Bill > S4161

This bill, the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act of 2024, aims to authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to states, local governments, and Native American tribes to reduce the financial and administrative burden of expunging convictions for cannabis offenses. The key provisions of the bill include: 1. Defining key terms, such as "cannabis" and "cannabis offense," to establish the scope of the legislation. 2. Establishing the "State Expungement Opportunity Grant Program," which allows the Attorney General to award grants to eligible entities to automate the expungement process, fund legal clinics, and implement a notification system for individuals with eligible cannabis convictions. 3. Requiring grant recipients to publish information about the expungement process and notify individuals when their convictions have been expunged. 4. Mandating the Attorney General to conduct a study on the effects of cannabis-related criminal records on individuals, including disqualification from housing and employment, and the costs incurred by states for incarcerating individuals convicted of cannabis offenses. The bill is designed to provide financial and administrative assistance to states and local governments in their efforts to expunge cannabis-related convictions, helping to mitigate the collateral consequences of these past offenses for affected individuals.

Justice

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4161/all-info