I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2930 To require automatic sealing of certain criminal records, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 27, 2023 Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Ms. MACE, Mr. TRONE, Mr. ARM- STRONG, Ms. KUSTER, and Mr. DONALDS) introduced the following bill; which was 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 2023’’. 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 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2930 IH ‘‘§ 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 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2930 IH ‘‘(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— 5 ‘‘(A) murder; 6 ‘‘(B) voluntary manslaughter; 7 ‘‘(C) kidnapping; 8 ‘‘(D) aggravated assault; 9 ‘‘(E) a forcible sex offense; 10 ‘‘(F) robbery; 11 ‘‘(G) arson; 12 ‘‘(H) extortion; 13 ‘‘(I) the use or unlawful possession of— 14 ‘‘(i) a firearm, as defined in section 15 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 16 1986; or 17 ‘‘(ii) explosive materials, as defined in 18 section 841(c); 19 ‘‘(J) a sex offense (as that term is defined 20 in section 111 of the Sex Offender Registration 21 and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20911)); 22 ‘‘(K) torture, in violation of section 2340A; 23 ‘‘(L) interstate domestic violence, in viola- 24 tion of section 2261; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2930 IH ‘‘(M) an offense under chapter 77; or 1 ‘‘(N) an attempt or conspiracy to commit 2 an offense described in subparagraphs (A) 3 through (M); and 4 ‘‘(4) the term ‘sex offender’ has the meaning 5 given the term in section 111 of the Adam Walsh 6 Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (34 U.S.C. 7 20911). 8 ‘‘(b) AUTOMATIC SEALING FOR CERTAIN ARRESTS 9 AND NONVIOLENT OFFENSES.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time of sentencing 11 of a covered individual for a conviction for an of- 12 fense pursuant to section 404 of the Controlled Sub- 13 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 844) or any Federal non- 14 violent offense involving marijuana, the court shall 15 enter an order that each record and portion thereof 16 that relates to the offense shall be sealed automati- 17 cally on the date that is 1 year after the covered in- 18 dividual fulfills each requirement of the sentence, in- 19 cluding— 20 ‘‘(A) completing each term of imprison- 21 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 22 ‘‘(B) satisfying each condition of imprison- 23 ment, probation, or supervised release. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2930 IH ‘‘(2) ACQUITTAL; DETERMINATION NOT TO FILE 1 CHARGES.— 2 ‘‘(A) ACQUITTAL.—Not later than 60 days 3 after the date on which a covered individual is 4 acquitted, exonerated, or otherwise subject to a 5 judgment which did not result in a conviction 6 for a Federal offense, each record or portion 7 thereof that relates to the Federal offense shall 8 be sealed automatically. 9 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION NOT TO FILE 10 CHARGES.— 11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a covered indi- 12 vidual is arrested for a Federal offense and 13 the Government does not file charges 14 against the covered individual in relation 15 to the Federal offense before the date that 16 is 180 days after the date on which the ar- 17 rest was made, each record or portion 18 thereof that relates to the arrest and Fed- 19 eral offense shall be sealed automatically 20 on such date. 21 ‘‘(ii) UNSEALING FOR FILING OF 22 CHARGES.—At the request of the Govern- 23 ment, a court may unseal a record sealed 24 under clause (i) in order for the Govern- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2930 IH ment to file charges against the covered in- 1 dividual in relation to the Federal offense 2 described in clause (i). 3 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—If a record is un- 4 sealed under clause (ii), the record may 5 only be resealed in accordance with para- 6 graph (1) or subparagraph (A) of this 7 paragraph. 8 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF SEALING ORDER.— 9 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION FROM ACCESS.—Except as 10 provided in paragraph (4), a record that has been 11 sealed under this section or section 3560A shall not 12 be accessible to any person. 13 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION FROM PERJURY LAWS.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 15 subparagraph (B), an individual whose record 16 has been sealed pursuant to this section shall 17 not be required to disclose the existence of or 18 any information contained in the individual’s 19 sealed record, and shall not be subject to pros- 20 ecution under any civil or criminal provision of 21 Federal or State law relating to perjury, false 22 swearing, or making a false statement, includ- 23 ing under section 1001, 1621, 1622, or 1623, 24 for failing to recite or acknowledge any infor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2930 IH mation that has been sealed with respect to the 1 offense, or respond to any inquiry made of the 2 individual, relating to the protected informa- 3 tion. 4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—An individual whose 5 record has been sealed pursuant to this section 6 shall disclose information contained in such 7 record— 8 ‘‘(i) when testifying in court; 9 ‘‘(ii) in the course of questioning by a 10 law enforcement officer in connection with 11 a subsequent criminal investigation; or 12 ‘‘(iii) in connection with employment 13 described in subclauses (I) through (IV) of 14 paragraph (4)(A)(ii) that the individual is 15 seeking. 16 ‘‘(3) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—Except as pro- 17 vided in paragraph (4), the existence of a record of 18 an individual which has been sealed pursuant to this 19 section, or the information contained therein, shall 20 not be included in any background check conducted 21 on such individual. 22 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.— 23 ‘‘(A) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COURT AC- 24 CESS.—An officer or employee of a law enforce- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2930 IH ment agency or a court may access a record of 1 an individual which has been sealed pursuant to 2 this section and is in the possession of the 3 agency or court, or another law enforcement 4 agency or court, solely— 5 ‘‘(i) for investigatory or prosecutorial 6 purposes; or 7 ‘‘(ii) for a background check that re- 8 lates to— 9 ‘‘(I) employment with a law en- 10 forcement agency; 11 ‘‘(II) any position that a Federal 12 agency designates as a— 13 ‘‘(aa) national security posi- 14 tion; or 15 ‘‘(bb) high-risk, public trust 16 position; 17 ‘‘(III) the manufacture, importa- 18 tion, sale, transfer, possession, or car- 19 rying of firearms, explosives, or am- 20 munition; or 21 ‘‘(IV) employment for a position 22 involving the manufacture, importa- 23 tion, handling, sale, or transfer of 24 controlled substances, as that term is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2930 IH defined under the Controlled Sub- 1 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802), or where 2 the employment would provide access 3 to such substances. 4 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE.—An officer or em- 5 ployee of a law enforcement agency or a court 6 may disclose information contained in a sealed 7 record only in order to carry out the purposes 8 described in subparagraph (A). 9 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUAL ACCESS.—Any individual whose 10 record has been sealed pursuant to this section or section 11 3560A may access the information contained in the indi- 12 vidual’s sealed record. 13 ‘‘(e) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly ac- 15 cesses or discloses information contained in a record 16 sealed under this section or section 3560A in a man- 17 ner that is prohibited under this section, shall be 18 fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 19 1 year, or both. 20 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 21 this subsection prevents a covered individual or an 22 individual who was the crime victim (as such term 23 is defined in section 3771(e)) from accessing or dis- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2930 IH closing information contained in record sealed under 1 this section or section 3560A. 2 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 3 tion or section 3560A shall abrogate or constrain the au- 4 thority of a judge or judicial body to vacate a judgment 5 or sentence. 6 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall, by 7 rule, establish a process to ensure that any record in the 8 possession of a Federal agency required to be sealed under 9 this section is automatically sealed in accordance with this 10 section. 11 ‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to an 12 arrest that occurred or conviction that was entered before, 13 on, or after the date of enactment of this section. Not later 14 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this sec- 15 tion, the Attorney General shall ensure that any record 16 related to an arrest or conviction that occurred or was en- 17 tered prior to the automatic sealing of such a record, 18 which record is required to be sealed under this section, 19 is so sealed. 20 ‘‘(i) EMPLOYER IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY.—An 21 employer who employs or otherwise engages an individual 22 whose criminal records were sealed pursuant to this sec- 23 tion shall be immune from liability for any claim arising 24 out of the misconduct of the individual, if the misconduct 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2930 IH relates to the portion of the criminal records that were 1 sealed pursuant to this section. 2 ‘‘(j) ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS.—The Ad- 3 ministrative Office of the United States Courts or the At- 4 torney General shall enter into a contract with or make 5 grants to an organization with expertise in creating digital 6 and technological systems to develop an efficient and effec- 7 tive process for sealing records in accordance with this sec- 8 tion and section 3560A. This process shall enable access 9 to sealed records by Federal and non-Federal law enforce- 10 ment agencies for the purposes set forth in subsection 11 (c)(4)(A) of this section. 12 ‘‘§ 3560A. Sealing of certain records upon petition 13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered nonviolent offense’ 15 means a Federal criminal offense that is not— 16 ‘‘(A) murder; 17 ‘‘(B) voluntary manslaughter; 18 ‘‘(C) kidnapping; 19 ‘‘(D) aggravated assault; 20 ‘‘(E) a forcible sex offense; 21 ‘‘(F) robbery; 22 ‘‘(G) arson; 23 ‘‘(H) extortion; or 24 ‘‘(I) the use or unlawful possession of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2930 IH ‘‘(i) a firearm, as defined in section 1 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 2 1986; or 3 ‘‘(ii) explosive materials, as defined in 4 section 841(c); 5 ‘‘(J) a sex offense (as that term is defined 6 in section 111 of the Sex Offender Registration 7 and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20911)); 8 ‘‘(K) torture, in violation of section 2340A; 9 ‘‘(L) interstate domestic violence, in viola- 10 tion of section 2261; 11 ‘‘(M) an offense under chapter 77; or 12 ‘‘(N) an attempt or conspiracy to commit 13 any of the offenses described in subparagraphs 14 (A) through (M); 15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible individual’ means an in- 16 dividual who— 17 ‘‘(A) has been convicted of a covered non- 18 violent offense; 19 ‘‘(B) has fulfilled each requirement of the 20 sentence for the covered nonviolent offense, in- 21 cluding— 22 ‘‘(i) completing each term of imprison- 23 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:26 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2930.IH H2930 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2930 IH ‘‘(ii) satisfying each condition of im- 1 prisonment, probation, or supervised re- 2 lease; 3 ‘‘(C) has not been convicted of more than 4 2 felonies that are covered nonviolent offenses, 5 including any such convictions that have been 6 sealed (except that for purposes of this sub- 7 paragraph, 2 or more felony convictions that 8 are covered nonviolent offenses arising out of 9 the same act, or acts committed at the same 10 time, shall be treated as one felony conviction); 11 ‘‘(D) has not been convicted of any felony 12 that is not a covered nonviolent offense; and 13 ‘‘(E) has not been convicted for any of- 14 fense related to treason, t [Text truncated for display. 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