Chapel Hill Review

The North Carolina state Senate followed its counterparts in the House by unanimously passing legislation known as the Second Chance Act.

The House had passed the bill 119-0 and the state Senate a week later on June 16 approved the measure 47-0, the North Carolina Justice Center reported on June 17. 

The “clean slate” Second Chance Act erases criminal acts that are either dismissed or determined not guilty after Dec. 1, 2021, and will also allow individuals to petition for expungement of nonviolent misdemeanor rulings after seven years of good conduct, North Carolina Justice Center reported. The bill will also allow individuals to petition for certain youthful felony and misdemeanor convictions as well.

“Criminal records of all types, even dismissed charges, cause devastating ‘collateral consequences’ for many of the more than 2 million North Carolinians with criminal records,” Daniel Bowes, director of the NC Justice Center’s Fair Chance-Criminal Justice Project, told, North Carolina Justice Center reported. “People of color in North Carolina are far more likely to have criminal records due to inequitable policing and prosecution practices, and people of color with criminal records often face more severe barriers to reentry and opportunity.”