Bill > S455

Introduced Session

This bill makes certain procedural and substantive reforms concerning expungements of criminal records. First, the bill amends the special probation statute (also known as Recovery Court) to allow a person who successfully completes the Recovery Court program to have their entire record expunged, including convictions for indictable crimes, disorderly persons offenses, municipal ordinance violations, and juvenile offenses. The bill also removes the requirement that a person not be convicted of any new crimes while in Recovery Court in order to be eligible for an expungement, but any new convictions will not be expunged. Under current law, Recovery Court expungements only cover indictable crimes, and a person is eligible for a Recovery Court expungement only if they have not been convicted of any new crimes during their participation in the program. Second, the bill allows an expungement petitioner to include all municipal ordinance violations and juvenile delinquency adjudications that may also be eligible to be expunged on a single petition, along with their other expungeable convictions. Under current law, a person must file up to three separate petitions for expungement to cover indictable crimes and disorderly persons offenses, ordinance violations, and juvenile records. Third, the bill amends the list of crimes for which convictions may not be expunged. Under the bill, robbery in the second degree becomes expungeable, but robbery in the first degree remains non-expungeable. Also under the bill, endangering the welfare of a child, where the offense did not involve sexual conduct, becomes expungeable, but convictions involving sexual conduct or child pornography remain non-expungeable. Additionally under the bill, a conviction for possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public housing facility, public park, or public building, which would otherwise be a non-expungeable second degree crime, becomes expungeable. Fourth, the bill eliminates a barrier to expungement posed by out-of-state or federal convictions. Under current law, when calculating a person's eligibility for an expungement, out-of-state and federal convictions are counted against the total number of convictions a person may have on their record. However, at present, there is no expungement available for federal convictions, and expungement laws vary from state to state. Therefore, the bill amends the statutes so that eligibility is determined only under the laws of this State. Fifth, the bill amends the electronic filing and review process by which a person seeks an expungement through the courts. Under current law, the e-filing system automatically sends a copy of the petition to the State Police, the Attorney General, and county prosecutors so that they can review the petition for accuracy and completeness and, if appropriate, file objections to the expungement. However, although these agencies are required to notify the court of any inaccurate or missing information, they are presently not required to provide copies of the correct or missing documentation to the petitioner. The bill requires these agencies to make copies of these documents available to the petitioner and the court. Sixth, the bill harmonizes the provisions concerning court-ordered financial assessments across all types of expungements. Under current law, a person becomes eligible for an expungement after a statutory waiting period, which begins to run from the date of release from incarceration, probation, or parole, or the date that a court-ordered financial assessment is satisfied, whichever is later. In 2023, the statutes concerning expungements for indictable crimes, disorderly persons offenses, and "Clean Slate" expungements were amended to allow a person to become eligible for an expungement so long as the statutory waiting period is met, even if the court-ordered financial assessment is satisfied at a later time. Alternatively, the 2023 statute revisions also allow a person to become eligible for an expungement by demonstrating compelling circumstances for non-payment. Under the bill, these court-ordered financial assessment provisions are extended to expungements for municipal ordinance violations and juvenile delinquency adjudications. Seventh, the bill expands the eligibility of persons with juvenile delinquency records to receive an expungement. Under current law, a juvenile who is adjudicated delinquent for an offense which, if committed by an adult, would constitute a crime that cannot be expunged would also not be eligible for an expungement. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court has recognized, in cases such as State v. Zuber, 227 N.J. 422 (2017), and State v. Comer, 249 N.J. 359 (2022), that juvenile offenders should not be subject to the same lifetime bars to post-conviction relief as adult offenders. Therefore, the bill eliminates this barrier to expungement for juveniles. Eighth, the bill expands the availability of "Clean Slate" expungements. The "Clean Slate" expungement law passed in 2019 called for the eventual adoption of a system to automatically expunge convictions after ten years. Under the bill, the "Clean Slate" law is extended to include automatic expungement of juvenile adjudications. Additionally, under the bill, the waiting period for a "Clean Slate" expungement is reduced from ten to seven years. The 2019 "Clean Slate" law also established a task force to make recommendations concerning how an automatic expungement system could be implemented. Because the automatic system is not yet operational, and in light of revisions to the expungement laws since 2019, the bill calls for the re-establishment of the task force, with an expanded membership, to provide the Governor and the Legislature with updated recommendations.

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Angela Mcknight (D)*,  Brian Stack (D)*,  Britnee Timberlake (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document