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Committee advances paired measures to streamline expungements and debates exclusions for public officials and certain offenses
Summary
Lawmakers advanced two bills aimed at expungement reform: HB535 would let people petition following vacatur, pardon or reversal, and HB261 would permit expungement after acquittal or dismissal; members debated adding exclusions for convictions involving public-office fraud, some domestic-violence offenses and certain thefts.
Representative Hendris told the committee that House Bill 535 is intended to let people whose convictions were overturned, vacated or pardoned petition for expungement and to require a court hearing; he described the bill as a way to streamline clearing records for people who were wrongfully convicted or later had convictions reversed.
Separately, Representative Tilman presented House Bill 261 to allow expungement promptly after a not-guilty verdict, a dismissal with prejudice or a null-pros grand-jury decision and proposed a substitute developed with the district attorney's office; the substitute was adopted and district attorneys signaled support.
Committee members raised concerns about whether people who held public office and "violated public trust" should be barred from expungement. One member proposed an amendment to disallow expungement for anyone who committed offenses while holding public office; another member suggested adding third-degree domestic violence and theft-of-property third-degree to the statutory exclusions. The committee discussed the practical point that prosecutors and law enforcement would still have access to sealed records, even if they are sealed to the public.
The bills moved through committee with adopted substitutes and amendments recorded in the transcript; final legislative steps and any further drafting were left for follow up.
