Austin, TX — Today, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will sign an executive directive to prevent state departments from using a check box on job applications to ask applicants if they’ve been convicted of a felony. Right on Crime issued the following statement on Governor Snyder’s action to reduce barriers to state occupational licenses so that people with criminal histories are not automatically barred from employment.
“We commend Governor Snyder for Michigan taking these transformative steps that will help ensure that after people have done their time they can punch the clock,” said Marc Levin, Vice President of Criminal Justice Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and its Right on Crime initiative. “To maximize prosperity for Michigan and our nation, we must take advantage of the talents of all Americans, including those with a criminal record and even those who have been incarcerated.”
Governor Snyder signaled that the state licensing department may still consider criminal history once someone is further along the interview process but must carefully consider whether or not that past mistake impedes an individual’s ability to serve the public.
“Right on Crime has urged policymakers around the country to take these steps that not only enhance our economy, but also recognize the value of second chances and the dignity of work,” said Levin. “By making it easier for otherwise qualified people to obtain an occupational license even if they made a mistake in their past, Michigan will not only be more prosperous, but also safer since we know that employment is one factor in reducing recidivism. Right on Crime encourages states around the country to follow the lead of Governor Snyder and the state of Michigan in adopting these smart second chance policies.”
Right on Crime is a national campaign of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, in partnership with the American Conservative Union Foundation and Prison Fellowship that supports conservative solutions for reducing crime, restoring victims, reforming offenders, and lowering taxpayer costs. The movement was born in Texas in 2005, and in recent years, dozens of states such as Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, have led the way in implementing conservative criminal justice reforms.
Right on Crime has the support and works to mobilize the voices of more than 90 prominent conservative leaders who have endorsed the principles of conservative criminal justice reform, including former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Concerned Women for America President Penny Nance, former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist.
For more information about Right on Crime, please visit www.facebook.com/rightoncrime, @RightonCrime, www.youtube.com/rightoncrime
For more information or to schedule an interview with Right on Crime spokespersons, please contact Caroline Espinosa at (512) 472-2700 or [email protected]