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Senate committee advances bill limiting disclosure of criminal-history information amid State Police backlog
Summary
A Senate committee released S2513/A3881 after lawmakers and witnesses pressed for faster processing of expungement orders. Supporters cited a backlog of nearly 50,000 unprocessed orders; the Attorney General's office warned the bill could disrupt automated background checks without an operational fix.
A state Senate committee on Monday voted to release Senate Bill S2513 and its Assembly companion A3881 as amended after extended testimony about delays at the State Police expungement unit.
Assemblywoman Quijano urged the committee to act, saying she had "driven down from Elizabeth today" to keep pressure on processing and that the backlog had real consequences for residents. "They had a backlog of almost 50,000 cases," she said, describing months- and years-long waits that can block employment, housing and education.
Steve Finkel of the Attorney General's Office told the committee the AG shares the bill's goals but warned the measure could "derail" current progress. "This bill will derail that progress," Finkel said, arguing that requiring manual protections in response processes could interrupt automated NICS and employment checks while the State Police and AG work on an automated solution in mediation with the public defender.
Committee members pressed the AG's office about how $15,000,000 appropriated in 2019 was used and whether the State Police prioritized the expungement unit. Finkel said monies supported personnel but said he could not provide detailed allocations during the hearing. Lawmakers repeatedly stressed urgency for people who have won court-ordered expungements but remain affected in practical life.
After discussion, the committee moved and released the bills "as amended" for further consideration on the floor. No final floor vote occurred during the committee meeting.
Next steps: the bills advance to the full legislative chamber for consideration; supporters said they are willing to hold the measure if promised new database testing resolves processing delays.
