Campaign Reform Back

BostonWorkersAlliance.org

Posted Friday, August 1, 2008
The CORI reform bill H. #5004 expired last Thursday July 31st upon the conclusion of the 2008 formal legislative season. Despite positive signaling from House leadership, the bill was sent to the Ways and Means Committee and was never reported out for a vote. While the legislature’s failure to enact reforms was disappointing, the CORI bill adopted by the Judiciary Committee represented a major breakthrough for our movement.

Most notably, H. #5004 included our “ban the box” proposal, which would remove the criminal record question from all job applications in the state. Removing the check box would end upfront discrimination against applicants who posses the necessary skills and character for a job. This provision was secured through an unrelenting public pressure campaign, and brought us closer to being the first state in the country to banning the initial question for all employers.

While HB #5004 included sealing reductions (5 and 10 years) and our “ban the box” proposals, the omnibus bill was saddled with regressive criminal justice provisions that ultimately derailed its passage. Specifically, the bill included a plan to make parole supervision mandatory for all prisoners who were sentenced to over 1 year in jail. The expansion of parole would be costly, and would increase the likelihood that prisoners were re-incarcerated due to technical violations, rather than any new offenses.

With only 4 days between the bill’s unveiling and the end of the session, it became clear that HB #5004 would only pass if both chambers accepted the bill without amendments. While the House was geared to pass the bill, the Senate’s more progressive leaders were resistant to accepting the package at face value. In the end, the lack of time, the regressive parole section, and conflict between the two chambers blocked our coalition’s efforts to pass reforms this season.

While legislative efforts are now on hold until January 2009, our grassroots coalition has made undeniable strides towards tangible CORI relief. In the last 3 months since the statewide “Walk to Freedom” from Worcester to Boston, we have met with over 100 legislators and secured a clear majority of supporters in both the House and the Senate. Our coalition and allies have generated thousands of telephone calls and letters that have elevated CORI reform to the forefront of our legislature’s agenda.

In the last two weeks, hundreds of concerned constituents walked the halls of the State House to tell their CORI stories and to plea for reforms in the system. Without a doubt, those suffering from CORI discrimination and their many allies will be back next January with stronger and more militant advocacy. The next 5 months will be used to expand our public buy-in and to dispel the misinformation deployed by the opposition group, Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM).

Representatives Byron Rushing, Frank Smizik, Gloria Fox and Benjamin Swan should be thanked for their leadership in the House on this issue. Governor Patrick should be commended for introducing a CORI bill, but should be moved towards more substantive and vocal leadership next session.

The Boston Workers’ Alliance is grateful to the 80+ organizational endorsers of the CORI reform campaign. We expect to hold a major CORI reform summit in the fall, and hope that you and yours will join us in the next step of our movement. Thank you to our partners - most notably EPOCA, Neighbor to Neighbor and Mass Law Reform Institute - for their dedicated leadership in this modern civil rights struggle. Thank you to MARC, Councilor Turner, AFSC, and the Stanley Jones Clean Slate Project for laying the foundation for this now flourishing coalition.

We fight for a day when our members can work and support their families with dignity, and are judged by the content of their charcter rather than by the mark of a criminal record. Thank you for your diligent pariticpation in our movement for jobs, freedom and fairness. With your continued support, we look forward to moving our coalition to victory in 2009.

A second chance for ex-cons

Source

EX-OFFENDERS can face a grim choice: Get a low-wage job that doesn’t pay the bills or commit better-paying crimes — such as selling drugs — that could land them back in jail. They need better options.

Governor Patrick sought to help with a bill that would reform the state’s Criminal Offender Record Information system by sealing criminal records sooner, so that job candidates wouldn’t be dogged by past crimes. (This would not apply to sex offenders.)

The bill died at the end of the legislative session. ‘‘We just ran out time,’’ Patrick said. He predicts it will be a priority next session.

But legislation is just one avenue of help for ex-offenders.

‘‘We want people to look at the ex-offender differently,’’ says Benjamin Thompson, the former executive director of STRIVE/Boston Employment Service, a local nonprofit. He points to the short-sightedness of imagining that every ex-offender is a violent time bomb, when in fact many have committed nonviolent crimes for what he calls ‘‘economic reasons.’’

Thompson also thinks ex-offenders have to be willing to say, ‘‘I’m going to work as hard as I’ve sinned.’’ So STRIVE is using a $58,000 federal grant to send 14 ex-offenders to Bunker Hill Community College. They’ll hold jobs and take two classes.

Ex-offenders who earn at least $15 an hour, Thompson says, make better decisions about their lives.

Once CORI reform is in place, lawmakers should call for more ex-offender college programs and job placement assistance. Philanthropists could provide funds to expand the program and cover unexpected bills for basics such as healthcare.

With support, ex-offenders could become community staples: strong workers, parents, and taxpayers.

Is AIM advocating illegal discrimination?

According to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts website and an AIM press release written by the Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, John R. Regan, they are advocating that employers use non-conviction CORI data during the hiring process. Using non-conviction CORI data to disqualify a job applicant is illegal in Massachusetts.

AIM surprisingly also advocated against legislation (HB 5004) that would make convicted sex offenders ineligible from ever sealing their CORI records.

From AIM Website: "AIM argued that limiting access to criminal and felony records places the employer, employees, clients and the public at significant risk. In many cases, in order to have a CORI background in Massachusetts an individual may have committed several offenses, prior to being caught or convicted. That scenario is true especially for sex offenders."

According to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 15l B, Section 4; 804 CMR 3.01 this information cannot be used in the decision making during the hiring process.

"Employers may not ask about, maintain a record of, or base any employment decision on the following information if they have requested it:

Arrests or prosecution that did not lead to a conviction;"


We at corireform.com will continue to fight against this type of illegal discrimination advocated by AIM. This fight is far from over.

CORI Bill Stalls in House Ways and Means, Advocates Vow Rematch

by Jason Pramas (Staff), Aug-01-08

http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/263

BOSTON/Beacon Hill - The hopes of advocates for the passage of a criminal justice bill (House Bill 5004 "An Act to Improve Certain Criminal Justice Matters") that would have reformed the controversial Criminal Records Information System were dashed this week when the House Ways and Means Committee failed to report the bill out favorably for a vote on the House floor. With the current 2 year session of the Massachusetts legislature now essentially over, the bill will have to be refiled for the next session later this year.

"We're obviously disappointed that we weren't able to pass a bill this session, but we consider getting the ban the box proposal into the bill a major step forward," said Aaron Tanaka of the pro-CORI reform organization Boston Workers Alliance in reference to the section of the bill that would end the standard employer practice of putting a check-off box on employment applications asking applicants if they have ever committed a crime.

The main CORI reform provision of the bill would have reduced the time former criminals would have to wait to have their criminal records sealed from 15 years after time served for felony convictions to 10 years, and from 10 years for misdemeanor convictions to 5 years.

Tanaka continued, "We should be a stronger position to pass a better bill in the next session. What we found is that there's strong support for CORI reform on both sides of the chamber the issue that ended up derailing the bill was the mandatory parole supervision that was included in the criminal justice package"

According to advocates, the bill was primarily defeated by wrangling between the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee State Representative Eugene L. O'Flaherty - who attempted to add a "poison pill" provision to the bill that would have mandated that all criminals incarcerated for 1 year or more would have to complete parole for the greater of 9 months or 25% of time served - and House and Senate bill supporters who pointed out that adding such a provision would essentially defeat the purpose of the CORI reform provisions of the bill since recidivism rates are much higher for former criminals on parole than off.

Despite strong support for the CORI provisions in both the House and Senate, and a nod from Governor Deval Patrick, O'Flaherty and his legislative allies were able to derail the bill before it got to a House vote.

In addition to the legislative opponents there were also some powerful organizational detractors of the bill, notably the state's main business lobby, Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

AIM's executive vice-president for government affairs, John R. Regan, released a letter to area press last week expressing employer concerns that passage of CORI reforms would weaken employers ability to know about the criminal histories of job applicants.

In a phone interview, Regan elaborated, "It's not a secret that we had concerns with the bill. I would state that there were things we did support. Steps to make sure data in the system was accurate. I understand the computer system they use to store this stuff is quite old. Upgrading the system, we'd support that. Increased training for employers on how to read the CORI reports - to make sure everyone is reading the reports correctly.

"The things we were concerned about include the sealing of records containing public information," Regan concluded. "And I think that related to that concern was making sure employers have sufficient info to make a well informed decision about any job candidate."

It is unclear if the two camps will come any closer to accord in the next session. But one thing is certain, the Boston Workers Alliance and other advocates for the rights of former criminals in the job market will be back for another go starting later this year.

The Democrats Fail To Pass CORI Reform……….Again!

08/01/2008

corireform.com


We should be familiar with this story by now. Year after year the Democratic super majority in the Massachusetts Legislature appear to be poised to pass a CORI reform bill just to let it die quietly. This year was no different. H.B. 5004 offered minor CORI reform change but it was a positive bill nonetheless.

We still live in a state where a non-conviction record cannot be sealed for 10-15 years and workers will continue to be discriminated against. It doesn’t matter much to the Democrats on Beacon Hill that innocent people are barred from working in MA as long as they get the financial support of big business to finance their re-election campaigns.

Business groups like the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) filled the campaign coffers of our elected officials for their re-election bids as we watched any hope we had to end this discrimination fall by the wayside. This is something we should not and cannot forget when election time rolls around.

Fighting Back!

http://www.touchfm.org/corireform.html

Boycott companies that discriminate because of CORI. Click the image below for more information.



Click here for more information about CORI REFORM

Businesses winning CORI fight

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 12:36 PM EDT Modified: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 12:56 PM

Boston Business Journal - by Lisa van der Pool Boston Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/07/28/daily44.html

A provision in the Criminal Offender Record Information system (CORI) reform bill that would allow ex-cons looking for jobs to seal their records years earlier than historically allowed has some business leaders arguing that, if passed, the law could put companies and their employees at risk.

Indications are that their concerns were heard. House Bill 5004, “An Act improving certain criminal justice matters,” known as the CORI reform bill, appears poised to die by week’s end.

One of the most controversial provisions in the bill, which was up for debate in the House Ways and Means Committee this week, is that fact that it would shorten the mandatory waiting period for former inmates seeking to seal their criminal records. The waiting period for felonies, which include murder, rape, aggravated assault, battery and embezzlement, would be reduced to 10 years, from 15 years. The waiting period for misdemeanors, which include prostitution, vandalism, and petty theft, would be reduced to five years, down from 10.

Gov. Deval Patrick has publicly championed the proposed bill as a way to enhance crime prevention by helping former convicts rebuild their lives. Other provisions include an increase in fines for misuse of CORI records to $5,000 from $500.

A variety of sentencing changes are also included in the bill.

Business leaders are split on the bill’s potential effects on companies and hiring practices if it passes. One side claims the reforms would allow dangerous ex-cons to enter the workforce, unbeknownst to employers. The other side says that if former inmates are blocked out of finding legitimate work, they have a greater chances of re-entering lives of crime.

About 2.8 million people in Massachusetts have CORI records and about 1.5 million CORI reports are produced each year, according to the Massachusetts Alliance to Reform CORI in Boston. CORI checks can present a challenge for former inmates to secure employment, housing loans, and even entrance to college, according to MARC.

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which represents more than 7,000 employers in the state, has come out against many of the provisions in the bill, saying that decreasing the time that information is available about ex-cons would make workplaces unsafe.

AIM sent a letter last week to House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi addressing various concerns about the bill.

According to AIM’s letter, the bill “provides no balance of risk and liability for the employer. Employers are justifiably concerned relative to the liability for negligent hiring practices.... Employers could not research a candidate’s criminal background and would be unable to screen properly, candidates that work independently and without close supervision, especially with at-risk clients and other vulnerable individuals,” reads the letter.

John Regan, executive vice president of government affairs at AIM, who penned the letter to DiMasi, challenges the common wisdom that if someone has a criminal record, he or she will never get a job.

“Having a criminal record does provide a challenge, but it’s not insurmountable,” said Regan. “The courts of the Commonwealth are public domain. What happens in those courts are a matter of public record and the sealing of public information ought to be done very prudently.”

Bill Vernon, the Massachusetts director of the National Federation of Independent Business in Boston, agrees that a tough stance should be taken with ex-cons.

“The bottom line is that any time you hide things and don’t have full information, it’s not helpful,” said Vernon. “Business owners should have information available to make a judgement. When does an embezzlement conviction become irrelevant to whether someone is hired to become a bank teller?”

Yet, some in the business community agree that former inmates should not be punished after they have served a full sentence.

“I just don’t think it’s a particularly efficient way of predicting a person’s propensity for violence in the workplace,” said Christine Hughes, vice president and general counsel of Emerson College. “I think the reason that most employers do criminal checks is either you’re obliged to under law because you’re serving a vulnerable population, as we are, or because it’s the standard of care for responsible hiring.”

Both the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association support the CORI bill.

“The idea of sealing records earlier is something that fits in with the larger goals of getting people who are former inmates into the workforce,” said David W. White, president of the MBA. “It’s important to give people the chance to prove themselves to society. The big exception is for places like hospitals, where the people are vulnerable. There has to be a higher level of screening there.”

Tom Nolan, an associate professor of criminal justice at Boston University and a 27-year veteran of the Boston Police force, notes that CORI reports are often misinterpreted by employers, with arraignments being mistaken for a conviction.

“The purpose of punishing people is to ensure they don’t do it again. That’s a big part of why we put people in jail,” said Nolan. “At some point the question arises of, how long do we want to keep people in the penalty box?”

Advocates Rally as CORI Reform Bill Moves to a House Vote

http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/257

by Jason Pramas (Openmediaboston.com Staff), Jul-25-08

BOSTON/Beacon Hill - Over 100 people from several area community organizations and unions gathered at the State House Steps on Wednesday to rally in support of House Bill 5004 "An Act to Improve Certain Criminal Justice Matters" (the CORI Reform Bill) which would reform the Criminal Offender Records Information system to make it easier for former criminals to get jobs in Massachusetts.

Currently, former criminals cannot get their CORI files sealed for 15 years for felonies and 10 for misdemeanors. In addition, standard job applications in the Commonwealth all have a check-off box asking applicants if they have ever committed a crime.

According to advocates, this makes it very difficult for people with criminal records to get jobs - or even get job training. This makes it far more likely, they say, that former criminals will return to crime just to make ends meet. They also point out that the system essentially targets poor communities, especially urban communities of color, where crime rates are higher as a function of poverty.

For these reasons, CORI activists have been calling on the legislature to "ban the box" and drop the number of years former criminal must wait to have their records sealed to 7 for felonies and 3 for misdemeanors. The CORI Reform Bill currently calls for 10 years for felonies and 3 for misdemeanors, and so far has keep the "ban the box." provision.

"We're very pleased that we got the ban the box content in the bill," said Aaron Tanaka, organizer with the Boston Workers Alliance, the key organizational sponsor of the bill. "If we're able to pass that provision we'd be the first in the country to take a major step towards increasing job access for those with criminal records."

The event moved quickly to allow attendees time to lobby key legislators in advance of the vote - with most speakers reflecting on their movement's success in getting the CORI Reform Bill reported favorably out of the House Judiciary Committee recently.

"Don't take lightly that you got a bill out of committee," Felix Arroyo, Jr. of SEIU Local 615 reminded listeners.

"You do know how significant this is - this bill coming out?" Horace Small of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods said to the cheering crowd. However, he cautioned, "Even if this gets done this session, we still have a lot to do.

"We're not done yet," agreed Donald Washington of EPOCA - Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement - in Worcester, "we don't want to settle for any fluff bill they may come up with.

Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner (G/R - District 7, Roxbury) summed the situation up succinctly.

"Seems like we're on the verge of another step forward," he said, referring to the CORI Reform Bill. "You and I know that it wouldn't be there without a fight on ground. 3 or 4 weeks ago it was not there. Now it's there and reported out."

Turner concluded with a broader point that raised the connection between labor issues and the criminal justice system, "This country has never had a full employment program. If we get it, then the CORI problem is solved."

Advocates will return to the State House this coming Tuesday to lobby legislators again as the bill goes to the House floor for a vote.

BWA CORI Campaign Update

bostonworkersalliance.org

Voting on House Bill #5004 “An act to improve certain criminal justice matters” was postponed until next formal session on Tuesday (7/29).

All available supporters should join us on Tuesday:

Tuesday, July 29th
12:30pm (and onward)
State House, outside House Chamber (3rd Floor)

While we have made major headway by securing “Ban the Box” in the Judiciary Committee’s proposal, there are three issues that may derail our efforts in the next 7 days.

1) Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), has started an active lobbying campaign against our CORI reforms. AIM has donated large sums of money for re-election campaigns. Legislators must be held accountable to the people - not big businesses.

2) The State Senate appears to be undecided whether it will take up the bill after it is passed in the House. Rapid outreach to Senators and Senate President Murray is critical.

3) The Bill #5004 includes positive provisions around sealing, ban the box, and a reduction of school zones from 1000ft to a 100ft. However, a central part of HB #5004 is a mandatory parole period for all prisoners who serve over 1 year in jail. BWA strongly opposes the blanket expansion of parole supervision.

The Message to Elected Officials:

“Dear _________, please help pass CORI reform this session. The sealing periods should be 3 and 7 years, and the criminal record question should be removed from job applications. However, I do not support mandatory parole as it will cost the state too much money, and leads to the unnecessary re-incarceration of ex-prisoners. Thank you”

Key Call-In Target:

Senate President Therese Murray
Tel: (617) 722-1500

Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi
Tel: 617-722-2500

Thank you to the hundreds of people who have already called-in and attended rallies and lobby days. Please support the movement and our final call-in efforts to target the Senate and House leadership, today and Monday.

Find your own legislator at www.wheredoivotema.com - call the State House operator at 617 722 2000.

Download a summary and text of HB #5004 at www.BostonWorkersAlliance.org

Today's Update on the Judiciary Committee's Criminal Justice Bill

cjpc.org


July 25, 2008

Contrary to what was anticipated and the best information that was available from the legislature, the Judiciary Committee's Criminal Justice Bill, House Bill 5004, did not reach the floor for debate yesterday. This leaves just through next Thursday for the bill to be voted on by both the House and the Senate. Please contact your state representative and ask them to talk to the leadership of the House and request that they bring H.B.5004 to vote in time for it to be voted on by the Senate also. This session of the legislature ends on Thursday, July 31. Action on this bill must be completed by then, otherwise the bill dies and has be re-filed for the next session which begins next January.

Our best information at the present time is that the House will take up consideration of the bill in its next formal session which begins at 1:00 P.M. on Tuesday. At this point it is unclear whether the Senate will schedule a vote on the bill.

Click here for a list of state representative phone numbers and email addresses. Click here if you do not know the name of your state representative.

You can reach Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi at Tel: 617-722-2500, or email him at Rep.SalvatoreDiMasi@Hou.State.MA.US, and Senate President Therese Murray Tel: (617) 722-1500 or email her at Therese.Murray@state.ma.us.

Thank you for your support in the difficult process of trying to bring about change which will start to make criminal justice humane, effective and healing.

Joel Pentlarge
Interim Executive Director

URGENT CORI CAMPAIGN UPDATE

bostonworkersalliance.org

*CORI Bill Text* (click to download)

*CORI Bill Summary* (click to download)


The highly anticipated CORI reform bill was reported out of the Judiciary Committee today, and is scheduled to hit the House floor for a vote tomorrow (Thurs, 7/24).

The Judiciary Committee’s bill “An act improving certain criminal justice matters” includes reducing the waiting period to seal CORI to 5 and 10 years, and also includes the critical “Ban the Box” proposal which removes the criminal record question from all initial job applications.

Today (Wed, 7/23) over 100 people participated in a rally and lobby day to heighten attention to our reform proposals. But with quick movement towards a House vote, and with the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) lobbying against CORI reform, we are calling on supporters to return to the State House to support this potentially historic vote.

————-
Thursday - (7/24) Schedule of Events

10am - Emergency Coordinating Meeting / Conference Call
Neighbor to Neighbor’s Office - 8 Beacon Street, 4th Floor
Tel # 866-758-5736 — Access code 1635#.

12:30pm - Meet Outside House Chamber

1pm - Formal Session is scheduled
————-

If you cannot come to Beacon Hill, please call your State Rep. and Senator through the State House operator (617) 722-2000.

Find your officials at www.wheredoivotema.com and ask them to support reducing the sealing years, and the “ban the box” proposal. Ask your Rep. to follow Rep. Byron Rushing’s lead, who is acting as our coalition’s spokesperson within the legislature.

In addition to our two CORI priorities, “An act improving certain criminal justice matters” includes a positive provision that reduces the size of a school zone for drug crimes, and a negative measure that increases mandatory parole for certain ex-prisoners.

To view video from today’s rally, courtesy of Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/TRidersUnion

——
Attached:

1) State House News briefing on today’s events
2) Summary of “An act improving certain criminal justice matters.”

——–
STATE CAPITOL BRIEFS – WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

COMMITTEE APPROVES CRIMINAL RECORD ACCESS BILL ON 6-1 VOTE

Job applicants would not be asked about their criminal history on initial job applications, and the waiting periods to seal misdemeanor and felony records would be reduced to five and 10 years, respectively, under legislation the Judiciary Committee approved Wednesday afternoon. Several committee members did not respond to the committee poll prior to its late afternoon closing. The House could consider the bill as early as Thursday, according to House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi’s office. The bill ups the civil fine for unlawful dissemination of Criminal Offender Records Information (CORI) from $500 to $5,000 and requires mandatory post-release supervision for convicts sentenced to houses of correction or jails for more than one year or to state prisons for any period. Prisoners who finish incarceration with no supervised release or who violate probation or parole would be subject to supervision for 25 percent of their maximum term, up to five years and not less than nine months. Activists had been hoping the misdemeanor and felony records could be classified after three and seven years respectively; the current limits are 10 for misdemeanors and 15 for felonies. Sex offenses would not be eligible for sealing. The bill reduces from 1,000 to 100 feet the restricted zone around schools for drug offenses. Certain drug crimes committed within that zone are subject to mandatory minimum sentences. The mandatory post-release supervision program would take effect Oct. 31, 2010. The proposal, a reworked version of Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan, is expected to head to the House. Post-release supervision proposals have run into affordability obstacles in the past. News of the committee’s polling on the bill energized advocates for ex-offenders who, at a rally in front of the State House, argued that existing criminal records rules prevent former criminal from getting jobs, increasing the likelihood of recidivism. “I don’t want to be selling drugs again,” said Alberto Gomez, who said he had been in and out of the corrections system since 1991. Gomez said his convictions shouldn’t prevent him from getting a job and putting his life back on track. “I’ve got to buy clothes. I’ve got to survive,” he said. Gomez was joined by Rep. Denise Provost, Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner and leaders from the Boston Workers Alliance, SEIU Local 615 and other advocacy organizations. Felix Arroyo, Jr., a member of SEIU Local 615, praised fellow supporters for their patience and persistence but noted that the bill still needed approval in both the House and Senate by the end of the month. Backers of the bill dispersed throughout the State House to lobby lawmakers to advance the bill to the governor’s desk.

—-

JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

BILL SUMMARY

BILL NO. H

TITLE: An act improving certain criminal justice matters.

SPONSOR:

SUMMARY:

SECTION 1. This legislation adds the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development to the criminal history systems board. It also provides that the Governor shall appoint 10 people. In addition to the first 5 people the Governor can appoint, the Governor can also appoint a provider of victim services, 2 people experienced in workforce development, ex offender rehabilitation, or economic development and 2 people with experience in personal privacy.

SECTION 2. Changes the language in Chapter 6§ 168 so that the civil fine for a violation for unlawfully disseminating CORI, evaluative information or information pertaining to records of juvenile proceedings is increased from $500 to $5000.

SECTION 3. Changes the language in Chapter 6§ 168 so that the civil fine for a violation for a unlawfully disseminating CORI, evaluative information or information pertaining to records of juvenile proceedings can be obtained for a “knowing violation”. Currently the statute only provides for a willful violation.

SECTION 4: Strikes paragraphs 4 and 6 from Chapter 168. Paragraph 4 designated the criminal history system board to control and maintain the CORI system. Paragraph 6 provided the board with the authority to enter into contracts, and accept funds from any department, agency, subdivision of federal, state or local government, individual or public authority for providing services or staff in connection with its work.

SECTION 5. Adds a new section to Chapter 168. C. 168 § 168 ½ moves the management and operation of the CORI system from the criminal history systems board to the criminal justice information services department which shall be created within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Chapter 168 ½ shall provide for a criminal justice information services department within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. This department shall control the installation, operation and maintenance of the CORI system. The system shall ensure prompt collection, exchange, dissemination and distribution of CORI information. The secretary of Public Safety and Security shall appoint an executive director.

SECTION 6. C. 6 § 172 governs the dissemination of CORI information to certain parties. In part it provides that the public’s interest in disseminating the information should be weighed against the interest of security or privacy. It adds language so that the public’s interest in disseminating the information should be weighed against the interest of security or privacy and the importance and value of successful reintegration of ex-offenders.

SECTION 7/8. C. 6 § 178 governs violations and penalties for any person who willfully requests or seeks to obtain CORI under false pretenses or who willfully communicates CORI to an agency. For each offense the person shall be fined not more than $5000 or imprisoned in a jail or house of correction for not more than 1 year. This legislation would make the penalty and punishment apply to a knowing violation instead of a willful violation.

SECTION 9. C. 6A §18 sets up which agencies are within the executive office of public safety and security. The agencies within the executive office of public safety are:

the dept. of public safety

the dept. of fire services

the office of grants/research and the highway safety division

the municipal police training committee

the criminal justice info services department

the statewide emergency telecommunications board

the merit rating board

the dept. of state police

the office of chief medical examiner

the MA emergency management agency

the military dept.

the department of correction and the parole board

the SORB

all agencies, boards, and committees within these

SECTION 10. Chapter 27 section 5 governs the jurisdiction of the parole board. This legislation would provide that the parole board would administer and oversee the mandatory post-release supervision of this particular category of offenders.

SECTION 11. This legislation replaces the current 2nd paragraph of Chapter 94C section 32H and provides that a person convicted of violating any provisions of these sections (certain drug offenses under Chapter 94C) shall not be eligible for probation, parole, furlough, or a sentence deduction until the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment has been served. The commissioner of correction may on the recommendation of the warden or person in charge grant a temporary release for the purposes of attending a relative’s funeral, to visit a critically ill relative, to obtain emergency or psychiatric services not available at the institution or to participate in education training or employment programs or to engage in employment pursuant to work release programs. Chapter 276 § 87 provides that certain persons can be placed on probation before trial as long as they have not been previously convicted of rape of a child with force or with a weapon (C. 265 § 22A) or assault of a child with the intent to commit rape (C. 265 § 24B) or unnatural and lascivious acts with a child U16 (C. 272 § 35A) and was 17 years or older at the time of the offense or if the child is between 14 & 17 and it’s the courts opinion that it’s in the public interest to charge this person instead of dealing with it as if the person was a child.

SECTION 12.

Creates Chapter 127A – Mandatory Post-Release Supervision

Section 1. All sentences of incarceration in a house of correction or jail for more than 1 year and all sentences in a state prison shall include a period of post-release supervision.

Those who complete the incarceration portion of their sentence without supervised release or who have been re-incarcerated for the remainder of their sentence for violating parole or probation, shall be subject to mandatory post-release supervision for 25% of the maximum term of incarceration. The maximum period of incarceration shall be 5 years but in no case shall it be less than 9 months.

An individual sentenced to incarceration for multiple offenses to be served concurrently, the greater of the maximum terms imposed at sentencing shall be used to calculate the mandatory post-release supervision period.

Mandatory post-release supervision shall not be imposed upon any individual who successfully completes a period of probation imposed at sentencing, any individual who is granted a parole permit under Chapter 127 and successfully completes it, or a person sentenced to lifetime community parole under Chapter 265, section 45 and Chapter 127, section 133D.

Section 2. An individual sentenced to a term of incarceration for more than 1 year in a house of correction or jail shall be subject to the supervision and jurisdiction of the parole board during the period of post-release supervision.

The chairman of the parole board shall establish uniform regulations for post-release supervision and for early termination of such supervision consistent with Chapters 127 and 276.

A person subject to mandatory post-release supervision who has successfully completed 9 months of supervision shall be eligible for early termination of that supervision. If under the supervision of the commissioner of probation, an order of the court is necessary for early termination to occur. If under the supervision of the parole board, early termination shall occur in accordance with procedures to be adopted in the regulations of the parole board.

Section 3. After serving 9 months of mandatory post-release supervision an individual shall be eligible for early termination of the supervision. This shall only occur in accordance with procedures established by the Parole Board. The criteria for early termination of mandatory post-release supervision shall include the amount of time the individual has successfully spent under post-release supervision, success in finding permanent employment, adequate housing, and completion of counseling or substance abuse treatment programs and success in passing all mandated testing programs.

Section 4. An individual who violates a condition of mandatory post-release supervision shall be subject to the Parole Board’s modification or revocation proceedings. If the violation of mandatory post-release supervision does not constitute a criminal offense the individual

1. may be placed under increased supervision;

2. subjected to other conditions and intermediate sanctions; or

3. incarcerated for not more than the maximum remaining period of post-release supervision or the remaining unserved sentence.

In all cases where the individual is not being incarcerated there shall be participation in an intermediate sanction through the office of community corrections.

Any violation for the use of controlled substances or operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the mandatory post-release supervision shall be extended to accommodate an appropriate substance abuse program but the total shall not exceed the maximum supervisory period.

For any violation of mandatory post-release supervision, the supervision period shall be stayed upon incarceration and shall be resumed upon release.

If the violation does constitute a criminal offense, the period of incarceration shall be served on and after any sentence for the new offense. Upon release, the new mandatory post-release supervision shall be calculated based on the greater of the two offenses.

Section 5. All mandatory post-release supervision shall be considered complete if any of the following conditions are met:

the individual has served a mandatory post-release supervision period of 25% of the maximum term of incarceration imposed at sentencing up to a maximum period of 5 years, but no less than 9 months.

the individual is granted early termination.
upon completion of the sentence, the individual is immediately committed to the custody of any other state to serve a sentence greater than or equal to the post-release supervision.
upon completion of the sentence, the individual is immediately committed to the custody of a federal or immigration authority.

Section 6. The chairman of the parole board shall submit and file a report by August 31, 2009 to the joint committee on the judiciary and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate. The report shall detail the following information:-

the number of incarcerated individuals whose sentence includes a period of post release supervision

the number of individuals who successfully complete the supervisions

the number of individuals who become eligible for early termination of the supervision
the criteria for early termination of post-release supervision including the amount of time the person has spent under post-release supervision, establishing housing, completing all counseling or substance abuse programs and in passing all mandated testing programs.
the number of individuals who violate a condition of mandatory post-release supervision and become subject to modification or revocation proceedings.

Section 7. This chapter shall apply to all felonies and misdemeanors committed on or after such date. All offenses committed before the passage of this shall be governed by the laws in effect at that time.

SECTION 13. C. 276 §100A governs the requests and applications for sealing records. Currently requests can be made to the Commissioner of Probation after 10 years for a misdemeanor. This would allow requests for sealing of records to be made to the Commissioner of Probation after 5 years for a misdemeanor.

SECTION 14. C. 276 §100A governs the requests and applications for sealing records. Currently requests can be made to the Commissioner of Probation after 15 years for a felony. This would allow requests for sealing of records to be made to the Commissioner of Probation after 10 years for a felony.

SECTION 15. C. 276 §100A governs the requests and applications for sealing records. Currently one of the prerequisites for a request to seal a record is that the person has not been found guilty of any criminal offense within MA in the 10 years prior to the request except for a motor vehicle offense with a penalty under $50. This would allow requests for sealing of records to be made to the Commissioner of Probation if the person has not been found guilty of any criminal offense within MA in the 5 years prior to the request for a misdemeanor and 10 years prior to the request for a felony.

SECTION 16. C. 276 §100A governs the requests and applications for sealing records. Currently one of the prerequisites for a request to seal a record is that the person has not been found guilty of any criminal offense within MA in the 10 years prior to the request except for a motor vehicle offense with a penalty under $50. This would allow requests for sealing of records to be made to the Commissioner of Probation if the person has not been found guilty of any criminal offense within MA in the 5 years prior to the request for a misdemeanor and 10 years prior to the request for a felony.

SECTION 17. C. 276 §100A governs the requests and applications for sealing records. For purposes of this section any violation sex offenses defined under C. 6 §178C shall be treated as a felony and shall not be eligible for sealing.

SECTION 18. The following new section shall be added to C. 276. Section 100D shall provide that criminal justice agencies as defined by C. 6 §167 shall have immediate access and be permitted to use as necessary for the performance of their duties any sealed CORI and any sealed information.

SECTION 19. Within 6 months of the effective date of this act, the Secretary of Public Safety and Security shall promulgate guidelines for law enforcements response to incidents of sex crimes against adults.

SECTION 20. Chapter 151B governs certain unlawful practices. This legislation would add a new subsection, 9B which would provide that it would be unlawful for an employer, agent, housing provider, educational or training institution etc. to use an application form that asks an applicant to check a box, answer a yes or no question as to whether or not he has committed a felony or has been convicted of a crime regardless of the length of time passed since conviction.

SECTION 21. This legislation would strike the current language in Chapter 94C section 32J and insert new language that reduces the school zone from 1000 feet to 100 feet. Any person who violates certain drug offenses outlined in Chapter 94C within 100 feet of a school zone shall be imprisoned in a jail or house of correction for not more than 2 years or by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5000 or both. The provisions of Chapter 94C subject to this new language are:-

§32 unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to manufacture a Class A substance,

§32A unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to manufacture a Class B substance,

§32B unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to manufacture a Class C substance,

§32C unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to manufacture a Class D substance,

§32D unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to manufacture a Class E substance,

§32E Trafficking in marihuana, cocaine, heroine etc.,

§32F unlawful distribution of substances in Class A-C to a minor or

§32I sale of drug paraphernalia.

An individual who has committed a 2nd violation of this section within 100 feet of a school zone shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not less than 2 ½ years and not more than 15 years or by imprisonment in jail or a house of correction for not less than 2 nor more than 2 ½ years. The mandatory minimum for a 2nd offense is 2 years or a fine of not less than $1000.

Any prosecution commenced under this section, evidence of a prior conviction or a prior finding of facts by original copies or certified attested copies shall be prima facie evidence that the defendant has been previously convicted. These documents shall be self-authenticating and admissible.

Section 22/23. Section 12, Mandatory Post-Release Supervision is repealed and shall take effect on October 31, 2010.

Joint Committee on the Judiciary

On July 23, 2008 the Joint Committee on the Judiciary polled its members on reporting out of committtee a draft of a criminal justice bill which address, CORI Reform, work release for prisoners serving mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, mandatory parole for all prisoners, and shrinking the size of school zones to 100 feet for enhanced drug dealing penalties. The Judiciary Committee prepared its own summary of this bill’s provisions.

www.cjpc.org

Further update on the Criminal Justice Bill‏

Further Update
on the Judiciary Committee's
Criminal Justice Bill

July 24, 2008

The text of the bill which was circulated for polling to the Judiciary Committee is now posted on the CJPC.org web site along with the summary of the bill provided by the Judiciary Committee. This bill has a new number, House Bill 5004.

The bill will be debated on the floor of the House this afternoon. CJPC urges you to come to the debate in person at the State House if possible, or call your state representative to support CORI reform, work release for drug offenders, and reducing school zones and school zone penalties. If you do not who your representative is go to Where Do I Vote.

You can also watch the proceedings on line.


Joel Pentlarge,
Interim Executive Director

Action Alert on the Judiciary Committee's Criminal Justice Bill

July 24, 2008

Dear Friends,

Yesterday the Joint Committee on the Judiciary polled its members on reporting a criminal justice bill which addresses a number of Public Safety administrative reorganization concerns as well as issues which have been central to CJPC's focus for the past several years, among which concerns are :

· CORI Reform

· Work Release for Prisoners Serving Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences

· Mandatory Parole for all Released Prisoners

Reducing School Zones from 1,000 feet to 100 feet and Reducing the
added Penalties for Drug Dealing in School Zones for first time offenders.

It is anticipated that this bill will be introduced on the floor of the House today's formal session which begins at 1:00 P.M. This was filed yesterday with the House as H.B. 5004 and was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill is not listed on the House Calendar for today which includes 40 pages of bills to be acted on. The leadership can ask for unanimous consent to consider the bill today, and normally the leadership will receive such consent.

The CORI coalition is encouraging supporters to go to the State House this afternoon to watch the process and show support for the CORI sections of the proposed legislation. Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), MA chapter, is urging their supporters to support the school zone changes and the eligibility for work release, and oppose the mandatory parole for all released prisoners.

Short Summary

CORI

The provisions on CORI Reform would reduce the time for sealing criminal records to 5 years for a misdemeanor and 10 years for a felony. It would also ban employers from asking on job applications whether applicants have a criminal record, but employers can still ask this question in an actual job interview.

School Zones

The bill reduces the size of a school zone from 1,000 feet to 100 feet. It also reduces the penalty for first time school zone offenders, although the penalty for all other school zone convictions remains the same. For first time offenders:

Maximum sentence of two years (currently 15 years);
No mandatory minimum sentence (currently a 2 year mandatory sentence); and
No requirement that a school zone sentence must be added on to another sentence (currently required).

Work Release for Drug Offenders

Eligibility for work release. Prisoners who are currently serving mandatory minimum drug sentences will now be eligible to participate in work release programs. Work release programs help prisoners prepare for their return to the community.

Mandatory Parole

For a two-year trial period, any sentence for more than one year would include a mandatory period of supervision after the prisoner is released. The parole period would be limited to 25% of the maximum sentence imposed with a minimum of 9 months and maximum of 5 years for the parole period. This requirement would only apply to persons who committed crimes after the effective date of the legislation, it would not apply to anyone currently in prison.

CJPC is in the process of posting the complete text of this bill on its web site CJPC.org and will do a more detailed summary and analysis of the bill.

Sincerely,

Joel Pentlarge,
Interim Executive Director
www.cjpc.org

CORI Reform Day of Action!

http://bostonworkersalliance.org/index.php/?p=314

July 23, 2008
12:00 pm
to
1:00 pm

BWA and the CORI Coalition are calling on supporters to join us on Wednesday at the State House @ 12pm to raise pressure for the passage of CORI reform this month.

Speak Out and Lobby DayWednesday, July 23rd12pm @ State House Steps

12pm - Speak out and gather on State House Steps

12:30 - Enter State House and visit legislative offices

Efforts to pass CORI reform are reaching a climax, and it is crucial for supporters to have a visible presence within the State House. Your support in this Lobby Day can help bring our movement to victory.

If you would like to arrange a meeting with your own legislator for Wednesday, please RSVP to: atanaka@bostonworkersalliance.org with your address or name of Rep / Senator.

Thank you for your ongoing support. Join us on Wednesday, July 23rd @ 12pm! Please forward to your colleagues and contacts to support this CORI Day of Action.

http://www.bostonworkersalliance.org/

——-

CORI Reform UpdateFriday July 17, 2008
After missing the July 17th deadline, the Judiciary Committee Chaired by Representative Eugene O’Flaherty has requested additional time to report out a CORI bill by the end of this month.

While the delay in reporting a bill narrows the opportunity for reforms this session, our coalition is calling for a final outpouring of support for meaningful reforms before July 31st.


Currently, a legislative team led by Rep. Byron Rushing, Rep. Frank Smizik, Rep. Gloria Fox, and Rep. Benjamin Swan are enlisting other State Reps to support our four main priorities:


1) Ban the Box - Remove the criminal history question from all job applications

2) Fair Hiring - Only check CORI as the last step in the hiring process; require relevance and accuracy of CORI

3) Sealing at 3 and 7 - Reduce the waiting period to seal felonies after 7 years and misdemeanors after 3 years.

4) Non-convictions - Semi-automatic sealing of dismissed, not guilty and continued without findings.

Representatives Rushing, Smizik, Fox and Swan met with Chairman O’Flaherty this week to discuss our priorities and encourage prompt action on a bill. Chairman O’Flaherty indicated his decision to align himself with the Governor’s bill and set sealing periods at 5 and 10 years. However, he is still amenable to “banning the box” and removing non-convictions in the CORI bill.

It is therefore incumbent on our movement to pressure Chairman O’Flaherty to include these provisions in the Judiciary’s bill. The forthcoming bill is also said to include progressive reforms that change harsh school zone drug penalties, reduce to mandatory minimums and increase access to programs by prisoners.

Key Call-In Targets:

1) Chairman Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, (617) 722-2396 / rep.geneoflaherty@hou.state.ma.us
2) Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi, (617) 722-2500 / rep.salvatoredimasi@hou.state.ma.us
3) Senate President Therese Murray, (617) 722-1500 / therese.murray@state.ma.us
4) Governor Deval Patrick - 617 725-4005

Call-In or E-mail these decision makers today for CORI reform. Demand passage of a CORI bill before July 31st.

Fighting for Jobs and CORI Reform, Now!

–Aaron TanakaBoston Workers Alliance51 Roxbury St.Roxbury, MA 02119
p. 617.427.8108c. 617.359.0336f. 617.442.9404

atanaka@bostonworkersalliance.org

www.BostonWorkersAlliance.org

Making start on CORI

Making start on CORI
By Adrian Walker
Globe Columnist / July 8, 2008
Source

The idea of making it easier for convicts to get jobs has always been a tough sell at the State House.

But even though the Legislature appears almost militantly opposed to passing bills this session, there is a good chance that some changes are in store for the much-maligned Criminal Offender Record Information law, better known as CORI.

Reform would be too strong a description, especially for legislation that has literally been years in coming. The finished product will shorten the period before records are sealed and may make it easier for those who are arrested, but not convicted, to have their record cleared.

People hoping for more are frustrated by what it will not include. Advocates were especially hopeful that employers could be banned from asking applicants right off the bat whether they had ever been convicted of crimes. Employers would have been able to ask about criminal history later in the process.

Most of all, they worry that if a watered-down bill is passed this session, the Legislature will not revisit the issue for years. "It is a major concern, because we know that CORI has not been touched in any significant way in decades," said Aaron Tanaka of the Boston Workers Alliance, which has taken a leading role in lobbying for the bill.

There isn't much dispute in the Legislature that CORI needs fixing, but there is vast disagreement over what is wrong with the law and how to repair it. Before Governor Deval Patrick essentially seized control of the issue, there were more than two dozen bills on file purporting to address it. Some would ease access to records, some would limit it. While the warring bills have been eliminated, the factions that produced them remain vital.

Representative Eugene O'Flaherty, the House chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told me he worries that a flurry of competing and contradictory amendments could still sink efforts to change the law. He said he hopes to persuade his colleagues to stick as closely as possible to the legislation as written.

I realize many people view CORI as a remote issue. But the reality is that almost everyone convicted of a crime will eventually reenter the work force or will try to. There is strong argument for making that path easier than it is now.

One of the great complications in reforming CORI, as O'Flaherty points out, is that different kinds of employers have different needs. Obviously, employers in areas affecting public safety, for example, need to know the background of the people they are hiring, and they may as well know right up front. Some would argue that in other areas, a long-ago conviction for a relatively minor infraction is less crucial. But crafting a bill that takes every possibility into account is impossible. Flaherty says he hopes to persuade legislators to buy into this bill as a first step, which can be refined down the road.

CORI is interesting because it mirrors our whole conflicted view of how to deal with people who commit crime. We struggle with whether we really believe in rehabilitation, whether we want convicts living down the street, whether we want them as co-workers, whether a debt to society is ever really paid.

The bill O'Flaherty is proposing will include several provisions unrelated to CORI, including one that would ease penalties for first-time drug offenders arrested in school zones.
"My whole district is a school zone," notes O'Flaherty, whose district includes Chelsea and Charlestown. "I don't think someone arrested at 3 a.m. should necessarily go to prison because they are arrested within 1,000 feet of a school." Yes, O'Flaherty is a defense lawyer, as many will no doubt point out.

This bill doesn't solve every problem with criminal records, but some action is preferable to the lip service this issue has received to date. Helping criminal offenders restart their lives is no simple task. One hopes that the governor and the Legislature are sincere when they suggest that this bill is just a start, rather than the last word, on how we plan to treat people with prison in their past.

Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com.

CORI Reform Update

CJPC.org

June 24, 2008

Dear Friends,

The following information regarding the status of CORI legislation is based on an update by Aaron Tanaka of the Boston Worker's Alliance (BWA), an organizational member of the Mass. Alliance to Reform CORI to which CJCP belongs. There are four sections:

1) New Health and Human Services Regulations
2) Urgent CORI Bill Update
3) Call for Action!
4) Fact Sheets and Background


1) Executive Office of Health and Human Service (EOHHS) CORI regulations

In January of 2008, Governor Deval Patrick signed Executive Order No. 495 "Regarding the Use and Dissemination of Criminal Record Information." The campaign to secure an Executive Order on CORI was led by the BWA, the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, and Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner along with the CJPC. While broader efforts for CORI reform were still stalled in the legislature, advocates pressed Patrick to make good on his campaign promises to take timely and meaningful action on CORI. While the Executive Order and the proposed CORI bill falls short of the Governor's lofty campaign rhetoric, several key provisions will have positive, broad scale impacts for job seekers across the Commonwealth.

Within the Executive Order, three central reforms have been identified as key victories for the CORI reform movement.

The first major reform is a requirement for employers receiving CORI reports to complete training on how to properly read the records. CORI reports are written in difficult to decipher code and employers are often unable to distinguish between cases that were dismissed or found not guilty and those resulting in a conviction. A single incident also often results in multiple entries on a CORI, leading employers who are unable to read records to assume that the applicant was arrested more than once. Under the new regulations, employers must pass a written examination on reading a CORI before being certified to receive the sensitive data.

A second major reform will create Fair Hiring policies for all state agencies that hire public workers. Through the Executive Order, a CORI check can only be conducted after an applicant has received an interview and is considered otherwise qualified for the position. The Executive Order moves the CORI check to the last step in the hiring process, and prevents applicants from being weeded out before having their resume, references and motivation considered. As the largest employer in the Commonwealth, these changes to the state's internal hiring policies will have broad implications for tens of thousands of government jobs.

Third, the Executive Order broadly reformed regulations that prevent those with CORI from working in health and human service fields. Previous Health and Human Service regulations required employers to follow a crime table that disqualified many CORI applicants from work. Additinally, an employer was only allowed to hire people with certain CORIs by obtaining a positive letter from a law enforcement agent or by paying a certified counselor for a mental health evaluation of the applicant. This impractical requirement had effectively barred qualified health care professionals with CORI from obtaining work.

Changes to the Executive Office of Health and Human Service regulations have now reopened this large employment sector to those with criminal records. The new regulations remove the assumed disqualification of those with CORI, and instruct health agencies to only consider misdemeanors that are less than 5 years old and felonies that under 10 years old. The requirement to obtain a letter from law enforcement or from a therapist has also been removed, and a number of crimes have been removed from the crime tables. New EOHHS are also expected to remove the criminal record check box from initial job applications forms.

These EOHHS regulations affect 495 state health and human service agencies, and also apply to the tens of thousands of businesses and agencies that receive contracts from the Health and Human Services Department. In total, the new CORI friendly regulations will affect over 180,000 employees in the human services field across the Commonwealth.


2) Urgent CORI Bill Update

The state legislature is planning to bring a CORI reform bill to a vote before the end of this session. If a bill does not pass before summer recess on July 31st, no new reforms will be considered until 2009. Currently, CORI reform has been stalled in the Judiciary Committee chaired by State Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty (D., Chelsea,) and State Senator Robert Creedon (D., Brockton). The next month represents a critical window to gain desperately needed reforms.

Sealing Old CORI

The Judiciary Committee has settled on Governor Patrick's timid recommendations to reduce the sealing periods to 5 years for misdemeanor and 10 years for a felony from the current 10 years for misdemeanor and 15 or felony. Because the forthcoming bill does not go far enough, the Mass Alliance to Reform CORI continues to build legislative support for 3 and 7 years respectively and will introduce an amendment once a bill is released.

"Ban the Box"

The Chairs are still undecided regarding whether to include our key demand to remove the CORI question from all initial job application forms. Divulging a criminal history in an initial application discourages employers from considering resumes, references or relevance of the offense.

Based solely on the job form, employers are 50% less likely to offer interviews to white applicants and 64% less likely to callback black applicants with a record (Statistics from the BWA factsheet. See below for a more complete discussion.) Ending upfront discrimination by banning the box would visibly improve job access for residents across the state.

As O'Flaherty and Creedon are still undecided on this provision, widespread public pressure can help ensure that the "ban the box" is included in the upcoming bill. Boston and Cambridge have already removed the criminal question from job applications, and we are calling on the state to expand those model guidelines to all Massachusetts employers.

3) Call for Action!*

Call your legislators and tell them to support CORI Reform. Ask your representative to speak with Chairman O'Flaherty in support of removing the criminal history question from all initial job applications and moving the bill out of committee with a positive recommendation. Find out who your state representative is at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0011br7x9gA8BrRaxEHyw3xHq4euCYXo84_WckyxZ3YKlBInWzkECPty3fochhDhfFOvRRcD0B77Q3H3bzUiTxSuxzCrYrVoiTvyrSL12Gt_bA5xqGkB6gh1jBRmqj_-MIJyWyMk9Pu1Wx3hTvJVPP_mw== / then call the State House operator at (617) 722-2000 to get connected.


* Target the following key decision makers. Write an email, make a phone call or request a meeting! We are a grassroots coalition, so please gather your friends or share your organizational clout to help influence these key politicians.

Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty - 617 722-2396 / mailto:Rep.GeneOFlaherty@Hou.State.MA.US "Please remove the criminal record question from all initial job application forms. Employers should only consider criminal records for applicants who are otherwise qualified for the job. "Speaker Sal DiMasi - 617 722-2500 / mailto:mRep.SalvatoreDiMasi@Hou.State.MA.US "Please ensure that a CORI bill is passed this session before summer recess. Reduce the sealing period to 3 and 7 and take the CORI question off of all job applications.

"Governor Deval Patrick - 617 725-4005/ Governor Patrick email -
"Please fulfill your campaign promises and your public commitment to pass CORI reform this year. Ensure that the criminal record question is removed from all initial job application forms."

Please email info@cjpc.org to let us know what you have done and any response you receive so we can track legislators. If you need help in meeting with your legislator, call Joel Pentlarge, CJPC Interim Executive Director at 617-426-5222 or Jpentlarge@cjpc.org .

Please help spread the word and thank you for supporting this grassroots movement for jobs, dignity and justice. The time for change is now!

4) Fact Sheets and Background(

a) Remove the Question from Initial Job Applications

The proposed amendment removes the criminal record question from initial jobs application forms. This measure encourages employers to consider the skills and qualifications of an applicant before considering the existence of a criminal history. Removing the criminal record question from initial job applications alters the timing of a criminal record inquiry, but does not limit an employers' access to such information.

Employers who use job applications to screen ex-offenders must delay criminal record inquires until after the applicant is interviewed and deemed otherwise qualified for a position.

According to the BWA employers who use initial employment applications to screen ex-offenders have grown from 56% in 1996 to over 80% of all employers in 2004. Once someone with a CORI record self-reports a criminal history on a job application, most employers will not consider resumes, references or personal character. Based solely on the criminal record question, employers are 50% less likely to offer interviews to white applicants and 64% less likely to interview black applicants. This type of job discrimination effectively bans people with CORIs from most entry-level jobs, and causes employers to overlook skilled members of our workforce.

In 2004-2005 Boston instituted model CORI reforms by removing the criminal history question from all municipal job applications and requiring over 8,000 private city vendors to also revise their application forms. Following Boston's lead, cities across the country including Cambridge, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Austin, San Francisco, and Oakland removed the question from job applications and moved criminal history inquiries to the last step in the hiring process. Any state level CORI reform should begin with the expansion of the Boston and Cambridge successful hiring model to all Massachusetts state, municipal and private employers.

(b) Reduce the Waiting Period to Seal CORIs

Reduce the sealing period of CORI reports to 3 years for misdemeanors and 7 years for felonies after court supervision is complete.

Studies across the country by state Departments of Corrections show rates of recidivism are high in the first two years after release, but are significantly lower in the third year, and approach zero risk by the fifth year. Someone who has not re-offended within 7 years have less than a 1% recidivism rate.. "Almost half (47%) of inmates who recidivated did so within one year of being released; by 18 months after release, 67percent of those who recidivated had returned to prison."(Massachusetts Recidivism Study, pg.2) Those individuals who have not re-offended within 7 years have less than a 1% recidivism rate..

Key elements of the proposed amendments are:

· Law enforcement agencies as well as agencies that work with vulnerable populations would maintain access to sealed records.

· Records can only remain sealed if a person does not violate the law again. Any new conviction revives the old convictions, and restarts the waiting period.

· Sex offense records and crimes against children would not be changed by this proposal

Other States

Other states have adopted sealing periods that are significantly shorter than the current Massachusetts waiting time of 10 years for a misdemeanor and 15 years for a felony. Massachusetts should join other states and adopt CORI reform that increases the opportunities for people with CORI records to become fully integrated members of society.

Sample States:

· Michigan: An individual convicted of no more than one offense can have the conviction record set aside 5 years after imposition or completion of sentence, whichever is later. Certain traffic offenses, certain sexual offenses, and some serious offenses cannot be sealed. (In Massachusetts, traffic offenses which carry no incarceration penalty are not a part of CORI, according to CMR 803.203)

· Utah: 15 years for certain multiple "class B and C" misdemeanors, 10 years for alcohol- or drug related traffic offense; otherwise 7 years for most felonies and 3-5 years for a misdemeanor. .

· Oregon: Except for certain violent, sexual, and traffic offenses, many adult convictions may be sealed after 3 years after the completion of the sentence, including class C felonies, misdemeanors for which imprisonment may be imposed.

· Ohio: Non-convictions can be sealed. First offenders may apply to have their record expunged 3 years after a felony conviction, or 1 year after a misdemeanor conviction. Except for murder and certain sexual offenses, juvenile adjudications of unruliness and delinquency may be sealed after 2 years have elapsed since discharge.

Reducing the long waiting period to seal CORIs promotes the idea that employers should only access records that matter, and to the degree that it increases employment of those with criminal records, and employment of ex-offenders is major factor in reducing recidivism which reduces crime.


Sincerely,

Joel Pentlarge
Interim Executive Director

CORI Alert - Urgent Action Needed!

Alert - Reform CORI Now URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED!

Currently, the Judiciary Committee is meeting to draft a comprehensive criminal justice bill, including CORI reform!

The Committee has not made a decision, so we need YOUto take action and voice your support!

The CORI system denies access to jobs and housing for thousands ofex-offenders, preventing them from becoming productive members of society,and contributes to a declining workforce. Without access to employment andhousing, ex-offenders are not encouraged to work hard and play by the rules.

To help create a stronger and safer Massachusetts, we need to reformthe CORI system to create a smarter approach to reduce recidivism andend the cycle of crime, homelessness, and unemployment. We need to:

Shorten sealing times to 7 years for a felony and 3 years for a misdemeanor, after the end of court supervision respectively.

Remove the criminal question from the initial employment application.

Adopt fair hiring guidelines to increase fairness and match employers with skilled workers.

Remove non-convictions from CORI reports that are sent to employers and housing authorities.

This month, people with CORI records carried out an historic five day50-mile march to change this unfair system. Hundreds rallied in front ofthe State House to share their stories and voice their support for CORIreform.

We need you to keep up the momentum!

Make sure your voice is heard!

CALL your State Representative & Senator NOW 617-722-2000Or email your State Rep at Rep.[your Rep's first name & your Rep's lastname]@state.ma.usor your Senator at [your senator's first name].[their last name]@.state.ma.us

To find the name of your State Senator ("Rep in General Court"),log on to http://www.wheredoivotema.com/

"Hi, my name is ______. I live [or work] at ______. I support comprehensive CORI reform that includes shortening the sealing periodto 3 and 7, removing the criminal question from the initial employment application, removing non-convictions, and adopting fair hiring guidelines. Please communicate your support to Chairman Rep. Eugene O' Flaherty (House) or Chairman Sen. Bob Creedon (Senate). My phone number is _____. Thank you."

AFTER YOU MAKE YOUR CALLS, PLEASE CALL Neighbor to Neighbor @ 617-723-6866 or email wilnelia@n2nma.org We need to know how many calls were made to each Legislator!

http://www.n2nma.org/ http://www.green-rainbow.org/

CORI reform unlikely

Local marchers rally in Boston

By John J. Monahan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF jmonahan@telegram.com

Source

BOSTON— While people charged with crimes are deemed innocent unless proven guilty in court, many never convicted are punished for years after an arrest, denied jobs and housing based on records of their arrests distributed by the state Criminal Offender Record Information system as public records.

It is one of many complaints about the criminal record system that brought several hundred people to the Statehouse yesterday calling for reform, including about 20 who joined a four-day march from Worcester to Boston.

Upon arrival, however, the group learned the proposed CORI reforms have run aground in the House Judiciary Committee, and the chances of the law covering criminal records being reformed before the Legislature ends formal sessions for the year in July now seem remote.

The legislation would eliminate reporting of arrests and court proceedings that did not result in a conviction or guilty finding, reduce the length of time convictions remain on public records and impose new standards for accuracy in response to widespread reports of inaccurate information appearing on criminal histories routinely distributed to employers, government agencies and others.

State Sen. Edward M. Augustus Jr., D-Worcester, recommended the demonstrators talk to lawmakers and urge them to act on the reforms over the next two months. He said when the government says it wants people to go to work and stay on the “straight and narrow” and then puts in place barriers to those goals, it is “sending a mixed message.”

“I had one person tell me they were in court and the judge from the bench said, ‘Oh I see your client beat the system once before,’ because they had an acquittal come up on their CORI,” Mr. Augustus said. “That means you are innocent. It shouldn’t inhibit you from getting a job or getting an apartment.”

Under the current system, Mr. Augustus said, criminal convictions and often arrests without convictions, “become a life sentence” as the system allows the records to follow them for many years when applying for jobs or renting a home.

The proposed legislation would reduce the public reporting of most felony convictions from 15 to 7 years after a probation or sentence period ends, and limit misdemeanor conviction reporting to 5 years. If adopted, the changes would not prevent police from accessing those records.

“The period of time we go back on misdemeanors and felonies is way too long. We need to shrink that window of time. And then we need to make sure that things like acquittals and arrests with no convictions are not on CORIs. We need to change the law,” Mr. Augustus said.

Earlier this week, Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, D-Boston, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, reported that the bill has run into a lot of “roadblocks” because of the many complicated issues involving reintegration of ex-convicts into communities and the interest of employers to job screen applicants. His comments gave little hope the bill could be acted on soon.

One Worcester resident at the demonstration, Marylyn Moore, said she and her two children, ages 8 and 12, are now homeless and living in one room in a shelter as she tries to overcome past substance abuse and ongoing health problems. She said she has been denied jobs and housing by the Worcester Housing Authority because of misdemeanors on her record involving shoplifting and other lesser offenses.

“I want to bring my kids up decently. My kids deserve to live in a good place,” she said, adding she is now almost 50 years old. When she has found work, she said, “I have to worry every day I go to work, if they are going to find my CORI.”

She said she is hoping reforms limit public access to her past record to three years, to give her a chance to improve her life.

Yakov Kronrad, 27, who ran unsuccessfully for the Worcester City Council in 2003, said serious drug convictions as well as some charges that did not hold up in court appear on his CORI record and have hurt his job prospects even though he completed college and earned a post-graduate degree. He said he lost jobs as a teacher and working on computer software when his CORI record surfaced in the past.

He said although his were “nonviolent drug offenses,” he will not be able under the current system to get his record sealed until 2019. Changes in the law would allow him to have the conviction record sealed in 2011, he said.

CORI Marchers Welcomed by State House Rally

by Angela Caputo-Papastamos and Jason Pramas (Staff), May-23-08

http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/169

BOSTON/Beacon Hill - After marching for 5 days from Worcester to Boston for reform of the Criminal Offender Record Inquiry system in Massachusetts, a group of over a dozen ex-prisoners and supporters led by members of Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement was received by a lively 250-person rally in front of the State House yesterday. Allies from labor, community and religious groups from across the Commonwealth were on hand.

"50 miles is nothing compared to the pain and suffering we've endured for CORI Reform," said Debra Murray, Neighbor to Neighbor Springfield Coordinator , "And we didn't march for nothing ... if I have to, I will march to the White House."

The march and rally are part of a growing movement to change a system that advocates believe keeps ex-prisoners out of decent jobs, housing and volunteer opportunities long after they've served their time and completed probation. Regardless of type of offense they've committed.
"It doesn't matter if you're innocent, guilty, or your case was dismissed - you still have a CORI, and no second chance," said rally MC Wilnelia Rivera, another Neighbor to Neighbor staffer.
Advocates are asking state government for 3 changes to CORI: shorten the time period for sealing records to 7 years for felonies and 3 years for misdemeanors after completion of probation (currently at 15 and 10 years respectively), remove non-convictions from the CORI system, and institute fair hiring practices by removing the standard section asking ex-prisoners to "check the box if you have a criminal record" from hiring applications.

"I have a non-conviction CORI record from over twenty years ago and it's branded on my forehead like a scarlet letter. No matter what I do, I can't get a job," said Judith Foster," Boston Workers Alliance member. "We need to change this broken system to give single-mothers like me a chance to support our families."

Despite the attendance of a couple of politicians, including State Senator Edward Augustus (D-Worcester), CORI reformers still have a uphill battle in state government before reforms will be enacted. As such, attendees spent the rest of the afternoon inside the State House lobbying legislators in the midst of ongoing annual budget hearings.
For more information, check out the websites of Boston Workers Alliance and Neighbor to Neighbor.

Advocates of limiting crime-record use fault Patrick bill

By John C. Drake
Globe Staff / May 23, 2008

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/23/advocates_of_limiting_crime_record_use_fault_patrick_bill/?page=full

Advocates for limiting the use of criminal records in hiring decisions say they are disappointed that Governor Deval Patrick, who promised reform as a candidate, offered a bill they say falls short and that has failed to advance in the House.

Dozens of people with criminal records ended a four-day march from Worcester to Boston yesterday with a State House rally, where they called for drastic changes to the use of Criminal Offender Record Information, or CORI, which advocates say has denied them jobs and education years after they paid their debts to society.

"God wipes away your past, but society doesn't allow you to move on," said Debra Murray, 50, who served 2 1/2 years' probation following a marijuana possession and distribution conviction in 1993. "I made a bad decision in 1993, and since then I've gotten a job, but when they did a background check and found out I had a felony record, I was released from that job."
Since taking office, Patrick has issued an executive order barring state agencies from considering a job applicant's criminal record until after a person is deemed qualified for the position. He also revised the state's use of CORI to allow people with criminal records to work at agencies that receive funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Advocates hailed those as positive steps, but say they were disappointed his CORI reform legislation requires a longer waiting period before criminal records are sealed than would the Public Safety Act, which passed the state Senate two years ago. Patrick's bill, under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee, reduces from 10 years to five the time that must pass before a misdemeanor is sealed in a person's record, and reduces the waiting period from 15 years to 10 for felonies. The Public Safety Act would reduce the waiting period to three years and seven years, respectively.

"When Deval Patrick campaigned, he campaigned for strong criminal justice reform," said Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods. "What's starting to emerge is a pattern of - and I'm only speaking on behalf of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods - that Deval Patrick ain't who he says he is."

Patrick, who faced accusations of being soft on crime during his gubernatorial campaign, did not publicly commit to specific CORI-reform legislation as a candidate. He was attacked during his primary campaign for supporting the Public Safety Act, but he denied being a supporter, and his name was removed from a website listing backers of the legislation. But he said he supported CORI reform in general and introduced his specific legislation in January. A spokeswoman for Patrick referred calls about CORI-reform legislation to Kevin M. Burke, secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety.

"No matter what's done, not everyone is going to be satisfied," said Terrel Harris, a spokesman for Burke. "But it is movement in the right direction."

Harris stressed the bill cuts in half the amount of time a person would have to wait to have his or her criminal record sealed. But it's not enough, the advocates say.

"His sealing time is too long," said Steve O'Neill, executive director of the Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, based in Worcester. "Studies show that if someone doesn't" commit another crime in seven years, "there's less than a 1 percent chance that they would."

In addition, advocates said the governor's legislation falls short in that it does not prevent employers from asking about an employee's criminal record early in the job search or remove nonconvictions from the criminal record.

Opponents of CORI reform legislation say employers ought to have more, not less, access to potential employees' criminal records.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts, an employer advocacy group, has called CORI a vital tool for due diligence in the hiring and screening process. The group is opposed to any changes to employer access to the database.

Aaron Tanaka, Boston Workers Alliance executive director, said, however, that he wished the governor was pressing more for the Legislature to act on the bill before this year's session expires.

"Our concern is that he's passed the buck," Tanaka said. "We don't think that he is doing enough to push this measure through the Legislature."

David Guarino, a spokesman for House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, said House leaders and Burke are "working aggressively" to reach an agreement on CORI reform legislation.
"We're working with the secretary now to come up with the strongest possible proposal," Guarino said.

Representative Eugene O'Flaherty, Democrat of Charlestown, said the Judiciary Committee has been occupied, but he expects the committee to send a CORI reform package to the full House before the session ends in July.

"We plan on having a piece of legislation on the table that is CORI-related and involves some of the issues that the governor has raised in his filing and some other issues that we think will make some sense," O'Flaherty said.

Harris said the administration wants the House to act on his bill this session.
"We're trying to make sure they understand what we're trying to accomplish, and that is to fulfill the wishes of the governor to reform CORI to make it easier for those who have criminal-offender records to lead productive, fruitful lives and not be penalized for something they may have done earlier in their lives."

O'Neill suggested another year's delay on CORI reform would not be acceptable.
"I just hope they understand there are a lot of people who can't wait another year for the details of this to be sorted out," O'Neill said.

Juan Filomeno, 50, of Worcester said he has not been able to get work as a travel agent or auto mechanic - fields in which he is trained - due to a felony conviction on charges related to domestic violence. He most recently was turned down for a custodial job.
Filomeno was one of dozens of former convicts to walk the last leg of the 50-mile march.
"Our hope is that this type of demonstration will raise the issue of CORI so that legislators know that we're not going away, because the problem doesn't go away until we pass legitimate CORI reform."

John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com .

Illegal Employer Practices

If it is illegal for an employer to use, request or store CORI information from job applicants that do not have convictions then why does the Commonwealth of MA continue to send them this information? Is the Criminal Offender Systems Board in violation of Massachusetts law?

Employers have been given a free ride to discriminate against hard working Americans for too long. Please support CORI reform. Contact Governor Patrick and your state representatives to let them know this illegal practice needs to stop and you support real CORI reform not the Governors watered down proposal that does nothing to address the important issue of employer discrimination against Massachusetts residents with non-conviction CORI records.


Chapter 151B: Section 4. Unlawful practices
Section 4. It shall be an unlawful practice:

9. For an employer, himself or through his agent, in connection with an application for employment, or the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or the transfer, promotion, bonding, or discharge of any person, or in any other matter relating to the employment of any person, to request any information, to make or keep a record of such information, to use any form of application or application blank which requests such information, or to exclude, limit or otherwise discriminate against any person by reason of his or her failure to furnish such information through a written application or oral inquiry or otherwise regarding: (i) an arrest, detention, or disposition regarding any violation of law in which no conviction resulted.......

http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/151b-4.htm

http://www.mass.gov/mcad/crimrec.html

Man Can't Land Job After Criminal Record Mix-Up

Man Can't Land Job After Criminal Record Mix-Up

Man Told To Get Lawyer

FRANKLIN, Mass. -- A local man said he cannot get a job because a mandatory background check incorrectly said he has a lengthy criminal record.
Man Says State Mixed Up Record

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that Jim Marchand, of Franklin, said no one will believe that his mandatory criminal record check, or CORI record, is wrong.

Marchard, who worked at the same job for 18 years until his employer died, admitted he has two alcohol-related convictions on his record from a decade ago. When he had a CORI check for a new job, he found out that his record was littered with additional charges and convictions.
"Thirty-eight charges that aren't even mine and I've never even heard of," Marchard said.
The CORI results are several pages long and include charges of assault, breaking and entering and disturbing the peace.

He and another James Marchand both live in Franklin and were both born in June 1962, though on different days.

A state Web site tells residents in Marchand's position that they must go to each court mentioned to clear their names, in his case more than a half dozen. It's happened so often that legal experts call it identity entanglement.

"Absolutely, it's a terrible process. Here you have the criminal history system's board that is in charge of criminal records and how they are dealt with, and they are just sort of shucking the responsibility. They have taken it on now," said Ernest Windsor, of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Following a lawsuit, the state agreed to improve the system. But for now, the recommendation is the same -- fix your own problem by appearing in court.
"I went to Dedham, I went to Milford, I went to Wrentham, and they all told me the same thing -- get a lawyer," he said.

Still out of work, Marchand said he can't afford a lawyer.
"I've never even been to these towns (of the offenses). No one believes me," Marchard said.
New regulations overhauling the state's criminal records system could go into effect as early as July.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/15797022/detail.html