Harrisburg, we have a problem.

The launch of House Bill 1419 — Pennsylvania's Clean Slate Act — blasted off July 1 on a yearlong, speed-of-light mission to seal 30 million criminal court records that automatically qualify.

Already, the Starship Clean Slate is encountering technical difficulties.

HB 1419 became law late last year with a near unanimous vote and Gov. Tom Wolf's signature. This month, courts began fulfilling Clean Slate's automatic sealing provision. The courts have until June 2020 to seal the records that automatically qualify. After that, people with marginal cases can petition to have their records sealed or expunged.

The intention is noble: restore a clean criminal record to the 3 million Pennsylvanians who have been convicted of minor, nonviolent crimes and who have paid their debt to society. The clean slate is automatic for anyone who has not committed another offense for 10 years. Previously they could petition the court to clear or expunge their record. Now they don't have to.

It makes sense to give the benefit of doubt to job applicants when the state unemployment rate hovers at near-record lows. When more jobs exist than people to do them, the employment standards tend to relax.

But there's been a disturbance in the force. Turbulence lurks in the details of the Clean Slate mission — complications regarding how, where and when a clean slate protection begins and the public's right to know criminal history ends. The immensity and impact of these complications are only beginning to be seen and understood. And, once we fully realize the impact, we might want to reconsider the legislative relaxation of our standards.

Butler County government has just begun the gargantuan task of identifying and sealing the criminal court cases that qualify for this treatment. County Clerk of Courts Lisa Weiland Lotz, who is overseeing HB 1419's implementation, says the first two batches of 50 records have been processed. It's anybody's guess how many more will follow.

The project is all-consuming, Weiland-Lotz tells the Eagle. All hands on deck.

What that means, in effect, is that the conversion will absorb every resource in the Clerk of Courts office for the coming year.

“It's too massive of a project. Too many cases. Everybody has to wait until next June (2020),” Lotz said. “We're not taking any requests. It has to run its course. If you call, I'm going to tell you that you gotta wait. I won't be able to tell you if your case is eligible.”

She explains the process this way:

- Rather than target specific cases, every month the state will give the county about 1,300 pages of offenses to seal from public view. Each page lists abut 50 offenses.

- In an effort to protect the sealed cases, the Clerk of Courts will be required to hold a tighter grip over how the public can view all court records. A computer in the Clerk of Courts room is no longer available for the public to search the county's database of criminal records. “It's going to make it impossible for us to show the public (our records),” Lotz said.

- This means that, until further notice, anyone seeking access to public criminal records must submit requests to the clerical staff. Of course, they will be busy processing HB 1419 record sealings and will have limited time to deal with public requests.

There might be an inclination to ration public access to criminal records. That might not seem like a big deal — unless your business requires background checks, investigations or crime reporting for any of a number of financial, academic, public service, employment or security services.

The result: Instead of sealing minor criminal records, the process might effectively block access to most or all criminal records.

“This is one of the unintended consequences, I think, of the legislature's Clean Slate law. We have to pull back the public viewing aspect,” Lotz said, referring to the new focus of her office's mission for the coming 12 months.

It's a stunning admission. How stunning? We might be just beginning to perceive and understand.