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Committee recommends due pass for bill easing record‑sealing process with House changes retained
Summary
Senators recommended a due‑pass for House Bill 12‑63, a measure to seal criminal records. Committee members debated whether to restore language the House removed; sponsors left the House changes in place and the committee approved the bill as received.
The Senate Judiciary Committee recommended House Bill 12‑63 for a due‑pass, keeping the House‑amended version of the bill that removed a presumption clause and shortened an appeal period.
Senator Cory introduced the item and described differences between the House and Senate drafts: the House removed a presumption provision and reduced an appeal period from three years to one year. “They took out the line to allow for an appeal and reduced it from 3 to 1 years,” Cory said during committee discussion. Cory told colleagues the committee could either accept the House changes or attempt to amend and send the bill back to the House; he said he preferred accepting the House version to avoid a conference.
Several senators endorsed accepting the House changes to secure final passage. Senator Merdahl said the bill represented incremental progress after prior work in past sessions. Senator Merdahl moved a due‑pass recommendation; Senator Murdoch seconded the motion. The committee took a roll call and the motion carried.
Votes: The roll call recorded Senator Paulson, Senator Callexa Castaneda, Senator Cory, Senator Luke, Senator Myrtle, Senator Brownberger and Chair Larson voting yes; the motion carried. Senator Corey agreed to carry the bill to the next stage.
