A bill was passed by the Iowa House before the funnel week dealing with juvenile court records.

Representative Chip Baltimore from Boone says the legislation would seal any non-violent records from the public that juveniles commit before turning 18.

“The concept is, alright, let’s seal some of those records to try to give them an opportunity, as they enter adulthood, to have a fresh start and be able to go out there and get employment and college opportunities, so they can be productive members of society and they are not continuously punished by the fact that they’ve got a juvenile record.”

Baltimore notes that juveniles tend to not have the decision-making abilities that adults have and so they wanted to give those non-violent incidents a “pass” when they become adults. However, the bill doesn’t seal violent juvenile records.

A similar bill was passed in the Senate and Baltimore adds that both versions of the bill will be discussed and he believes it would become law before the end of the session.