Both gubernatorial candidates promised CONECT, a collective of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and civic organizations from New Haven and Fairfield Counties, that they would support funding for a new clean slate law and education.
Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed a bill that is intended to help formerly-incarcerated people move on with their lives and find employment by automatically clearing records of their past convictions after between seven and 10 years, depending on the severity of the crime. It covers misdemeanors and some class D and E felonies.
The bill was a big part of CONECT’s legislative agenda for three years, but once the bill was signed there wasn’t any funding to help individuals actually accomplish the goal.