A potential across-the-board clearing of criminal marijuana-possession records, the nearly 90 percent white racial makeup of State Police and the possibility of including sentencing reductions in a forthcoming criminal justice reform package were all topics during a meeting Tuesday between Gov. Charlie Baker and black and Latino lawmakers, according to attendees.

Rep. Byron Rushing, a Boston Democrat, said the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus talked with the governor about the possibility of a systematic clearing of old marijuana possession convictions from individuals' criminal records, also known as CORI, now that voters have legalized possession.

"No matter what people want to do with the marijuana bill, possession is legal, right? And so right now you can go find a form and go down to court, and they will supposedly take it off of CORI," Rushing told the News Service. He said, "They should be able to do this in a faster way."

Rep. Russell Holmes, a Mattapan Democrat, said that in a recent meeting with State Police Col. Richard McKeon, he learned that 89 percent of the State Police are white. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in Massachusetts about 73 percent of the population is non-Hispanic white alone, and by another measure 82 percent is white - a racial demographic that includes people of European, Middle Eastern and North African descent, according to the Census.

"I would say the governor was pretty alarmed when he saw that number just like we were today as well," Holmes told reporters.

WATCH:Sen. Linda Dorcena-Forry and Rep. Russell Holmes, members of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, spoke to reporters following a meeting with Gov. Charlie Baker. [Video: Antonio Caban/SHNS]

According to a document obtained by the News Service, the 2,177 sworn members of the State Police include 132 women and no racial minorities with a rank higher than detective lieutenant, while there were 13 white male majors, two white female majors and many more white captains, which all rank above detective lieutenant. State Police spokesman David Procopio confirmed that 84 percent of the State Police are white men and 5 percent are white women, and said the other statistics appear accurate.

Procopio also said that "discretionary promotions of women and officers of color to the ranks of major, detective captain, and detective lieutenant have been made at a higher rate, proportional to each group's total population within the department, than for male or non-minority candidates."

"Governor Baker is pleased to regularly meet with the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus to discuss a variety of important issues and will continue to work with the State Police to increase diversity in law enforcement through community outreach," Baker press secretary Billy Pitman said in a statement.

Procopio said, "The Massachusetts State Police are committed to increasing diversity among its personnel, and maintains a dedicated recruitment unit that performs outreach to diverse communities, schools, and other groups throughout the state every day. Our goal is to identify and recruit the best candidates, male and female, from all ethnic and racial backgrounds."

At Monday's Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz told the large crowd, with Baker seated on the dais, that she was "done waiting" for reforms to the state's sentencing laws.

"Dr. King was prescient when he wrote ... that 'In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.' I don't want to remember the silence of my friends. So I'm done waiting," the Jamaica Plain Democrat said at the breakfast.

Holmes said Chang-Diaz's speech "added a little more fire to the conversation" around the inclusion of sentencing reforms in the package of proposed legislation expected to be filed early this year. State officials from the Judiciary, the Legislature and the governor's office have collaborated with the Council of State Governments on criminal justice reforms, though lawmakers said the legislation filed could go beyond the council's recommendations.

Chang-Diaz and others support eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. In 2014 when he was a candidate, Baker responded to a Families Against Mandatory Minimums questionnaire that he supports repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses.

"It's clear it's an issue he is still pondering, wrapping his mind around and trying to figure out a right path," Chang-Diaz said of the governor's thoughts on criminal sentencing reforms. Asked if she thought her speech helped, Chang-Diaz said, "I think the proof will be in the pudding. We'll see. But I was encouraged at the level of listening."

Rushing said he also hopes the regulated sale of marijuana will have a smoother start than the regulated sale of medical marijuana years earlier, which included a cumbersome process that was panned by advocates before being overhauled by the Baker administration. Rushing said that former Gov. Deval Patrick was to blame for the complicated initial process.

"The leadership didn't want to do it, but especially the governor didn't want to do it," Rushing said. He said, "Deval told Public Health: Make this as crazy as possible ... That's the only way to explain it. No group of rational people who are in public health would have come up with something like that unless they knew they could get away with it."

Rushing said Patrick had not actually told him that and he was speculating. A spokesman for Bain Capital, where the former governor is a managing director, said Patrick was traveling Wednesday and he was unsure when he would be checking messages.

Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, a Dorchester Democrat, and Holmes said they want to be sure that black and Latino veterans from Massachusetts have a good shot at obtaining State Police jobs.

"We know that veterans have priority. We support veterans. There are a lot of Latino and black veterans that are here in Massachusetts," Forry said.

Holmes said he is contemplating changes to the Civil Service rankings used to make hiring decisions. Procopio said departmental exams are used in making promotion decisions.

"I think a Massachusetts veteran should have a higher preference than a veteran from around the rest of the country," said Holmes, who said he hoped the State Police's demographics would reflect the demographics of the state overall.

Holmes also said the governor is "open to bail reform" and open to reforming the fees defendants are required to pay in the criminal justice system.

Forry, who said the caucus has a "good relationship" with Baker, said their conversation also touched on supporting minority-owned businesses, and Rushing said the Baker administration is conducting a "disparity study" on state contracts and race.

A recent supplier diversity report from the Operational Services Division found improvements in minority-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses and other particular businesses doing business with the state and with state contractors.