- 2 years ago
On Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) held a briefing for recently passed legislation.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Ladies and gentlemen, Jordan Harris.
00:11Good afternoon, everyone.
00:14This is a good day.
00:15We can do that again.
00:16Good afternoon, everyone.
00:20First of all, let me start by thanking our 48th governor, Josh Shapiro, for being here
00:29with us today and doing this.
00:31To my friend and former colleague, the Lieutenant Governor, Austin Davis.
00:36To all of the legislators here that you'll hear from, thank you for standing and being
00:41here today.
00:42I do want to make mention to legislators who are in the room.
00:46I see Representatives Solomon, Chairman of Veteran Affairs, I see Chairman Steve Kinsey,
00:57Chairwoman Morgan Cephas, Chair of the Black Caucus, Napoleon Nelson, Representative Regina
01:03Young, Representative Anthony Bellman, Representative Greg Scott.
01:09In the back, I saw the majority chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative
01:16Tim Briggs.
01:17Thank you, sir, for all of your work.
01:20Also, Senator Sharif Street is here as well.
01:26Representative Rick Kijewski.
01:27Did I get all my members?
01:30I got you.
01:32I got you.
01:33All right.
01:34I got everybody.
01:35You know, I did the House first.
01:36I got you.
01:37They vote for me.
01:38You see what I'm saying?
01:39I got you.
01:40Got to take care of my folks first.
01:41All right.
01:42I'll just say it.
01:43There you go.
01:44Listen, I want to tell you a story about a really impressive couch in the East Wing.
01:52Representative Solomon followed me in that impressive office in the East Wing.
01:56It was this really impressive couch where this gentleman by the name of Greg Rowe, who
02:01was at the time with the District Attorneys Association, came and listened to a freshman
02:06legislator talk about this idea of sealing or expunging, at that time I wanted to expunge,
02:16criminal records.
02:17I thought back then, my first year in office, that a person should not be judged for the
02:24rest of their lives by their worst day.
02:28It was on that, it was a blue couch.
02:30It was real comfortable too.
02:33One time Governor Wolf came in, I was on the couch asleep, he knocked on the door, just
02:37walked right in.
02:38I was really embarrassed.
02:39Anyway, never mind.
02:40Knock before you go in.
02:41Yeah.
02:42Yeah.
02:43Knock before you walk in.
02:44Yeah.
02:45Knock before you walk in.
02:46You sleep on my couch.
02:47Anyway.
02:48Anyway.
02:49Oh, focus, focus.
02:52The bottom line is this, you know, Greg said something to me, he said that while we might
02:57not be able to go as far as you wanted to today, but he said if we were dedicated to
03:02the issue, over time, we could get there.
03:07And that's exactly what we're here today to celebrate.
03:11Some years ago, we started down the pathway of criminal record sealing.
03:17There was a woman who works for community legal services back in Philadelphia who wrote
03:22a white paper about what it would look like to automatically seal a person's criminal
03:29record.
03:30Sharon Dietrich was the brainchild for what it would look like to remove barriers to sealing
03:40a person's record and doing it automatically.
03:42Why?
03:43Because what we found out is that even after we did the first iteration of record sealing,
03:48lots of people weren't taking advantage of it.
03:52They didn't know about it.
03:53They thought they couldn't afford it.
03:55So why don't we just move that barrier right out the way, and why not do it automatically?
04:01So some years ago, we started on this course of automatic record sealing.
04:07Some folks may have thought we were crazy to partner a Democrat from Philadelphia with
04:13a Republican from out in Cumberland County.
04:16Two people who, on many political issues, differ, but on this one, we agree.
04:25And we started that journey on clean slate.
04:30We got it done one iteration that did misdemeanors, twos and threes that have a nonviolent nature.
04:36The third iteration came back and removed the barrier of court costs while keeping restoration
04:44of paying restitution in place.
04:47And now today, we celebrate the implementation of the third iteration of clean slate, which
04:54now includes nonviolent drug felonies to help restore our brothers and sisters back into
05:02society so that they can become gainfully employed and move on with their lives from
05:07their worst day to their better days.
05:18Now let me tell you something.
05:19When we first started this journey, there was a Republican legislator from Cumberland
05:23County who told me she would never vote for felonies.
05:29I'm not going to look at her.
05:33But to my colleague's credit, and this is the legislative process, when you work at
05:41an issue together, when you trust the person that you're working with and you build a relationship
05:49and you really start to examine what this could mean for people, we all evolve.
05:55We come along and we understand the benefit of what we're talking about.
06:00So I want to say publicly to my friend, Cheryl Deloja, thank you so much.
06:05We've been on this clean slate trail for a very long time.
06:10And now we got felonies done here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
06:15And not only that, Clean Slate has become a national model, a national model where states
06:26across the country are following what we're doing.
06:30People are traveling to MyCleanSlatePA.com, hosted by Community Legal Services, to find
06:38out if they are eligible, to find out what they may need to do, to find out what they
06:44need for their second chance.
06:47So today we're just here to celebrate the first day of effectiveness for the third iteration,
06:56what we call Clean Slate 3.0.
07:00Let me conclude by saying this, Senator Bartolone.
07:07Those lives have been changed by this legislation.
07:14And this is an example of what working together in a bipartisan manner can do for the Commonwealth.
07:25We are going to have political differences.
07:28It is the nature of what we do here.
07:32But there comes a chance, there comes an opportunity where we get to do something that's
07:37bigger than ourselves.
07:39Something that's bigger than our region.
07:42Something that's bigger than our political party.
07:45And when we can put partisanship aside for those things, we can really do things that
07:52will change the lives of everyday Pennsylvanians.
07:57So I'm truly honored to have all of you here today and for our governor and our lieutenant
08:04governor to be here to celebrate Clean Slate 3.0 and what it means to so many Pennsylvanians.
08:14From a white paper idea to implementation, already 43 plus million records have been
08:23sealed.
08:24Already.
08:25So, with that being said, it's my pleasure to bring up my partner in reform.
08:36Somebody who I've grown a true friendship with over the years, Representative Cheryl
08:43DeLozier.
08:44Thank you.
08:45Thank you.
08:46Absolutely.
08:47Thank you very much.
08:48Appreciate it.
08:49Well, it's really hard to follow him on a regular basis, just to put that out there.
08:58Mr. Entertainer.
09:01But the one big thing that we have as we work through this is, you know, when we're here
09:06today to talk about an issue that really helps people in Pennsylvania, obviously we have
09:11our governor and our lieutenant governor, they are here to represent Pennsylvanians
09:15and they're here to support this legislation because this helps Pennsylvanians.
09:19We are all here for that.
09:21We talked about the legislators that are in the room.
09:23This is an issue that is supported by Republicans and Democrats.
09:26This is not a political issue.
09:28It's a people issue.
09:30As we were talking about it, nearly three million Pennsylvanians have a criminal record
09:35of some sort.
09:36In 2018, Pennsylvania became the very first state to have clean slate legislation.
09:42And that is something, as Jordan mentioned, that has been emulated out there.
09:46Over 1.2 million Pennsylvanians have benefited from what is already in the operations and
09:5111 other states have been able to adopt that similar legislation.
09:56The ability for us to take a look at what goes into effect right now is why we're here
10:01today.
10:02So the ability with employment, education, and housing, why do people recidivate?
10:07They don't have a good job.
10:09Why do people recidivate?
10:10They don't have a good place to live.
10:12Why do people recidivate?
10:14They need more education.
10:16Clean slate has a direct impact on those three issues.
10:20The ability for us to say to people, there is something out there that can help you.
10:24Keep your nose clean.
10:25Stay on the right track.
10:27We can help you in the long run.
10:29That is what this is about.
10:31This is about being able to say to someone, there is a path you can take that you will
10:36get a fair second chance.
10:39Because the ability for us to talk about automatic sealing, I just wanted to point out the fact,
10:44as Jordan mentioned, nothing against any of the attorneys in the room, and I'm sure
10:48there's plenty.
10:50But automatic sealing takes the need to hire an attorney out of the process.
10:55The ability to...
10:56Sorry, lawyers.
10:57But...
10:58You used to be a lawyer.
10:59I'm still one.
11:00Are you sure?
11:01I'm still one.
11:02Okay.
11:03All right.
11:04All right.
11:05You got a different job now.
11:06We're just making sure.
11:07So the ability for us to recognize that people don't always have the money to hire an attorney
11:13to get their records clean, whether it's expungement, whether it's pardon, whether whatever part
11:18of the process.
11:19So the ability for us to do that.
11:21What are some of the leading reasons for recidivism?
11:24Is that lack of employment.
11:25What does this have to do?
11:26We're going to hear from the chamber, absolutely.
11:28But $78 to $87 billion is lost in the United States GDP due to unemployment or underemployment
11:36because of individuals with criminal records.
11:39Those are huge numbers.
11:41And for Pennsylvania to take that step and to recognize the fact that Pennsylvania, as
11:45one of the largest states in our nation, has a great part of that.
11:49So working with the workforce, individuals learn.
11:53They're proud when they have a job.
11:54We have the capability, and we have an example in our...
11:57I get to shout out a Cumberland County business.
12:01We have a business owner here from Cumberland County, Steve Conway.
12:04He's the owner of Pyramid Construction.
12:06He has benefited from this with good employees.
12:08Steve, thank you very much for your willingness to participate and support.
12:13We need good employers.
12:16The ability for us to have good employers, we need good employees.
12:19That's what Clean Slate does.
12:21As a bipartisan piece of work, this legislation had people from all over.
12:26We joke about the two of us teaming up and our senators teaming up.
12:30The ability for us to recognize that the groups that could stand behind this piece of legislation,
12:35they are from all walks of life.
12:38They are from all political backgrounds.
12:40They are Republicans, Democrats, Independents.
12:42They recognize, again, this is not about politics.
12:47This is about people.
12:48And this is what's right for Pennsylvania as well as other states.
12:52But Pennsylvania got it right.
12:54Pennsylvania moved this legislation forward.
12:56And Pennsylvania recognized how important it is that we work together.
13:00And I want to recognize we have great senators that are here with us that did so much work
13:04over in the Senate for us.
13:06One is not able to be here.
13:07I want to give a shout out to our Judiciary Chair over in the Senate, Senator Lisa Baker.
13:12She worked so hard to make sure we were also working on probation reform, which is another
13:16one of our successes here in Pennsylvania.
13:19We were working with both of these pieces of legislation to work with both chambers.
13:23She worked Yeoman's work over in the Senate trying to get that through and talk to a lot
13:28of individuals and make sure that we were able to get it across the finish line and
13:33get it to the all-important desk of the governor.
13:36But the ability for us to recognize how important this is and how important Clean Slate is and
13:41what that expansion does and offer second chances to individuals that so many times
13:46look at our judicial system and say, how can it help me?
13:50It's working against me.
13:51We as legislators, our job is to try and take away red tape, to try and make an easier path,
13:58to try and put things into place that help people.
14:01This piece of legislation, I'm really proud with Jordan, with our senators, to have teamed
14:06up and gotten it to the governor's desk.
14:08Governor, thank you for signing the bill.
14:10Appreciate that.
14:11There's always three parts to every bill, and we've got to move all three of them.
14:14This is something that had overwhelming support, Republicans, Democrats, and our public.
14:19Our public knew this was the right thing to do.
14:22Talk to their legislators.
14:23Ask them for the support of the bill.
14:26Thank you for everybody being here.
14:28Look forward to the official signing and making it work.
14:32Thank you to everybody that took a chance on this bill and took a chance on us to make
14:36this happen.
14:37We had a lot of groups that made this work.
14:39Sharon, obviously, started the ball rolling, but we needed a lot of people to join in on
14:44the process.
14:45With that, I'm going to hand over to somebody that had a little hand in that process over
14:48on the other side of the building, Senator Williams.
14:52I don't have enough Senate members here, but I do know a lot of the representatives,
15:02so whatever applause you gave Jordan, I better get my fair share.
15:07Oh, stop.
15:09I'm so humbled.
15:12Thank you.
15:15I'm shocked.
15:19I'll see you at the back door for the cash outside.
15:23No, I'm joking.
15:25Seriously, so my comment's a little bit different in the context of it, more personal.
15:32We know what the legislation will do because we've already seen what it has done, but there's
15:38a lot of conversation about bipartisanship today, which I agree with, but I also want
15:42people to understand something.
15:44I think we have another generation that's watching us work in a political environment
15:47that is very, very volatile, and frankly, in my opinion, very discouraging to another
15:52generation.
15:53Do you want to participate, or why should you even vote?
15:55Jordan Harris is more than a chairman of appropriation and certainly more than a state rep to me.
16:02He is one of my brothers in this process of politics in Philadelphia.
16:08When Jordan decided to run for state rep, he had many ideas, as many of us do, and he
16:14is of a certain generation that, frankly, he knows I get very frustrated with.
16:20Politics is not about pontificating, talking a lot, saying what we're going to do, complaining
16:26about what's not done.
16:27It is about doing the people's business.
16:30If you get elected, you are no longer just an activist.
16:34You are no longer outside the ropes.
16:36You are inside the halls of power.
16:38So your job is to get something done for the people.
16:42Jordan Harris, you should pose a clap on that.
16:46I'm not going where you're, no, we're not going there.
16:55My kids are watching.
16:56That being said, Jordan had these ideas before he got elected when he would sit down and talk
17:03about what he wants to do when he first got elected.
17:05Some of these things I didn't want to necessarily discourage him because I knew Democrat, Republican,
17:10rural, urban don't necessarily coalesce or did not necessarily coalesce.
17:14What's extraordinary about today is that not only do you have a young man who taught an
17:20idea, brought an idea to fruition, to get it delivered in a generation of people who
17:25don't believe we can get stuff done, it will certainly have an impact on my generation
17:28who is sitting here and many generations behind that.
17:32But more importantly, hopefully it gives belief to those who are watching, those who may be
17:37online, those who may be participating of another generation, that you can get something
17:42done in this political process, that you can make a difference for your generation, that
17:46you can find relief and freedom in this process, and that Jordan Harris has delivered that
17:51in ways that we would not imagine.
17:52So let us give Jordan another round of applause.
17:56Let the record reflect, no one stood for Jordan, but two people stood for you.
18:14Governor Shapiro.
18:15Stay on message.
18:16Governor Shapiro, I thank you for that.
18:18I appreciate that.
18:19But I also want to say something else.
18:23When I first got here, which was a long time ago, over 30 years ago, women were not necessarily
18:29reflected, even though they were elected, in equal consideration.
18:34This bill, while Jordan had a concept, he was a Democrat and a minority.
18:39And frankly, many people view this as an urban problem, frankly an African American problem.
18:43The truth is, millions of Pennsylvanians, rural, suburban, white, and black, Latino,
18:49and Asian, suffer from this circumstance.
18:52Jordan found a woman, not just a Republican, a woman to partner with.
19:00We may mention of, you know, Senator Baker, but Senator Barlotta, when I brought this
19:06to her, who comes from a particular area that is not running around with Joe Biden flags
19:11in it, said it is a thought that we should consider.
19:17And not only worked with me, but actually got Senator Baker, who comes from one of those
19:21areas, again, that's not necessarily replete with Joe Biden flags, and would be considered
19:26very conservative, who fought the fight with the DA's association.
19:32For those who don't know, the DA's association around this building has a lot of influence.
19:36And they will call you out and say, you know, you're not going to fight crime, you're going
19:39to make our communities less safe, et cetera.
19:42They will use all the slogans.
19:44These women, and Senator Baker, because they're from those communities, took on the fight.
19:55So I'm proud to be standing here today with a coalition of representation from what Pennsylvania
19:59really looks like.
20:01So whatever anybody tells you, from either extreme side, we're here to get stuff done.
20:08And we're prepared to get stuff done.
20:10And by the way, those who don't, you need to get out the way.
20:16Because people are suffering in Pennsylvania.
20:18They don't suffer because they want perfection, they want substance.
20:22And we have a lot of other big stuff to do.
20:25This governor has a long agenda for things for us to get done.
20:29We have a budget to resolve that should not go into July.
20:32That was an embarrassment, Democrats and Republicans.
20:35Nobody's going to get 100% of anything.
20:38We have people in poverty and housing.
20:40We have jobs that need to be built.
20:42We have tax policy.
20:43We have a long agenda that can get rooted in perfection, but should not be robbed because
20:49we're doing good work.
20:50So I'm proud to be here today with my Pennsylvania colleagues and the extraordinary work that
20:55they're doing and the kind of things that they want to get done.
20:58And I, if you don't mind, Governor, can I bring Senator?
21:01It's not on this list.
21:03If you don't mind.
21:04I got to bring my champion who helped me get Senator Baker on board, Senator Barlow.
21:14Thank you so much.
21:15It's really hard acts to follow here.
21:17And I'm not going to go on and repeat a lot of what has been said because it's really,
21:22it is worth repeating.
21:23And I feel like we've been living Groundhog Day for so many years now on all of these different
21:28pieces of legislation.
21:29But this is 3.0.
21:31Clean slate 3.0.
21:33And, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a fairly new grandma and my little granddaughter is nine
21:38months.
21:39Oh, good for the odds.
21:42But you know, she's just learning how to walk.
21:44You got to walk before you can run.
21:46But just like with this legislation, it is baby steps.
21:51But you know what?
21:52Once they get up, you can't catch them, can you?
21:56No, they are hard to catch.
21:58I expect this momentum that's been created by this legislation to be the fuse and the
22:06fuel for so many other pieces of criminal justice reform legislation that has to be
22:13done.
22:14We have got such a ball of twine that has been knotted since the 90s with the lock them
22:21up, throw away the key.
22:23And oh, you're not tough on crime.
22:25No, we have destroyed lives by creating barriers to success and, and getting families back
22:34together, reuniting families and communities and getting people back on their feet and
22:39stop hitting them down all the time.
22:42You know, we give life sentences in Pennsylvania for misdemeanors and for mistakes when, when
22:48they were committed as juveniles or young adults.
22:53We have to undo the damage.
22:56We have to show people if you make a mistake and you do everything right and you pay your
23:03debt to society, you have a path forward.
23:07You don't have to pay for that for the rest of your life.
23:11This is a way to at least open the door to success, to, to going to school, to, to getting
23:19a, a better job, to providing for your family, to having a family, to getting your kids back,
23:25to providing for them and to show them that things can be forgiven.
23:30You don't have to pay for a mistake for the rest of your life.
23:33And there's so many other pieces of legislation that this team and the others in this room
23:38have been working so hard on.
23:40And I want to see us run.
23:43I want to see us run with all of it.
23:46It's about time.
23:47We can change lives.
23:48We are changing lives.
23:50And God bless you for all your dedication and all the changes you've made in so many
23:54millions of people.
23:56We're just going to keep moving forward.
23:58And I am so excited that, that this has actually come to fruition, that people are finally
24:02seeing the light of, oh, you know, keeping people locked away and keeping people down
24:08doesn't make our streets safer, doesn't make our communities stronger, doesn't make for
24:13a better Pennsylvania.
24:15We could have a robust economy and provide for the people that need us to do that.
24:21That's our job.
24:22And I'm just thrilled that this is happening today, and I can't wait for what's in the
24:27future for us here in a little way, but for what's out there for all of Pennsylvania
24:32in a really big way.
24:34Thank you.
24:35Thank you so much.
24:41My name is Jenna Butler.
24:42I'm the Executive Director of the Justice Action Network.
24:44And we've talked a little bit today about the beginning of Clean Slate, but I actually
24:48want to go back a few years before that.
24:50I'll be very brief, I promise.
24:52When the Justice Action Network was founded, some of our very first meetings were with
24:56these leaders in this room.
24:58And we instantly knew that something special was happening here in Harrisburg.
25:03No matter the debate and discord on other issues, these leaders were always willing
25:08to put aside their differences and work together on evidence-based, data-driven criminal justice
25:14policy, policy that is proven to make the citizens of this commonwealth safer every
25:20single day, policies that are proven to restore families and communities and individuals and
25:26hope in this state, policies that are proven to empower individuals to reach new heights
25:31of economic prosperity and give employers access to a robust workforce right here in
25:36Pennsylvania.
25:38And Clean Slate is going to jumpstart those goals of safety and hope and prosperity.
25:43And I thank you for your leadership to get us to that point.
25:47As the head of a national organization, it is now my pleasure and my honor to go across
25:51the country, state to state, and tell them to come here to Harrisburg and see what you
25:56all are doing.
25:57Not only Clean Slate, but also how you are doing it with unprecedented bipartisan cooperation.
26:03And I thank you.
26:06Thank you.
26:10Thank you, Jenna.
26:11Good afternoon, everyone.
26:12I'm Luke Bernstein with the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.
26:16So often as many of us stand here and think about Pennsylvania, you just heard Jenna,
26:21how often are we the example of the state that did something right?
26:25How often are we the state that stood up and led?
26:28And I can tell you on this issue, we are not only the example, we are the state that has
26:32led the nation and continues to lead the nation.
26:35And you're going to see the results of this.
26:37I'm going to read through some statistics that I think are important that we talk about
26:41in terms of this legislation.
26:43Oftentimes people say, why did the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry get involved
26:48in this issue?
26:49It doesn't seem like a natural business issue.
26:52And let me tell you, it is.
26:55Pennsylvania currently has 74 available skilled workers for every 100 available jobs.
27:03We have a gap.
27:04In Pennsylvania, we have to look for every person who's willing to contribute, who wants
27:09to be part of our workforce, and we have to work with them to get the skills and the education
27:14necessary so they can fulfill their lives and their dreams right here in the Commonwealth.
27:19Each year, the underemployment of formerly incarcerated individuals costs the United
27:24States as much as $87 billion in GDP.
27:29Employers across our state and business community more broadly care about removing barriers
27:35to employment, not putting more barriers up.
27:38The PA Chamber proudly worked in 2018 with a bipartisan group of lawmakers that are here
27:45in a divided government to work hard.
27:48As we sit here and you think about the climate, Senator Williams talked about this, needing
27:5226 in the Senate, 102 in the House, to get to that desk, to get to that desk to see the
27:58signature that we're going to see today.
28:00This law, since its enactment, has helped more than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians, encouraging
28:08them to reenter the workforce.
28:12Expanding record clearance encourages more formerly incarcerated individuals to apply
28:17for and accept jobs and promotions, offers a largely untapped pool of skilled workers
28:22for Pennsylvania employers.
28:24And this is not only good economically, this is good for our communities.
28:29And let's be honest.
28:31Everybody makes a mistake.
28:33Everybody does.
28:34But should they have to, after they're held accountable, should they have to keep reliving
28:38that mistake over and over and over again?
28:42Should they have to relive it every time a new job opens up in fear that that's going
28:45to come out and they have to relive it?
28:47Every time a promotion is posted and they know they're qualified for it, but they don't
28:51want to go for it?
28:52Should they have to relive it every time they seek maybe a new career, but they just don't
28:57want to leave the current situation because they're embarrassed of something that might
29:00come up or something they did?
29:02No, they should not.
29:04And what this bill does is it empowers people to seek that opportunity.
29:08It allows employers to look at them on the basis of their skills and to move forward.
29:13And for that, we are pleased to partner with everyone in this effort and excited to see
29:18the continued results and the continued progress from 3.0.
29:21Thank you very much.
29:28Well, good afternoon, everyone, to the senators and Representative Harris, Senator Williams,
29:33Senator Bartolotta, Governor Shapiro.
29:35It's wonderful to be here to celebrate this milestone with you.
29:39Most Pennsylvanians believe in the power of second chances.
29:42The governor and I believe Pennsylvania should be and must be a place for second chances.
29:48As lieutenant governor over the past year and a half, I've heard from many Pennsylvanians
29:53who've worked hard to turn their lives around and to make amends.
29:57They are contributing positively to their communities.
30:00And often they're pursuing a pardon because they want to contribute even more.
30:04But that criminal record, a permanent reminder of what is often the worst day in their lives,
30:11is a burden holding them back from moving onward and upward.
30:14Let's be clear.
30:16Not every applicant earns a pardon.
30:19Each case is reviewed at the staff level and meritorious applications are considered and voted on by the board,
30:26with the governor then holding the final authority to grant or deny a pardon.
30:30A pardon demonstrates that someone has done the work and truly earned their second chance.
30:35However, state law previously did not provide for automatic expungements when someone received a pardon.
30:42They still had to take the additional steps to clear their criminal record,
30:46even though they had earned a pardon that was signed by the governor.
30:50That's fundamentally wrong.
30:52And that's why I introduced legislation to address this injustice when I was a state representative.
30:57And as lieutenant governor, I continue to champion this cause.
31:01Working with Chairman Harris as well as Senator Baker, the Senate Judiciary Chairwoman,
31:06we were able to incorporate automatic expungement language into the final version of this bill.
31:12The governor signed House Bill 689 into law, and today this legislation goes into effect.
31:18This is a big win, not just for the folks who earn a pardon, but also for their families and our communities.
31:25And it's a bipartisan win.
31:27I want to thank Senator Baker for her collaboration and her efforts.
31:31I also want to thank my good friend, Chairman Harris, for getting this important piece of legislation across the finish line.
31:37We can do big things here in Pennsylvania.
31:41And I know the naysayers and the cynics might not want to admit it sometimes,
31:45but we can do big things here in this building.
31:49We can do it when we take off our red jerseys and our blue jerseys and put on the Pennsylvania jersey.
31:55I have high hopes that we can do big things with this year's budget,
31:59and I know working together, coming together, we're going to get it done.
32:03It's my pleasure to introduce the governor of the Commonwealth, Josh Shapiro.
32:07Thank you.
32:11Thanks, everybody.
32:13Good afternoon, and let me begin by thanking our lieutenant governor,
32:17not just for being here today and his extraordinary leadership in our administration,
32:22and particularly on the Board of Pardons, a place that focuses every day on second chances for our fellow Pennsylvanians.
32:31But I want to thank him for years ago introducing this bill or version of this bill, which is now law in Pennsylvania.
32:39His strong leadership those years ago paved the way for the incredible leadership that you've seen here on display
32:46and allowed us to have this bill reach this desk.
32:50And so, Mr. Lieutenant Governor, I want to thank you for your leadership.
32:54I want to say, as I do all the time, that Pennsylvania is a place where everyone should have the freedom to chart their own course,
33:03the opportunity to succeed.
33:06We create opportunity together in this Commonwealth when we work together to make sure, no matter your zip code,
33:12you've got a great quality school in your community, that no matter the community you live in,
33:17you can walk down the street and know you're going to get from point A to point B in safety.
33:24No matter the neighborhood you live in, rural, urban, suburban, you've got an opportunity for a job.
33:31You've got an opportunity for economic empowerment, no matter the corner of this Commonwealth that you live in.
33:38That's how you create opportunity, good quality education, safe communities, and economic progress,
33:45and a process that allows a chance for everyone, no matter what they look like, where they come from,
33:50who they love or who they pray to, to get ahead right here in Pennsylvania.
33:55That is the cause of our work. That is the work that we do every day here in this Commonwealth.
34:02And for those who maybe we failed in that process, their school wasn't quite what it needed to be for them.
34:09Their streets weren't that safe. There wasn't economic opportunity in their neighborhood.
34:15For those who then have one bad day, we still have a responsibility to them to make sure, as Chairman Harris said,
34:24that their future isn't defined by that one bad day, but where we believe in second chances.
34:31Pennsylvania has been a leader on second chances.
34:35And now, with the third iteration of the Clean Slave Bill, we continue to be a leader,
34:40not just, as Jenna said, I'm grateful she said this for the rest of the nation,
34:45but showing people right here at home what we value.
34:50We value our people, no matter where they come from and no matter what that one bad day may have looked like.
34:59As it's been referenced many times, it's really hard to get a bill to that desk.
35:05It's really hard to find 102, 26, and 1 in order to make progress.
35:12It's hard to find a compassionate chairman like Lisa Baker or Tim Briggs
35:17who actually want to prioritize legislation moving forward.
35:22And it sure as hell is hard to find a coalition like this who's willing to work together,
35:28people from different walks of life, people who have had different lived experiences.
35:34We get people who are focused on a common goal, in this case, making sure to show that we believe in second chances
35:43and we believe in opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.
35:47Listen, when we move the ball down the field, we should celebrate that.
35:53We should honor that hard work.
35:56And we should recognize that that hard work doesn't come just because somebody wrote a bunch of words on a piece of paper.
36:03It happens because folks took the time to get to know one another on that famous couch you're talking about
36:09and to have tough, honest conversations
36:13and to see to it that they set aside their political differences to get stuff done.
36:20Listen, in this business, compromise is the way you make progress.
36:25And we have seen a level of compromise, not just in the words of a bill,
36:30but in the way these individuals learn to talk to one another and trust one another
36:35and listen to different voices coming from across this commonwealth.
36:39I'm very grateful to Senator Williams and Senator Bartolotta for their willingness to work together and make this progress.
36:47I'm very, very grateful to Representative Delosier for her willingness to commit herself to an issue
36:54that probably at first superficially wasn't something you were hearing about at town hall meetings in Cumberland County every single day.
37:02And I'm exceedingly grateful to Chairman Jordan Harris for seeing this through,
37:07for bringing a real servant's heart to this conversation,
37:12and for his willingness to do this hard work and not just find the words to put on a bill that would make progress,
37:19but to find the partnerships to make progress in this building.
37:23It's not easy.
37:25And today is a day to celebrate that as we open up this process formally today for these records to be sealed and records to be expunged.
37:35It starts today in Pennsylvania because these individuals were willing to come together and work together
37:41and build the coalition necessary to make sure that here in Pennsylvania,
37:46that we could bring about real freedom for all Pennsylvanians here in Pennsylvania, that we would create opportunity.
37:55So it's my honor to stand with all of you.
37:58This, this is a blueprint for progress in Pennsylvania, and we're going to continue to make progress,
38:04and we're going to continue to get stuff done.
38:07And so with that, I'm going to sign these bills, and then we'll return to take some questions.
38:10Thank you.
38:13I just appreciate the kind words.
38:16I don't want to leave this podium without acknowledging that there are members of the General Assembly who supported us.
38:23They're not up here speaking, but we're speaking in their place, so I'd like to.
38:27Absolutely.
38:28Well, I was going to invite them all up to join us as we sign this.
38:30Come on.
38:31Tim.
38:34Come on, Tim.
38:37There you go.
38:38There you go.
39:04Just a little bit.
39:06Everyone in the back.
39:07Right.
39:08Stand.
39:09Fall in.
39:10Come on.
39:23All right.
39:24Everybody real quick.
39:25Look at this way.
39:26Wait, wait, wait.
39:27You definitely want to do it.
39:28You definitely want to do it.
39:29All right.
39:30Thank you.
39:37All right.
39:38We signed this.
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