An expungement bill that was originally tied to two other marijuana bills — a since-passed medical marijuana expansion bill and a now-dead legalization bill — continues to languish despite top lawmakers from all three of the state’s top Democrats.
Now that legislative leaders have given up the push to legalize under the golden dome, the expungement bill has been thrust into something of a twilight zone.
While it could be signed into law, the measure would allow for the automatic expungement of low-level marijuana offenses, which absent new legislation, are still criminal offenses.
“How can you expunge things that are still illegal for at least the next year?” Scutari said. “That’s problematic for moving forward the expungement bill. Its number one priority is to automatically expunge first-time low-level possession users.”