More recommendations from the governor’s criminal justice reform task force progressed in the legislature Thursday.
A Senate panel approved a bill breaking burglary down into four tiers rather than the current two. Sen. Wayne Shaw said that idea came from a judge.
"What we've simply done by breaking these down into four tiers is allowing them to have sentences that are more in line with the crime that's being committed," Shaw said.
Senate Bill 786 makes breaking into a vending machine distinct from other burglaries and considers it a misdemeanor if what’s taken is valued at less than $1,000. The bill also reduces minimum sentences for first-, second- and third-degree burglary.
The bill, however, does not affect sentence enhancements for burglary’s felony tiers.
"Using any weapon, loaded or unloaded, in commission or attempt to commit a felony is a mandatory two-year punishment in addition to the other penalties," Shaw said. "And if you do it a second time, it's 10 to 30 years."
The Senate panel also passed Senate Bill 650. It allows expungement of nonviolent felonies seven years after conviction rather than 15 or violent crimes 10 years after conviction rather than 20.
"I think once they have served their sentence and they have a clean record after that, we need to give them a second chance," Shaw said. "It's sort of like when we were young, if our parents drug out the punishment for days and days, it ceased to be effective. Let's do the punishment, get it over with and move on."
Any person filing to have a record expunged must not have been convicted of a separate crime during that time and can’t have charges pending.
Expunged records are sealed to the public.
