Bill > H4858

This bill updates Massachusetts law regarding the confidentiality and accessibility of sealed and expunged criminal records. The legislation modifies Chapter 276 of the General Laws to clarify that records sealed under sections 100A, 100B, or 100C, and records expunged under sections 100F, 100G, 100H, or 100K, cannot be made available for inspection by any person. However, the bill maintains an important exception that allows for the maintenance of statistical or research-related information about an offense, provided that the information cannot be used to identify the specific individual involved. Additionally, the bill makes a technical amendment to section 100T to include section 100C alongside sections 100A and 100B, which likely ensures consistent legal treatment across these record-sealing provisions. These changes aim to protect individuals' privacy by strictly limiting access to sealed and expunged criminal records while still allowing for broader statistical research purposes.