Regular Session 2015-2016 Senate Bill 1197 P.N. 1725

PRINTER'S NO. 1725

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

No.

1197

Session of

2015

INTRODUCED BY WAGNER, WILLIAMS, STEFANO, TEPLITZ, SCHWANK,

LEACH, WILEY, McGARRIGLE, KITCHEN, COSTA, BARTOLOTTA, WHITE,

FONTANA, GREENLEAF, VOGEL, BREWSTER, WOZNIAK, WARD, AUMENT,

HAYWOOD, YUDICHAK, HUGHES, TARTAGLIONE AND BLAKE,

APRIL 20, 2016

REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, APRIL 20, 2016

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 summary offenses, for

charges not leading to convictions and for records of

juvenile delinquency and for effects of expunged offenses and

offenses provided limited access and further providing for

use of records by licensing agencies.

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, amended or added

February 16, 2016 (P.L.10, No.5), are amended to read:

§ 9121. General regulations.

* * *

(b) Dissemination to noncriminal justice agencies and

individuals.--Criminal history record information shall be

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

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

clean slate for convictions of misdemeanors and summary

offenses, for charges not leading to convictions and for

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records of juvenile delinquency).

(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).] pursuant 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.

* * *

§ 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 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

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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.]

* * *

Section 2. Title 18 is amended by adding sections to read:

§ 9122.2. Clean slate for convictions of misdemeanors and

summary offenses, for charges not leading to

convictions and for records of juvenile delinquency.

(a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and

declares as follows:

(1) Individuals with charges not leading to convictions

are 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 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.

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(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 Commonwealth's criminal justice agencies and the

former offender of filing and adjudicating a petition with a

court.

(b) Misdemeanor conviction.--Except for offenses under

Article B (relating to offenses involving danger to the person)

or offenses that require registration under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 97

Subch. H (relating to registration of sexual offenders),

criminal history record information of all convictions of

misdemeanor offenses shall automatically receive limited access

when 10 years have passed since the most recent felony or

misdemeanor conviction.

information of all convictions of summary offenses shall

automatically receive limited access when five years have passed

since the most recent felony or misdemeanor conviction.

(d) 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.

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(e) Records of juvenile delinquency.--Records of juvenile

delinquency shall automatically receive limited access when

seven years have passed with no further adjudication of

delinquency or conviction for a felony or misdemeanor offense.

(f) No court petition required.--The following shall apply:

(1) Limited access of criminal proceedings under

subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e) 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), (c), (d)

and (e) if limited access has not been provided by criminal

justice agencies without a petition.

(g) Elimination.--A district attorney may petition a court

to eliminate limited access under this section if the individual

receiving limited access is subsequently convicted of a

misdemeanor or felony offense.

§ 9122.3. Effects of expunged offenses and offenses provided

limited access.

(a) Disclosure.--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 summary offenses, for charges

not leading to convictions and for records of juvenile

delinquency). An individual required or requested to provide

information in violation of this section may respond as if the

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offense did not occur.

(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

convictions.

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 summary

offenses, for charges not leading to convictions and for

records of juvenile delinquency ).

(3) Convictions of a summary offense.

(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. This act shall take effect in 90 days.

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