Legislation to facilitate marijuana expungements including establishing a federal grant program for states and localities has been filed in the United States Senate.
The Harnessing Opportunity by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act was filed today by Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV). The measure was filed roughly a year after the HOPE Act was filed in the House of Representatives by Congressmember Greg Murphy (R-NC) along with four bipartisan cosponsors.
“While cannabis has been regulated in our state since 2017, many Nevadans are still dealing with the effects of past low-level marijuana offenses”, says Senator Rosen. “Having a record for something that is now legal in our state threatens Nevadans’ ability to get a job, apply for housing, and contribute to our state’s economy.”
She continues: “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to help expunge and seal certain marijuana convictions in states like Nevada where it has been legalized or decriminalized. I’ll continue working across the aisle to support commonsense cannabis reform that helps small businesses in our state.”
Specifically the measure would authorized the Department of Justice (DOJ) “to make grants to states and local governments to reduce the financial and administrative burden of expunging convictions for state cannabis offenses.”
The bill also “requires DOJ to study and report on (1) the effects on an individual of a criminal record report of a conviction for a criminal offense related to cannabis, and (2) the costs incurred for incarcerating an individual for a criminal offense related to cannabis.”
