Fresh Start Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 121 To permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal offenses, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal offenses, 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 ‘‘Fresh Start Act of 4 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS FOR CER- 6 TAIN NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 229 of title 18, United 8 States Code, is amended by inserting after subchapter C 9 the following new subchapter: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 121 IH ‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—EXPUNGEMENT 1 ‘‘Sec. ‘‘3631. Expungement of certain criminal records in limited circumstances. ‘‘3632. Requirements for expungement. ‘‘3633. Procedure for expungement. ‘‘3634. Effect of expungement. ‘‘3635. Reversal of expunged records. ‘‘§ 3631. Expungement of certain criminal records in 2 limited circumstances 3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible individual convicted 4 of a nonviolent offense may file a petition under this sub- 5 chapter for expungement with regard to that nonviolent 6 offense. 7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF NONVIOLENT OFFENSE.—In 8 this subchapter, the term ‘nonviolent offense’ means any 9 offense under this title that— 10 ‘‘(1) is not a crime of violence (as such term is 11 defined in section 16 of title 18, United States 12 Code); or 13 ‘‘(2) is not an offense that, by its nature, in- 14 volves a substantial risk that physical force against 15 the person or property of another may be used in 16 the course of committing the offense. 17 ‘‘§ 3632. Requirements for expungement 18 ‘‘An individual is eligible for expungement under this 19 subchapter if that individual— 20 ‘‘(1) at the time of filing, had never been con- 21 victed of any criminal offense (including any offense 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 121 IH under State law) other than nonviolent offenses com- 1 mitted in a single criminal episode that includes the 2 offense for which expungement is sought; and 3 ‘‘(2) has fulfilled all requirements of the sen- 4 tence of the court in which the individual was con- 5 victed of that nonviolent offense, including— 6 ‘‘(A) paying all fines, restitutions, or as- 7 sessments; 8 ‘‘(B) completion of any term of imprison- 9 ment or period of probation; 10 ‘‘(C) meeting all conditions of a supervised 11 release; and 12 ‘‘(D) if so required by the terms of the 13 sentence, remaining free from dependency on or 14 abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance for a 15 period of not less than 1 year. 16 ‘‘§ 3633. Procedure for expungement 17 ‘‘(a) PETITION.—A petition for expungement may be 18 filed only in the court in which the petitioner was con- 19 victed of the nonviolent offense for which expungement is 20 sought. The clerk of the court shall serve that petition on 21 the United States Attorney for that district. Except as 22 provided under subsection (d), not later than 60 days after 23 service of such petition, the United States Attorney may 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 121 IH submit recommendations to the court and provide a copy 1 of those recommendations to the petitioner. 2 ‘‘(b) SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE.—The petitioner and 3 the Government may file with the court evidence relating 4 to the petition. 5 ‘‘(c) BASIS FOR DECISION.—In making a decision on 6 the petition, the court shall consider all evidence and 7 weigh the interests of the petitioner against the best inter- 8 ests of justice and public safety. 9 ‘‘(d) SUBSEQUENT PETITION.—If the court denies 10 the petition, the petitioner may not file another such peti- 11 tion until the date that is 2 years after the date of such 12 denial. 13 ‘‘(e) MANDATORY GRANT OF PETITION.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 15 graph (2), the court shall grant the petition of an 16 eligible petitioner who files the petition on a date 17 that is not earlier than the date that is 7 years after 18 the date on which the petitioner has fulfilled all re- 19 quirements of the sentence. The United States At- 20 torney may not submit recommendations under sub- 21 section (a) with regard to that petition. 22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The court may not grant 23 under this subsection the petition of a petitioner who 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 121 IH has committed a nonviolent offense that is one of 1 the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Any offense under this title that 3 causes the petitioner to be required to register 4 under the Sexual Offender Registration and 5 Notification Act. 6 ‘‘(B) Any offense under this title that 7 causes a victim or victims to sustain a loss of 8 not less than $25,000. 9 ‘‘§ 3634. Effect of expungement 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An order granting expungement 11 under this subchapter shall restore the individual con- 12 cerned, in the contemplation of the law, to the status such 13 individual occupied before the arrest or institution of 14 criminal proceedings for the nonviolent offense that was 15 the subject of the expungement. 16 ‘‘(b) NO DISQUALIFICATION; STATEMENTS.—An in- 17 dividual whose petition under this subchapter is granted 18 shall not be required to divulge information pertaining to 19 the nonviolent offense with regard to which expungement 20 is sought, nor shall such individual be held under any pro- 21 vision of law guilty of perjury, false answering, or making 22 a false statement by reason of the failure of the individual 23 to recite or acknowledge such arrest or institution of 24 criminal proceedings, or results thereof, in response to an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 121 IH inquiry made of the individual for any purpose. The fact 1 that such individual has been convicted of the nonviolent 2 offense concerned shall not operate as a disqualification 3 of such individual to pursue or engage in any lawful activ- 4 ity, occupation, or profession. 5 ‘‘(c) RECORDS EXPUNGED OR SEALED.—Except as 6 provided under section 3635, on the grant of a petition 7 under this subchapter, the following shall be expunged: 8 ‘‘(1) Any official record relating to the arrest of 9 the petitioner, the institution of criminal proceedings 10 against the petitioner, or the results thereof (includ- 11 ing conviction) for the nonviolent offense with regard 12 to which expungement is sought. 13 ‘‘(2) Any reference in any official record to the 14 arrest of the petitioner, the institution of criminal 15 proceedings against the petitioner, or the results 16 thereof (including conviction) for the nonviolent of- 17 fense with regard to which expungement is sought. 18 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.—The Attorney General may make 19 rules providing for exceptions to subsection (c) as the At- 20 torney General determines necessary to serve the interests 21 of justice and public safety. 22 ‘‘(e) REVERSAL OF EXPUNGEMENT.—The records or 23 references expunged under this subchapter shall be re- 24 stored by operation of law as public records and may be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 121 IH used in all court proceedings if the individual is convicted 1 of any Federal or State offense after the date of 2 expungement. 3 ‘‘§ 3635. Disclosure of expunged records 4 ‘‘(a) RECORD OF DISPOSITION TO BE RETAINED.— 5 The Attorney General shall retain an unaltered nonpublic 6 copy of— 7 ‘‘(1) any record that is expunged; and 8 ‘‘(2) any record containing a reference that is 9 expunged. 10 ‘‘(b) LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES.—The Attorney 11 General shall maintain a nonpublic index of the records 12 described under subsection (a) containing, for each such 13 record, only the name of, and alphanumeric identifiers 14 that relate to, the individual who is the subject of such 15 record, the word ‘expunged’, and the name of the person, 16 agency, office, or department that has custody of the ex- 17 punged record, and shall not name the offense committed. 18 The index shall be made available only to an entity to 19 which records may be made available under subsection (d) 20 or to any Federal or State law enforcement agency that 21 has custody of such records. 22 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 24 graph (2), any record described in subsection (a) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 121 IH pertaining to an individual may be made available 1 only— 2 ‘‘(A) to a Federal or State court or Fed- 3 eral, State, or local law enforcement agency, in 4 the case of a criminal investigation or prosecu- 5 tion of an individual or in conducting a back- 6 ground check on an individual who has applied 7 for employment by such court or agency; or 8 ‘‘(B) to any State or local agency with re- 9 sponsibility for the issuance of licenses to pos- 10 sess firearms, in the case of an individual ap- 11 plying for such a license. 12 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE TO INDIVID- 13 UALS.—On application of the individual to whom a 14 record described under subsection (a) pertains, that 15 record may be made available to the individual. 16 ‘‘(d) PUNISHMENT FOR IMPROPER DISCLOSURE.— 17 Whoever intentionally makes or attempts to make a disclo- 18 sure, other than a disclosure authorized under subsection 19 (c), of any record or reference that is expunged under this 20 subchapter shall be fined under this title or imprisoned 21 not more than one year, or both.’’. 22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub- 23 chapters at the beginning of chapter 229 of title 18, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 121 IH United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 1 following item: 2 ‘‘D. Expungement .............................................................................. 3631’’. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 3 this Act shall apply to individuals convicted of an offense 4 before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 5 SEC. 3. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS UNDER THE BYRNE GRANTS 6 PROGRAM FOR STATES TO IMPLEMENT CER- 7 TAIN EXPUNGEMENT PROCEDURES AND RE- 8 QUIREMENTS. 9 Section 505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 10 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10156) is amend- 11 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 12 ‘‘(j) PAYMENT INCENTIVES FOR STATES TO IMPLE- 13 MENT CERTAIN EXPUNGEMENT PROCEDURES AND RE- 14 QUIREMENTS.— 15 ‘‘(1) PAYMENT INCENTIVES.— 16 ‘‘(A) BONUS.—In the case of a State that 17 receives funds for a fiscal year (beginning with 18 fiscal year 2020) under this subpart and that 19 has in effect throughout the State for such fis- 20 cal year laws to provide for expungement with 21 respect to certain criminal records that are sub- 22 stantially similar to the Federal rights, proce- 23 dures, requirements, effects, and penalties set 24 forth in subchapter D of chapter 229 of title 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 121 IH 18, United States Code, the amount of funds 1 that would otherwise be allocated under this 2 subpart to such State for such fiscal year shall 3 be increased by 5 percent. 4 ‘‘(B) PENALTY.—In the case of a State 5 that receives funds for a fiscal year (beginning 6 with fiscal year 2020) under this subpart and 7 that does not have in effect throughout the 8 State for such fiscal year laws to provide for 9 expungement with respect to certain criminal 10 records that are substantially similar to the 11 Federal rights, procedures, requirements, ef- 12 fects, and penalties set forth in subchapter D of 13 chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, the 14 amount of such funds that would otherwise be 15 allocated under this subpart to such State for 16 such fiscal year shall be decreased by 5 percent. 17 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—The Attorney General shall 18 submit to the Committee of the Judiciary of the 19 House of Representatives and the Committee of the 20 Judiciary of the Senate an annual report (which 21 shall be made publicly available) that, with respect 22 to the year involved— 23 ‘‘(A) lists the States that have (and those 24 States which do not have) in effect throughout 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 121 IH the State laws to provide for expungement with 1 respect to certain criminal records that are sub- 2 stantially similar to the Federal rights, proce- 3 dures, requirements, effects, and penalties set 4 forth in subchapter D of chapter 229 of title 5 18, United States Code; and 6 ‘‘(B) describes the increases granted to 7 States under paragraph (1)(A), the penalties 8 imposed on States under paragraph (1)(B), and 9 the amounts that States being penalized under 10 paragraph (1)(B) would have received if such 11 States had in effect laws described in subpara- 12 graph (A) of this paragraph. 13 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 14 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 15 this subsection for each of the fiscal years 2020 16 through 2025, in addition to funds made available 17 under section 508, such sums as may be necessary, 18 but not to exceed the amount that is 5 percent of 19 the total amount appropriated pursuant to such sec- 20 tion for such fiscal year.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Jan 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H121.IH H121 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS