Legislative counsel: Senate adopted technical fix to H409, changing expungement reference and capping certain bail at $200

Michelle Childs of the Office of Legislative Council briefed the House Judiciary Committee on a technical Senate amendment that affects language in H409 and related items sent back to the House. For the record, she identified herself as "Michelle Childs, office of legislative council," and said the Senate passed S.937 third reading today with an amendment from Senator Hashim that will be part of the proposal sent back to the House.

Childs explained the amendment corrects a cross-reference: previous language referred to 'expungement' where the offenses are now classified as sealable (sometimes referred to in the discussion as 'ceiling' language). She said the technical change replaces references to "expungement" with the appropriate sealing/ceiling terminology and that, in a specific subsection, the court could set a maximum bail of $200 when imposing bail to mitigate flight risk.

Committee members asked whether the Senate removed other parts of the miscellaneous bill; Childs said the Senate left most sections intact and removed a single section addressing underage possession penalties because another bill (S198) was overhauling that area.

Members discussed practical questions about citations versus arrests under Rule 3 and whether a cited person released on conditions would still be subject to the $200 cap; Childs and members agreed to follow up and to have corrections and institutions staff review the precise language. The Chair said the committee may vote to concur as soon as the following day if the final text is circulated to members.