This is a part of our ongoing efforts to reform our criminal justice system and think about who this system is serving. When someone commits a crime, they should face the appropriate consequences. It may be incarceration, probation, and fines, but there are defined consequences. And when someone faces that punishment and then fully repays their debt to society, what do we want to happen to them next?
Right now, regardless of the severity of the crime, the length of the punishment, and the work toward reformed behavior, people with a criminal conviction face a life sentence of unemployability. Because, as they work to put their life in order—as we want them to—should they apply for an occupation license from the state to hold a job in Michigan, they must first pass a “good moral character” test. And that criminal conviction, in and of itself, can be used to deny someone an occupation license.
Let’s unpack that paradox here. We have a new Vocational Village in the Department of Corrections—a “first-of-its-kind skilled trades training program that aims to provide a positive learning community for prisoners who are serious about completing career and technical education”—that’s right from the Department of Corrections’ website. The state is actually training prisoners who seek rehabilitation for jobs that the state knows they won’t be able to hold.
Last session, we heard testimony in the House of Representatives from Gary Wozniak who founded Recovery Park in Detroit, an urban non-profit farm that employs people who have difficulty finding work, including those with criminal records or recovering from drug addictions. The same difficulties Gary encountered after he completed a sentence for financial crimes 30 years ago but wouldn’t even be able to get a license from the state to mop the floor in a nursing home.
I have been working for years with bipartisan partners—first in the House last session and now in the Senate this session—to reform that definition of “good moral character.” Under my bill here and several House bills that will be coming before us in the next few weeks, state licensing boards and agencies would have to consider an applicant’s overall employability, such as how long ago the offense occurred, other evidence of rehabilitation, testimonials, employment history, and employment aspirations.
The current system fails when the state encourages returning citizens to continue on their path toward reform, yet gives them few opportunities to fairly compete in our economy. A lot of these employment hurdles disproportionately impact people of color because the criminal justice system disproportionately adjudicates against people of color. These bills also represent a part of the solution needed to address racial disparities while giving everyone a chance to overcome their past mistakes.
We formed an impressive coalition to get this done of Democratic and Republican House members joining me on this package, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mackinac Center, and Americans for Prosperity. Yes, this is the Moss bill backed by Americans for Prosperity—and truly demonstrates the bipartisan need to give people a second chance to become productive, tax-paying citizens of our state, and keep them out of the criminal justice system.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 20, entitled
A bill to amend 1931 PA 328, entitled “The Michigan penal code,” by amending section 317a (MCL 750.317a), as added by 2005 PA 167.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: