SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A bill requiring California prosecutors to erase or reduce tens of thousands of marijuana criminal convictions was approved by the state Legislature on Wednesday and now awaits Gov. Jerry Brown's signature.
The proposition also applied retroactively to pot convictions, but provided no mechanism or guidance on how those eligible could erase their convictions or have felonies reduced to misdemeanors.
The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would make that happen.
The bill orders the state Department of Justice to identify eligible cases between 1975 and 2016 and send the results to the appropriate prosecutor.
The bill was introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, who represents parts of Oakland, California, and passed the lower house earlier this year.
Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, who supported passage, said many with marijuana convictions don't even know they are eligible.
"This bill will take those people off the prohibited list, save us time and money," Anderson said. »