Committee backs narrow clemency publication exemption for verified survivors

Representative Nicole Yuri Balk introduced HB 1300B as a narrowly tailored fix to modernize a 1939 publication requirement that can endanger survivors when notice is published online. "This bill creates a narrow exception to that publication requirement," Balk said, emphasizing that it does not change the Board of Pardons and Paroles’ decision‑making or notification duties.

A survivor identified as A. Foster testified that digital publication creates permanent, searchable trails and can expose victims to trafficking networks; she described living in confidential programs and paying to have her information scrubbed from the internet. "For survivors, publication is no longer a notice. It's exposure," Foster said.

Tracy Decker, who helped draft the bill, described affidavit and verification requirements — the applicant must submit a sworn statement and two affidavits from qualified professionals — and stressed the bill preserves victim‑notification duties and parole‑board oversight. The committee voted 7‑0 to pass HB 1300 and place it on consent.