Oregonians convicted of most felonies must forever more admit to their lawbreaking, and that can make finding a good job difficult.

Some lawmakers want to change that. House Bill 3376 would allow Oregonians convicted of nonviolent Class B felonies to have their records expunged after 20 years of law-abiding living. And while the state’s district attorneys originally supported the measure, some have changed their minds in recent weeks.

There’s good reason for that. It’s one thing to tell the now-47-year-old that his conviction for possession of marijuana at age 20 can be wiped from his record. That can happen now. It is something else entirely to extend the same privilege to someone who has been convicted of distributing that same marijuana.

Too, among the nonviolent Class B felonies in Oregon is aggravated theft in the first degree — a theft, including embezzlement, in which $10,000 or more was taken. Bribing public officials also is a Class B felony. Class B felonies can carry prison terms of up to 10 years and fines of $250,000.

That level of crime, in other words, doesn’t really qualify as youthful indiscretion. It’s serious stuff, and future employers have the right to be told about it not just for 20 years, but for as long as the person who committed the crime is alive. No banker, for example, should be put in the position of unwittingly hiring someone who once embezzled from an employer — and neither should any other businessperson. It’s one thing willingly to lend a hand or offer a job to someone who has turned his or her life around. It’s another thing completely to be impelled to do so because a person’s criminal record has been wiped clean.

We do believe people can change and that for some folks, crimes committed will never be repeated. We also believe, however, that Class B felonies in this state are serious business, serious enough that they should not be removed from criminal records at sometime in the future, even the distant one.