Baton Rouge: House and Senate lawmakers have advanced legislation (House Bill 286) facilitating the expungement of marijuana possession convictions to Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards.
The measure allows first-time marijuana possession offenders to file a request for an expungement of their records within 90 days of their conviction. (Current law mandates a waiting period of five years.) Costs specific to the filing will be capped at $300.
The bill received bipartisan support from members of both chambers. House lawmakers passed the bill by a vote of 69 to 30, while Senators passed the measure by a vote of 32 to 7.
“Louisiana has one the most complex and expensive expungement processes in the nation. This legislation offers tens of thousands of Louisianans the opportunity to clear their criminal record and continue their lives in a fruitful and productive manner,” said Kevin Caldwell, a legislative manager at the Marijuana Policy Project. “A single cannabis possession charge should not limit so many people for housing, employment, professional licenses and educational loan opportunities. Louisiana is proud to, once again, be at the forefront of legislative cannabis policy reform in the South.”
Nearly half of all US states have enacted laws providing explicit pathways to either expunge (or otherwise set aside) the records of those with low-level marijuana convictions. According to publicly available data compiled by NORML, state and local officials have issued over 100,000 pardons and nearly 1.8 million marijuana-related expungements since 2018.
Additional information on pending legislation is available from NORML’s Action Center.