Bipartisan group of lawmakers, national experts to discuss barriers to reentry as part of Second Chance Lobby Day

WHAT: Press event on reentry legislation for individuals with criminal convictions, including the new Second Chance Act
WHO: Senator Floyd McKissick, Senator Danny Earl Britt, Jr., Senator Warren Daniel, and Representative Jon Hardister; David Plouffe, President of Policy and Advocacy at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Mark Holden of Koch Industries; David Safavian, General Counsel at the American Conservative Union; affected individuals
WHEN: Tuesday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: NC General Assembly Press Room

RALEIGH (May 6, 2019) – A bipartisan team of North Carolina lawmakers and experts from across the country will present on legislation to remove barriers to reentry for individuals with criminal convictions as part of the 2019 Second Chance Lobby Day on May 7th.

Senator Floyd McKissick, Senator Warren Daniel, Senator Daniel Earl Britt, Jr., and Representative Jon Hardister will discuss various laws that have aimed to make expunctions accessible to individuals with dismissed charges and nonviolent convictions. The event will also feature speakers David Plouffe with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Mark Holden of Koch Industries; and David Safavian with the American Conservative Union.

The press event will also include Lynn Burke and Poet Williams, individuals who would directly benefit from the new “clean slate” Second Chance Act (Senate Bill 562). This bill automatically expunges criminal charges dismissed or disposed as not guilty after December 1, 2019, and allows individuals to petition for expungement of all nonviolent misdemeanor convictions and nonviolent felony convictions after five and 10 years of good behavior, respectively.

“Unfortunately, there is still a ‘second chance gap’ between people eligible for relief and those obtaining relief,” said Daniel Bowes, director of the NC Justice Center’s Fair Chance-Criminal Justice Project. “At Second Chance Lobby Day, we are aiming to dismantle barriers to opportunity and reentry for individuals with criminal records, increase access to employment, battle recidivism, and lift up the voices of those affected by these bills.”