AUGUSTA, Maine — Sen. Mike Carpenter, D-Houlton, has been appointed to serve as chairman on the Criminal Records Review Advisory Committee by Sen. President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash.
The committee is designed to analyze the level of access that the public has to criminal records.
“This committee gives us an opportunity to take a serious look at how we approach people’s criminal records in the state of Maine,” said Sen. Carpenter. “Are we being too severe with some criminal records and not severe enough with others? These are some of the questions we will discuss in the committee. I am looking forward to the committee’s work.”
The membership of the committee includes legislators; the Attorney General; the Commissioner of Public Safety; representatives from the Maine Prosecutors, Criminal Defense and Sheriffs’ associations; representatives from civil rights organizations; and representatives from nonprofit organizations.
The committee will review current statute on criminal records and determine if it is necessary to update or modify the public access to criminal records, based on the type of crime and the length of time after the crime has been committed.
The committee must submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary with its findings and recommendations to the Legislature, by Dec. 4, 2019. Sen. Carpenter is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
