DETROIT, MI - On Monday, October 12th, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed bipartisan "Clean Slate" House Bills 4980-4985 and 5120. These bills will make it easier for people who have committed certain felonies and misdemeanors to have their records expunged. These new changes will allow someone to set aside one or more marijuana offenses if the offenses would not have been a crime after December 6, 2018, which is the day recreational marijuana use for adults became legal in Michigan.

“This is a historic day in Michigan.These bipartisan bills are a game changer for people who are seeking opportunities for employment, housing, and more, and they will help ensure a clean slate for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders,” said Governor Whitmer. “This is also an opportunity to grow our workforce and expand access to job training and education for so many people. I am proud to sign these bills today alongside Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist and many of the bipartisan leaders who worked on them.”

The changes proposed by House Bills 4980-4985 and 5120 include the following:

-Creates an automatic process for setting aside eligible misdemeanors after seven years and eligible non-assaultive felonies after 10 years.
-Expands the number and revises the types of felonies and misdemeanors eligible to be set aside by application.
Revises the waiting periods before being eligible to apply.
-Treat multiple felonies or misdemeanor offenses arising from the same transaction as a single felony or misdemeanor conviction, provided the offenses happened within 24 hours of one another and are not assaultive crimes, or involves possession or use of a dangerous weapon, or is a crime that carries penalty of 10 or more years in prison.
-Expands expungement eligibility to various traffic offenses
-Allow a person to petition to set aside one or more marijuana offenses if the offense would not have been a crime if committed after the use of recreational marijuana by adults became legal in the state.

More information about the changes can be found at michigan.gov/whitmer.