PRINTER'S NO. 1847
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1419
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY DELOZIER, J. HARRIS, MILLARD, DEAN, FRANKEL,
KINSEY, PHILLIPS-HILL, D. COSTA, CALTAGIRONE, SOLOMON,
V. BROWN, WARREN, COX, GODSHALL, DAVIS, BULLOCK, WHEATLEY,
WHEELAND, HILL-EVANS, DeLUCA, A. HARRIS, KIM, ROZZI,
McCARTER, ZIMMERMAN, McCLINTON, SCHWEYER, REESE, FEE,
DERMODY, SIMS, ROTHMAN, FARRY, HANNA, DALEY, THOMAS, STURLA,
NEILSON, KRUEGER-BRANEKY AND SCHLOSSBERG, MAY 25, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MAY 25, 2017
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in dissemination of criminal history
record information, further providing for general regulations
and for order for limited access, providing for clean slate
for convictions of misdemeanors and for charges not leading
to convictions, for effects of expunged offenses and offenses
provided limited access and for employer immunity from
liability and further providing for use of records by
licensing agencies; and imposing duties on the Pennsylvania
State Police and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania
Courts.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 9121(b) and (b.2) and 9122.1(a) of Title
18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to
read:
§ 9121. General regulations.
* * *
(b) Dissemination to noncriminal justice agencies and
individuals.--Criminal history record information shall be
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disseminated by a State or local police department to any
individual or noncriminal justice agency only upon request.
Except as provided in subsection (b.1):
(1) A fee may be charged by a State or local police
department for each request for criminal history record
information by an individual or noncriminal justice agency,
except that no fee shall be charged to an individual who
makes the request in order to apply to become a volunteer
with an affiliate of Big Brothers of America or Big Sisters
of America or with a rape crisis center or domestic violence
program.
(2) Before a State or local police department
disseminates criminal history record information to an
individual or noncriminal justice agency, it shall extract
from the record the following:
(i) All notations of arrests, indictments or other
information relating to the initiation of criminal
proceedings where:
(A) three years have elapsed from the date of
arrest;
(B) no conviction has occurred; and
(C) no proceedings are pending seeking a
conviction.
(ii) All information relating to a conviction and
the arrest, indictment or other information leading
thereto, or relating to an arrest not leading to a
conviction, which is the subject of a court order for
limited access as provided in section 9122.1 (relating to
order for limited access)[.] or which is automatically
provided limited access under section 9122.2 (relating to
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clean slate for convictions of misdemeanors and for
charges not leading to convictions ).
(3) A court or the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania
Courts may not disseminate to an individual, a noncriminal
justice agency or an Internet website any information
relating to a conviction, arrest, indictment or other
information leading to a conviction, arrest, indictment or
other information, which is the subject of a court order for
limited access as provided in section 9122.1 or which is
automatically provided limited access under section 9122.2.
* * *
(b.2) Additional exceptions.--Subsection (b)(2)(ii) and (3)
shall not apply if the request is made [by a State agency to be
used only as authorized under section 9124 (relating to use of
records by licensing agencies).]:
(1) P ursuant to a court order in a case brought under 23
Pa.C.S. Ch. 53 (relating to child custody) or 61 (relating to
protection from abuse). All information made available to the
court under this exception shall also be made available for
examination by the parties.
(2) To verify information provided by an applicant where
Federal law, including rules and regulations promulgated by a
self-regulatory organization that has been created pursuant
to Federal law, requires the consideration of an applicant's
criminal history for purposes of employment.
(3) By an employer against whom a claim of civil
liability has been brought as described under section 9122.4
(relating to employer immunity from liability) for purposes
of defending against a claim of civil liability.
(4) To verify information provided to the Supreme Court,
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or an entity thereof, in its capacity to govern the practice,
procedure and the conduct of all courts, the admission to the
bar and the practice of law and the administration of all
courts and supervision of all officers of the judicial
branch.
* * *
§ 9122.1. Order for limited access.
(a) General rule.--[The following shall apply:
(1)] Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, upon petition of a person who has been free of
[arrest or prosecution] subsequent conviction following
conviction or final release from confinement or supervision,
whichever is later, for a period of 10 years, the court of
common pleas in the jurisdiction where the conviction
occurred may enter an order that criminal history record
information maintained by any criminal justice agency
pertaining to a conviction for a misdemeanor of the second
degree, a misdemeanor of the third degree or an ungraded
offense which carries a maximum penalty of no more than two
years be disseminated only to a criminal justice agency or a
government agency as provided in section 9121(b.1) and (b.2)
(relating to general regulations).
[(2) Except when requested or required by a criminal
justice agency, or by and for the official use of a
government agency described in section 9121(b.1) or 9124(a)
(relating to use of records by licensing agencies), no
individual shall be required nor requested to disclose
information about the person's criminal history records that
are the subject of a court order for limited access granted
under this section.]
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* * *
Section 2. Title 18 is amended by adding sections to read:
§ 9122.2. Clean slate for convictions of misdemeanors and for
charges not leading to convictions.
(a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and
declares as follows:
(1) Individuals with charges not leading to convictions
may be inherently harmed by the maintenance of that record
and have a constitutional presumption of innocence.
(2) Individuals convicted of crimes in this Commonwealth
shall serve their sentences as ordered by the courts of this
Commonwealth.
(3) After less violent individuals convicted of their
crimes have served their sentences and remained crime free
long enough to demonstrate their rehabilitation, their access
to employment, housing, education and other necessities of
life should be fully restored.
(4) The Commonwealth shall provide a clean slate remedy,
as set forth under this section, to:
(i) create a strong incentive for avoidance of
recidivism by offenders;
(ii) provide hope for the alleviation of the
hardships of having a criminal record by offenders who
are trying to rehabilitate themselves; and
(iii) save the Commonwealth money that must be spent
in the administration of criminal justice when offenders
recidivate.
(5) The clean slate remedy should be implemented without
cost to the former offender of filing a petition with a
court.
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(b) Misdemeanor conviction.--
(1) Except as provided under paragraphs (2) and (3),
criminal history record information of all convictions of
misdemeanor offenses shall automatically receive limited
access when completion of the court-ordered financial
obligations of the sentence has occurred and 10 years have
passed since the most recent misdemeanor or felony conviction
in any court of the unified judicial system.
(2) Limited access under this subsection shall not be
granted to misdemeanor convictions of the following offenses:
(i) Offenses under Article B (relating to offenses
involving danger to the person).
(ii) Offenses under Article D (relating to offenses
against the family).
(iii) Offenses under Chapter 61 (relating to
firearms and other dangerous articles).
(iv) Offenses that require registration under 42
Pa.C.S. Ch. 97 Subch. H (relating to registration of
sexual offenders).
(v) A violation of section 3127 (relating to
indecent exposure).
(vi) A violation of section 4915.1 (relating to
failure to comply with registration requirements).
(vii) A violation of section 5122 (relating to
weapons or implements for escape).
(viii) A violation of section 5511 (relating to
cruelty to animals).
(ix) A violation of section 6301 (relating to
corruption of minors).
(3) Limited access under this subsection shall not be
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granted to misdemeanor convictions when there is a felony
conviction in the same case.
(c) Charges not leading to conviction.--Criminal history
record information of charges with a final disposition other
than conviction shall automatically receive limited access 60
days after entry of the disposition and payment of any court-
ordered obligations.
(d) No court petition required.--
(1) Except as provided under paragraph (3), limited
access of criminal proceedings under subsections (b) and (c)
shall be performed by criminal justice agencies within 30
days of the eligibility of such proceedings, without the
requirement of a court order.
(2) Nothing in this section shall preclude the filing of
a petition for limited access of criminal proceedings
eligible for limited access under subsections (b) and (c) if
limited access has not been provided by criminal justice
agencies without a petition.
(3) (i) On a monthly basis, the Administrative Office
of Pennsylvania Courts shall transmit to the Pennsylvania
State Police central repository any case eligible for
limited access under this section.
(ii) If the Pennsylvania State Police central
repository determines through a validation process that a
case transmitted is not eligible for limited access
relief or does not match data held in the repository, the
Pennsylvania State Police shall notify the Administrative
Office of Pennsylvania Courts of this determination
within 30 days of receiving the information.
(iii) Upon the expiration of the 30-day period, the
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Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts shall remove
from the list of eligible cases any case for which the
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts received a
notification of ineligibility or nonmatch with repository
data.
(iv) Thereafter, each court of common pleas shall
issue monthly an order granting limited access to any
case in its judicial district for which no notification
of ineligibility was received by the Administrative
Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
(4) The Pennsylvania State Police may object to a case
as not eligible for limited access under paragraph (3) in
which the defendant:
(i) was convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in a
court of the unified judicial system during the
applicable period of time under subsection (b) that must
elapse before a case becomes eligible for limited access
relief;
(ii) was convicted of a misdemeanor and a felony
within the same case; or
(iii) has not completed all obligations of the
sentence or been discharged from court supervision.
(e) Elimination.--
(1) If an individual's case receives limited access not
in accordance with this section or an individual receiving
limited access is subsequently convicted of a misdemeanor or
felony, the district attorney of the county in which the
underlying or subsequent conviction took place or, if the
Office of Attorney General obtained the conviction for the
underlying conviction, the Office of Attorney General shall
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have standing to challenge the limited access granted by the
court.
(2) If the court that granted the limited access
sustains the challenge, the court and the Pennsylvania State
Police shall undo the limited access.
§ 9122.3. Effects of expunged offenses and offenses provided
limited access.
(a) Disclosure.--
(1) Except when requested or required by a criminal
justice agency , the Supreme Court or entity thereof, or
pursuant to an order under section 9121(b.2) (relating to
general regulations), no individual shall be required or
requested to disclose information about the individual's
criminal history records that have been expunged or provided
limited access under section 9122.1 (relating to order for
limited access) or 9122.2 (relating to clean slate for
convictions of misdemeanors and for charges not leading to
convictions). An individual required or requested to provide
information in violation of this section may respond as if
the offense did not occur.
(2) This subsection shall not apply where Federal law,
including rules and regulations promulgated by a self-
regulatory organization that has been created pursuant to
Federal law, requires the consideration of an applicant's
criminal history for purposes of employment.
(b) Disqualification by law.--An expunged offense or an
offense provided limited access under section 9122.1 or 9122.2
may not be considered a conviction that would prohibit the
employment of a person under any law of this Commonwealth or
under Federal laws that prohibit employment based on state
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convictions to the extent permitted by Federal law.
§ 9122.4. Employer immunity from liability.
An employer who employs or otherwise engages an individual
whose criminal history record has been expunged or provided
limited access under section 9122.1 (relating to order for
limited access) or 9122.2 (relating to clean slate for
convictions of misdemeanors and for charges not leading to
convictions ) shall be immune from liability in a civil action
based, in whole or in part, upon damages suffered to a person or
property as a result of criminal or other unlawful conduct of
the individual employee when the portion of the criminal history
record that has been expunged or provided limited access is
related to:
(1) the criminal or other unlawful conduct; and
(2) the individual's suitability for employment in the
position for which the individual was hired or engaged.
Section 3. Section 9124(b) of Title 18 is amended to read:
§ 9124. Use of records by licensing agencies.
* * *
(b) Prohibited use of information.--The following
information shall not be used in consideration of an application
for a license, certificate, registration or permit:
(1) Records of arrest if there is no conviction of a
crime based on the arrest.
(2) Convictions which have been annulled [or],
expunged[.] or provided limited access under section 9122.1
(relating to order for limited access) or 9122.2 (relating to
clean slate for convictions of misdemeanors and for charges
not leading to convictions ).
(3) Convictions of a summary offense.
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(4) Convictions for which the individual has received a
pardon from the Governor.
(5) Convictions which do not relate to the applicant's
suitability for the license, certificate, registration or
permit.
* * *
Section 4. The Pennsylvania State Police and the
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts shall process the
backlog of existing cases in which the provisions of this act
are applicable within one year from the effective date of this
section.
Section 5. Petitions for limited access of criminal
proceedings eligible for limited access under 18 Pa.C.S. §
9122.2(b) and (c) may be filed beginning 90 days after the
effective date of this section.
Section 6. This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) Section 5 of this act shall take effect immediately.
(2) This section shall take effect immediately.
(3) The remainder of this act shall take effect in 270
days.
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