[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 623 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 623
To permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal
offenses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 22, 2007
Mr. Rangel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal
offenses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act
of 2007''.
SEC. 2. EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS FOR CERTAIN NONVIOLENT
OFFENDERS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after subchapter C the following new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER D--EXPUNGEMENT
``Sec.
``3631. Expungement of certain criminal records in limited
circumstances.
``3632. Requirements for expungement.
``3633. Procedure for expungement.
``3634. Effect of expungement.
``3635. Reversal of expunged records.
``3636. Unsealing of records.
``Sec. 3631. Expungement of certain criminal records in limited
circumstances
``(a) In General.--Any individual convicted of an nonviolent
offense who fulfills the requirements of section 3632 may file a
petition under this subchapter to expunge the record of such
conviction.
``(b) Definition of Nonviolent Offense.--In this subchapter, the
term `nonviolent offense' means a misdemeanor or felony offense against
the United States that does not have as an element of the offense the
use of a weapon or violence and which did not actually involve violence
in its commission.
``Sec. 3632. Requirements for expungement
``No individual shall be eligible for expungement under this
subchapter unless, before filing a petition under this subchapter, such
individual--
``(1) has never been convicted of a violent offense
(including an offense under State law that would be a violent
offense if it were Federal) and has never been convicted of a
nonviolent offense other than the one for which expungement is
sought;
``(2) has fulfilled all requirements of the sentence of the
court in which conviction was obtained, including completion of
any term of imprisonment or period of probation, meeting all
conditions of a supervised release, and paying all fines;
``(3) has remained free from dependency on or abuse of
alcohol or a controlled substance a minimum of 1 year and has
been rehabilitated, to the satisfaction of the court referred
to in section 3633(b), if so required by the terms of a
supervised release;
``(4) has obtained a high school diploma or completed a
high school equivalency program; and
``(5) has completed at least one year of community service,
as determined by the court referred to in section 3633(b).
``Sec. 3633. Procedure for expungement
``(a) Petition.--An individual may file a petition for expungement
in the court in which the conviction was obtained. A copy of the
petition shall be served by the court upon the United States Attorney
for the district in which the conviction sought to be expunged was
obtained. Not later than 60 days after receipt of such petition, the
United States Attorney may submit written recommendations to the court
and notify the petitioner of that recommendation.
``(b) Court-Ordered Expungement.--The court, after consideration of
evidence submitted by the petitioner in support of the petition and any
evidence submitted by the Government in support of objections it may
have to granting the petition, shall rule on the petition. In making
that ruling the court, after determining whether the petitioner meets
the eligibility requirements of this subchapter, shall weigh the
interests of the petitioner against the best interests of justice and
public safety.
``Sec. 3634. Effect of expungement
``(a) In General.--An order granting expungement under this
subchapter shall restore the individual concerned, in the contemplation
of the law, to the status such individual occupied before the arrest or
institution of criminal proceedings for the crime that was the subject
of the expungement.
``(b) No Disqualification; Statements.--After an order granting
expungement of any individual's criminal records under this subchapter,
such individual shall not be required to divulge information pertaining
to the expunged conviction and the fact that such individual has been
convicted of the criminal offense concerned shall not--
``(1) operate as a disqualification of such individual to
pursue or engage in any lawful activity, occupation,
profession, and
``(2) held under any provision of law guilty of perjury,
false answering, or making a false statement by reason of his
failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest or institution of
criminal proceedings, or results thereof, in response to an
inquiry made of him for any purpose.
``(c) Records Expunged or Sealed.--Upon order of expungement, all
official law enforcement and court records, including all references to
such person's arrest for the offense, the institution of criminal
proceedings against him, and the results thereof, except publicly
available court opinions or briefs on appeal, shall be expunged (in the
case of nontangible records) or gathered together and sealed (in the
case of tangible records).
``(d) Record of Disposition to Be Retained.--A nonpublic record of
a disposition or conviction that is the subject of an expungement order
shall be retained only by the Department of Justice solely for the
purpose of use by the courts in any subsequent adjudication.
``Sec. 3635. Disclosure of expunged records
``(a) Law Enforcement Purposes.--The Department of Justice may
maintain a nonpublic manual or computerized index of expunged records
containing only the name of, and alphanumeric identifiers that relate
to, the persons who are the subject of such expunged records, the word
`expunged', and the name of the person, agency, office, or department
that has custody of the expunged records, and shall not name the
offense committed. The index shall be made available only to Federal
and State law enforcement personnel who have custody of such expunged
records and only for the purposes set forth in subsection (b) of this
section.
``(b) Authorized Disclosure.--Such records shall be made available
to the person accused or to such person's designated agent and shall be
made available to--
``(1) any prosecutor, law enforcement agency, or court
which has responsibility for criminally investigating,
prosecuting, or adjudicating such individual;
``(2) any State or local office or agency with
responsibility for the issuance of licenses to possess guns
where the accused has made application for such license; or
``(3) any prospective city, State, or Federal employer or
agency, involved in investigating and/or prosecuting under
criminal or civil statutes including employers of police or
peace officers and in relation to an application for employment
as an employee of a city, State, or Federal employer or agency
involved in investigating or prosecuting under criminal or
civil statutes including as a police officer or peace officer,
and every person who is an applicant for the position of police
officer, peace officer, or any other prospective city, State,
or Federal employer or agency, involved in investigating or
prosecuting under criminal or civil statutes shall be furnished
with a copy of all records obtained under this paragraph and
afforded an opportunity to make an explanation thereto.
``(c) Punishment for Improper Disclosure.--Any person who knowingly
disseminates information relating to an expunged conviction other than
the offender shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than one year, or both.
``Sec. 3636. Reversal of expunged records
``The records expunged under this subchapter shall be restored by
operation of law as public records and may be used in all court
proceedings if the individual whose conviction was expunged is
subsequently convicted of any Federal or State offense.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of subchapters at the beginning
of chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following item:
``D. Expungement............................................ 3631''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply to
individuals convicted of an offense before, on, or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
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