marijuana crimes that could fall under the scope of this bill.
The bill passed the house on a 30-8 vote and moves to the Senate for consideration.
Transcribed audio courtesy of KTOO 360TV.