Expungement Bills
Passed:
HB 352 Amendments to Expungement passed, modifying expungement provisions and temporarily repealing automatic expungement. We talked with the sponsor and she agreed to reduce the pause on automatic expungement to three years, which means automatic expungement will resume in 2027. We also worked with her to add language allowing someone to apply to be put at the front of the line for expungement until 2027 and removing the ban on automatic expungements for DV convictions. We also discussed with interested parties ways to improve the system and they agreed to continue working with us on this issue.
SB 163 Expungement Fee Waiver Amendments passed, which allows an individual to bring a petition for expungement without paying a fee when the individual is receiving services for the expungement from a nonprofit organization or a public benefit corporation that provides services to low-income individuals seeking expungement.
Failed:
HB 304 Alcohol Control Amendments would have allowed an individual to obtain a DUI investigative report if the individual suffered loss or injury as a result of the defendant's actions. It also would have prohibited the expungement of a felony DUI conviction even if the court enters a judgment for conviction to a lower degree of offense. This bill was never heard in committee.
SB 271 Expungement Changes failed to pass. This bill would have amended provisions related to expungement, including providing a 35-day timeline for a prosecuting attorney to respond to a motion to reduce a conviction for purposes of expungement, requiring a court to notify the Bureau of Criminal Identification that an order of expungement for a criminal case has been issued and to provide the Bureau with all information needed for expungement, requiring a court to provide a petitioner with certified copies of an order of expungement, and many other technical changes. It also provided that if an individual is charged with a felony or an offense eligible for enhancement based on a prior conviction, after obtaining an order of expungement, the prosecuting attorney may petition the court in which the individual is charged to open the expunged records upon a showing of good cause.