Bill > H1433

This bill allows individuals to have their juvenile or criminal court records expunged, meaning permanently erased or destroyed, if the offenses were committed before they turned 21 years old, provided any sentence or disposition has been completed. For misdemeanor offenses, expungement will happen automatically after the sentence is finished. For felony offenses, individuals must petition a judge, and expungement will be granted if the sentence is completed and no new crimes have been committed in the Commonwealth since then, with minor motor vehicle offenses not counting as new crimes if the penalty is only a fine of fifty dollars or less. Courts will inform eligible individuals of their right to seek expungement, and expunged records will be reported as "no record" to authorized agencies, allowing individuals to answer "no record" to inquiries about their past. The bill also mandates that the commissioner of probation notify relevant courts and the Department of Youth Services to expunge records from their files, and expunged records will not disqualify individuals from public employment or be used against them in court proceedings.