Clean Slate Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1380 To require automatic sealing of certain criminal records, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2021 Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require automatic sealing of certain criminal records, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Slate Act of 4 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. SEALING OF CERTAIN RECORDS. 6 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter A of chapter 227 of 7 title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 8 end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1380 IS ‘‘§ 3560. Automatic sealing of certain records 1 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 2 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in- 3 dividual who— 4 ‘‘(A) is not a sex offender; 5 ‘‘(B) has been— 6 ‘‘(i) arrested for a Federal offense for 7 which the individual was not convicted; or 8 ‘‘(ii) convicted of an offense under 9 section 404 of the Controlled Substances 10 Act (21 U.S.C. 844) or any Federal non- 11 violent offense involving marijuana; 12 ‘‘(C) in the case of a conviction described 13 in subparagraph (B)(ii), has fulfilled each re- 14 quirement of the sentence for the offense, in- 15 cluding— 16 ‘‘(i) completing each term of imprison- 17 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 18 ‘‘(ii) satisfying each condition of im- 19 prisonment, probation, or supervised re- 20 lease; and 21 ‘‘(D) has not been convicted for any of- 22 fense related to treason, terrorism, access and 23 transmission of sensitive defense information, 24 or other national security related convictions; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1380 IS ‘‘(2) the term ‘marijuana’ has the meaning 1 given the term ‘marihuana’ in section 102 of the 2 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); 3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘nonviolent offense’ means an of- 4 fense that is not a crime of violence, as defined in 5 subparagraphs (A) and (C) of section 3156(a)(4); 6 and 7 ‘‘(4) the term ‘sex offender’ has the meaning 8 given the term in section 111 of the Adam Walsh 9 Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (34 U.S.C. 10 20911). 11 ‘‘(b) AUTOMATIC SEALING FOR CERTAIN ARRESTS 12 AND NONVIOLENT OFFENSES.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time of sentencing 14 of a covered individual for a conviction for an of- 15 fense pursuant to section 404 of the Controlled Sub- 16 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 844) or any Federal non- 17 violent offense involving marijuana, the court shall 18 enter an order that each record and portion thereof 19 that relates to the offense shall be sealed automati- 20 cally on the date that is 1 year after the covered in- 21 dividual fulfills each requirement of the sentence, in- 22 cluding— 23 ‘‘(A) completing each term of imprison- 24 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1380 IS ‘‘(B) satisfying each condition of imprison- 1 ment, probation, or supervised release. 2 ‘‘(2) ACQUITTAL; DETERMINATION NOT TO FILE 3 CHARGES.— 4 ‘‘(A) ACQUITTAL.—Not later than 60 days 5 after the date on which a covered individual is 6 acquitted, exonerated, or otherwise subject to a 7 judgment which did not result in a conviction 8 for a Federal offense, each record or portion 9 thereof that relates to the Federal offense shall 10 be sealed automatically. 11 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION NOT TO FILE 12 CHARGES.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a covered indi- 14 vidual is arrested for a Federal offense and 15 the Government does not file charges 16 against the covered individual in relation 17 to the Federal offense before the date that 18 is 180 days after the date on which the ar- 19 rest was made, each record or portion 20 thereof that relates to the arrest and Fed- 21 eral offense shall be sealed automatically 22 on such date. 23 ‘‘(ii) UNSEALING FOR FILING OF 24 CHARGES.—At the request of the Govern- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1380 IS ment, a court may unseal a record sealed 1 under clause (i) in order for the Govern- 2 ment to file charges against the covered in- 3 dividual in relation to the Federal offense 4 described in clause (i). 5 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—If a record is un- 6 sealed under clause (ii), the record may 7 only be resealed in accordance with para- 8 graph (1) or subparagraph (A) of this 9 paragraph. 10 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF SEALING ORDER.— 11 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION FROM ACCESS.—Except as 12 provided in paragraph (4), a record that has been 13 sealed under this section or section 3560A shall not 14 be accessible to any person. 15 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION FROM PERJURY LAWS.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 17 subparagraph (B), an individual whose record 18 has been sealed pursuant to this section shall 19 not be required to disclose the existence of or 20 any information contained in the individual’s 21 sealed record, and shall not be subject to pros- 22 ecution under any civil or criminal provision of 23 Federal or State law relating to perjury, false 24 swearing, or making a false statement, includ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1380 IS ing under section 1001, 1621, 1622, or 1623, 1 for failing to recite or acknowledge any infor- 2 mation that has been sealed with respect to the 3 offense, or respond to any inquiry made of the 4 individual, relating to the protected informa- 5 tion. 6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—An individual whose 7 record has been sealed pursuant to this section 8 shall disclose information contained in such 9 record— 10 ‘‘(i) when testifying in court; 11 ‘‘(ii) in the course of questioning by a 12 law enforcement officer in connection with 13 a subsequent criminal investigation; or 14 ‘‘(iii) in connection with employment 15 described in subclause (I) or (II) of para- 16 graph (4)(A)(ii) that the individual is seek- 17 ing. 18 ‘‘(3) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—Except as pro- 19 vided in paragraph (4), the existence of a record of 20 an individual which has been sealed pursuant to this 21 section, or the information contained therein, shall 22 not be included in any background check conducted 23 on such individual. 24 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1380 IS ‘‘(A) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COURT AC- 1 CESS.—An officer or employee of a law enforce- 2 ment agency or a court may access a record of 3 an individual which has been sealed pursuant to 4 this section and is in the possession of the 5 agency or court, or another law enforcement 6 agency or court, solely— 7 ‘‘(i) for investigatory or prosecutorial 8 purposes; or 9 ‘‘(ii) for a background check that re- 10 lates to— 11 ‘‘(I) employment with a law en- 12 forcement agency; 13 ‘‘(II) any position that a Federal 14 agency designates as a— 15 ‘‘(aa) national security posi- 16 tion; or 17 ‘‘(bb) high-risk, public trust 18 position; or 19 ‘‘(III) the manufacture, importa- 20 tion, sale, transfer, possession, or car- 21 rying of firearms, explosives, or am- 22 munition. 23 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE.—An officer or em- 24 ployee of a law enforcement agency or a court 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1380 IS may disclose information contained in a sealed 1 record only in order to carry out the purposes 2 described in subparagraph (A). 3 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUAL ACCESS.—Any individual whose 4 record has been sealed pursuant to this section or section 5 3560A may access the information contained in the indi- 6 vidual’s sealed record. 7 ‘‘(e) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly ac- 9 cesses or discloses information contained in a record 10 sealed under this section or section 3560A in a man- 11 ner that is prohibited under this section, shall be 12 fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 13 1 year, or both. 14 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 15 this subsection prevents a covered individual or an 16 individual who was the crime victim (as such term 17 is defined in section 3771(e)) from accessing or dis- 18 closing information contained in record sealed under 19 this section or section 3560A. 20 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 21 tion or section 3560A shall abrogate or constrain the au- 22 thority of a judge or judicial body to vacate a judgment 23 or sentence. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1380 IS ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall, by 1 rule, establish a process to ensure that any record in the 2 possession of a Federal agency required to be sealed under 3 this section is automatically sealed in accordance with this 4 section. 5 ‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to an 6 arrest that occurred or conviction that was entered before, 7 on, or after the date of enactment of this section. Not later 8 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this sec- 9 tion, the Attorney General shall ensure that any record 10 related to an arrest or conviction that occurred or was en- 11 tered prior to the automatic sealing of such a record, 12 which record is required to be sealed under this section, 13 is so sealed. 14 ‘‘(i) EMPLOYER IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY.—An 15 employer who employs or otherwise engages an individual 16 whose criminal records were sealed pursuant to this sec- 17 tion shall be immune from liability for any claim arising 18 out of the misconduct of the individual, if the misconduct 19 relates to the portion of the criminal records that were 20 sealed pursuant to this section. 21 ‘‘(j) ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrative Office 23 of the United States Courts or the Attorney General 24 may enter into a contract with or make grants to an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1380 IS organization with expertise in creating digital and 1 technological systems to develop an efficient and ef- 2 fective process for automatically sealing records in 3 accordance with this section. 4 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 5 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 6 this subsection— 7 ‘‘(A) $2,000,000 to the Administrative Of- 8 fice of the United States Courts; and 9 ‘‘(B) $2,000,000 to the Attorney General. 10 ‘‘§ 3560A. Sealing of certain records upon petition 11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered nonviolent offense’ 13 means a Federal criminal offense that is not— 14 ‘‘(A) a crime of violence (as defined in sub- 15 paragraphs (A) and (C) of section 3156(a)(4)); 16 or 17 ‘‘(B) a sex offense (as that term is defined 18 in section 111 of the Sex Offender Registration 19 and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20911)); 20 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible individual’ means an in- 21 dividual who— 22 ‘‘(A) has been convicted of a covered non- 23 violent offense; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1380 IS ‘‘(B) has fulfilled each requirement of the 1 sentence for the covered nonviolent offense, in- 2 cluding— 3 ‘‘(i) completing each term of imprison- 4 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 5 ‘‘(ii) satisfying each condition of im- 6 prisonment, probation, or supervised re- 7 lease; 8 ‘‘(C) has not been convicted of more than 9 2 felonies that are covered nonviolent offenses, 10 including any such convictions that have been 11 sealed (except that for purposes of this sub- 12 paragraph, 2 or more felony convictions that 13 are covered nonviolent offenses arising out of 14 the same act, or acts committed at the same 15 time, shall be treated as one felony conviction); 16 ‘‘(D) has not been convicted of any felony 17 that is not a covered nonviolent offense; and 18 ‘‘(E) has not been convicted for any of- 19 fense related to treason, terrorism, access and 20 transmission of sensitive defense information, 21 or other national security related convictions; 22 ‘‘(3) the term ‘petitioner’ means an individual 23 who files a sealing petition; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1380 IS ‘‘(4) the term ‘protected information’, with re- 1 spect to a covered nonviolent offense, means any ref- 2 erence to— 3 ‘‘(A) an arrest, conviction, or sentence of 4 an individual for the offense; 5 ‘‘(B) the institution of criminal pro- 6 ceedings against an individual for the offense; 7 or 8 ‘‘(C) the result of criminal proceedings de- 9 scribed in subparagraph (B); 10 ‘‘(5) the term ‘sealing hearing’ means a hearing 11 held under subsection (c)(2); and 12 ‘‘(6) the term ‘sealing petition’ means a petition 13 for a sealing order filed under subsection (b). 14 ‘‘(b) RIGHT TO FILE SEALING PETITION.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date that 16 is 1 year after the date on which the eligible indi- 17 vidual has fulfilled each requirement described in 18 subsection (a)(2)(B), an eligible individual may file 19 a petition for a sealing order with respect to a cov- 20 ered nonviolent offense in a district court of the 21 United States. 22 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO FILE PETI- 23 TION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:27 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1380.IS S1380 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1380 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an individual is 1 convicted of a covered nonviolent offense and 2 will potentially be eligible to file a sealing peti- 3 tion with respect to the offense upon fulfilling 4 each requirement of the sentence for the offense 5 as described in subsection (a)(2)(B), the court 6 in which the individual is convicted shall, in 7 writing, inform t [Text truncated for display. 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