Small business owners from Pennsylvania to Texas strongly support creating ways to allow people to seal their state and federal records for marijuana, drug and other non-violent crimes.
With the ongoing labor shortages affecting industries across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, small business owners seem especially open to finding ways to attract and retain workers. Having a criminal record that a person is required to disclose for employment can disqualify people from even applying.
A survey from the nonprofit Small Business Majority, which represents a network of more than 85,000 businesses, found that an average of three in four small business owners in the six states support criminal justice reform to address that problem.
The poll asked about federal and state criminal record closures, but the results were the same. Respondents were asked whether they support or oppose legislation to create a claims process that would allow people to “seal their records for illegal, non-violent cannabis, and drug offenses and arrest those who have been acquitted.”
In a state-by-state poll, 77 percent said they supported such legislation, including 36 percent who said they “strongly” supported it. For the federal court question, 76 percent said they supported the proposal, including 33 percent who strongly supported it.
This is not necessarily a nationally representative study because it only includes small business owners in six specific states. However, those states are ideologically distinct, which can be interpreted as a reflection of how the reforms have broad support across the political spectrum. Participating states are Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Nearly 80 percent of small business owners also said removing employment barriers for people with criminal records would save tax dollars by “reducing risk and reducing the need for long-term government assistance.” A majority of respondents (71 percent) felt that the criminal justice system disproportionately affects minorities.
Read more about how #little biz Owner support #Criminal Justice Reform To address ongoing workforce challenges https://t.co/9DJ2WwvkN4
– Small Business Majority (@SmlBizMajority) October 26, 2022
“It only makes sense to put in place policies that help us tap into a larger pool of candidates,” Small Business Mass CEO John Arensmeier said in a press release Wednesday. “Small companies broadly support legislation that improves second-chance employment opportunities for individuals affected by justice and opens up opportunities for candidates who want to contribute to their local economies and communities.”
The poll, conducted Sept. 13-20 with 850 small business owners in six states, has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Legislators in various states have moved to facilitate the clearing of criminal records, especially as the marijuana legalization movement continues to expand. California’s governor signed a record-sealing law this summer, for example. In Virginia, courts have sealed tens of thousands of cannabis distribution records in the past year.
A key committee in the US House of Representatives approved a series of criminal justice reform bills last month—including a bipartisan proposal to clean up records of prior federal marijuana convictions.
President Joe Biden recently issued a mass amnesty for people convicted of federal cannabis possession crimes, although that did not have the same effect as a record seal or deportation.
He said on Sunday that Mercy had “changed the lives of thousands of people”. However, he announced separately last week that he would not grant amnesty to those who sell marijuana, despite calls from lawyers for broad relief.
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