HOPE Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2677 To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States and units of local government to reduce the financial and administrative burden of expunging convictions for cannabis offenses, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 18, 2023 Mr. JOYCE of Ohio (for himself and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States and units of local government to reduce the financial and administrative burden of expunging convictions for cannabis 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 ‘‘Harnessing Opportuni- 4 ties by Pursuing Expungement Act of 2023’’ or the 5 ‘‘HOPE Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Apr 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2677.IH H2677 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2677 IH SEC. 2. STATE EXPUNGEMENT OPPORTUNITY GRANT PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 (a) NAME OF PROGRAM.—The grant program estab- 3 lished under this section shall be known as the ‘‘State 4 Expungement Opportunity Grant Program’’. 5 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is au- 6 thorized to make grants to States and units of local gov- 7 ernment to reduce the financial and administrative burden 8 of expunging convictions for cannabis offenses that are 9 available to individuals who have been convicted of such 10 offenses under the laws of the State. 11 (c) APPLICATION.—The chief executive of a State or 12 unit of local government seeking a grant under this section 13 shall submit to the Attorney General an application at 14 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa- 15 tion as the Attorney General may reasonably require. 16 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section shall 17 be used— 18 (1) for technology to provide cost-effective legal 19 relief at scale; 20 (2) to automate the process of expunging con- 21 victions for cannabis offenses; 22 (3) for clinics, including legal clinics, that assist 23 individuals through the expungement process; 24 (4) to implement the notice requirement de- 25 scribed in subsection (e); 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Apr 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2677.IH H2677 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2677 IH (5) to seal records of conviction for cannabis of- 1 fenses, if appropriate; and 2 (6) for other innovative partnerships to provide 3 wide-scale relief to individuals who are eligible for 4 the expungement of a conviction for a cannabis of- 5 fense under the laws of the State. 6 (e) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—A jurisdiction that re- 7 ceives a grant under this section shall— 8 (1) publish on a publicly accessible website in- 9 formation about the availability and process of 10 expunging convictions for cannabis offenses, includ- 11 ing information for individuals living in a different 12 jurisdiction who were convicted of a cannabis offense 13 in that jurisdiction; 14 (2) implement a process to notify each indi- 15 vidual convicted of a cannabis offense when— 16 (A) the expungement process has begun; 17 and 18 (B) when the expungement is complete, 19 which shall, if applicable, include an official cer- 20 tificate of expungement (including any other 21 similar document used by the jurisdiction). 22 (f) REPORT.—A jurisdiction that receives a grant 23 under this section shall submit to the Attorney General 24 a report describing the uses of such funds, and how many 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Apr 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2677.IH H2677 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2677 IH convictions for cannabis offenses have been expunged 1 using such funds. 2 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 3 authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 to carry out this 4 section for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2033. 5 SEC. 3. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES 6 RELATED TO CANNABIS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 8 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 9 conduct a study and submit to Congress and make pub- 10 licly available on the website of the Department of Justice 11 a report on— 12 (1) the effects of the appearance on an individ- 13 ual’s criminal record report of a conviction for a 14 criminal offense related to cannabis, including— 15 (A) disqualifying him or her from future 16 opportunities in housing and employment; 17 (B) increasing the likelihood that the indi- 18 vidual will have future involvement with the 19 criminal justice system; 20 (C) how any such effects differ based on 21 demographics, including race; and 22 (D) any other matters determined appro- 23 priate by the Attorney General; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Apr 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2677.IH H2677 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2677 IH (2) the costs incurred by States for incarcer- 1 ating an individual convicted for a criminal offense 2 related to cannabis. 3 (b) CLARIFICATION.—The report under subsection 4 (a) may not include any personally identifiable informa- 5 tion. 6 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 (1) The term ‘‘cannabis’’ means either mari- 9 juana or cannabis as defined under the State law 10 authorizing the sale or use of cannabis in which the 11 individual or entity is located. 12 (2) The term ‘‘cannabis offense’’ means a 13 criminal offense related to cannabis that, under 14 State law, is no longer an offense or that was des- 15 ignated a lesser offense or for which the penalty was 16 reduced under State law pursuant to or following 17 the adoption of a State law authorizing the sale or 18 use of cannabis. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Apr 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2677.IH H2677 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB