2021 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 43
BY SENATOR MIZELL
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To recognize April 2021 as Second Chance Month and honor the work of communities,
governmental institutions, nonprofits, congregations, employers, and individuals to
remove unnecessary legal and societal barriers that prevent individuals with a
criminal record from becoming productive members of society.
WHEREAS, every person is endowed with human dignity and value; and
WHEREAS, redemption and second chances are American values; and
WHEREAS, an estimated seventy million American citizens have a criminal record;
and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Justice reports that more than six hundred
thousand individuals returned to their community from state and federal prisons in 2019,
including more than sixteen thousand from Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, individuals who have paid their debt after committing a crime face
significant barriers, also known as collateral consequences, to reintegrating into society; and
WHEREAS, the Council of State Governments reports that the number of legal
collateral consequences of a criminal conviction exceeds forty-four thousand, including
thirteen thousand and three hundred and forty consequences unique to Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, America's youth face more than one thousand collateral consequences
affecting their high school and higher education; and
WHEREAS, many of these consequences are mandatory, without taking into account
the seriousness of the offense, the time passed since the offense, the individual's efforts to
make amends and earn back the public's trust, or whether the consequence has a proven
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public safety benefit; and
WHEREAS, gaining meaningful employment is one of the most significant
predictors of successful reentry and reducing future criminal activity; and
WHEREAS, ninety percent of those who have previously been incarcerated struggle
to find employment because of both societal and legal barriers, which are often not directly
related to the offense committed or any proven public safety benefit; and
WHEREAS, every jurisdiction has laws that prohibit individuals with a criminal
record from working in certain industries, such as cosmetology, operation of arcade games,
automotive parts recycling, camping equipment sales, boiler inspection, and many others;
and
WHEREAS, over sixty percent of employers report they would not be willing to hire
someone with any criminal record and many employers utilize a blanket no-hire policy for
individuals with a criminal record; and
WHEREAS, education has also been shown to be a significant predictor of successful
reentry; and
WHEREAS, those with a criminal record have lower levels of educational attainment
than the general population and have significant difficulty acquiring admission to and
funding for educational programs; and
WHEREAS, individuals convicted of certain crimes are barred from receiving the
financial aid necessary to acquire additional skills and knowledge; and
WHEREAS, many individuals, regardless of their efforts to live positively, are
denied admission to institutions of higher education on account of their criminal record
despite a lack of empirical evidence showing a campus safety risk; and
WHEREAS, people with a criminal history also face significant barriers in securing
a place to live; and
WHEREAS, fifty-six percent of landlords are unwilling to rent to an individual with
a criminal record containing a felony charge and thirty-two percent are unwilling to rent to
an individual with a previous misdemeanor conviction; and
WHEREAS, individuals with a criminal history are also barred from seeking access
to public housing or receiving public housing assistance; and
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WHEREAS, this inability to access housing has been found to increase the number
of individuals returning to prison; and
WHEREAS, many people with a criminal history also face other significant
challenges such as significant debts as a result of their conviction and incarceration, the
inability to make amends by volunteering, as well as difficulty in securing identification
documentation; and
WHEREAS, all of these barriers prevent the seventy million Americans with
criminal records from contributing fully to their families and communities; and
WHEREAS, these barriers can contribute to recidivism, which increases
victimization and decreases public safety; and
WHEREAS, the inability to find gainful employment and other collateral
consequences of conviction inhibit the economic mobility of people with a criminal history,
which negatively impacts the well-being of their children and families for generations; and
WHEREAS, the legal barriers and stigma associated with a criminal record results
in lost human capital and lost economic output for the United States; and
WHEREAS, the anniversary of the federal Second Chance Act of 2007, which has
provided reentry services to more than one hundred and sixty-four thousand people in
forty-nine states and the District of Columbia since the anniversary of the law's passage, falls
on April 9th; and
WHEREAS, the anniversary of the death of Charles Colson, who used his second
chance following his incarceration for a Watergate-related crime to found Prison Fellowship,
the nation's largest outreach to prisoners and their families, falls on April 21, 2021; and
WHEREAS, a robust coalition of businesses, congregations, and other organizations
across the country has celebrated Second Chance Month since April 2017 through events,
Second Chance 5Ks, briefings, social media campaigns, advocacy, press, and other
activities; and
WHEREAS, the designation of April 2021 as Second Chance Month can contribute
to increased public awareness about the challenges faced by those who have paid their debt
to society as well as opportunities for individuals, employers, congregations, and
communities to extend second chances.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
recognize April 2021 as Second Chance Month and honors the work of communities,
governmental institutions, nonprofits, congregations, employers, and individuals to remove
unnecessary legal and societal barriers that prevent individuals with a criminal record from
becoming productive members of society.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Prison Fellowship.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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