Just as the coronavirus pandemic is not an excuse for legislatures to pass irresponsible measures in the name of protecting their citizenry, the coronavirus pandemic is also not an excuse for these same legislatures to forego their responsibilities to continue working on unrelated issues. Once the current state of affairs has passed, citizens will return to their daily patterns and elected officials to their posts taking care of issues unrelated to coronavirus.

Last week, landmark “Clean Slate” legislation to automatically seal the records of certain low-level offenders became law in Pennsylvania. Sponsored by Representative Sheryl Delozier, a Republican who represents part of Cumberland County, House Bill 1419 garnered broad bipartisan support in its passage through both chambers of the General Assembly and into its signing by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf.