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Bill Proposed To Expunge Felony Records For Kids

Jan H. Andersen
/
Adobe Stock
Credit Jan H. Andersen / Adobe Stock
/
Adobe Stock

Kids who get arrested can get their records cleared if they complete a diversion program. But it’s currently limited, so Senator Keith Perry wants to expand it.

“Current law only permits juvenile expunction for misdemeanor offenses this bill would expand current law to permit juvenile diversion expunctions for any offense, including felony offenses," explained Perry.

In fiscal year 2018-19 nearly 5,000 kids were referred to juvenile diversion programs for felony offenses. If the bill passes it’d allow them to have that felony offense removed from their record.

The bill passed the Senate Criminal Justice committee Tuesday and has two more stops before heading the full Senate. The house is slated to take up a similar proposal tomorrow.

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Blaise Gainey is a Multimedia Reporter for WFSU News. Blaise hails from Windermere, Florida. He graduated from The School of Journalism at the Florida A&M University. He formerly worked for The Florida Channel, WTXL-TV, and before graduating interned with WFSU News. He is excited to return to the newsroom. In his spare time he enjoys watching sports, Netflix, outdoor activities and anything involving his daughter.