Regular Session 2019-2020 House Bill 0440 P.N. 4546

SENATE AMENDED

PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 426, 3004, 3054,

4018

PRINTER'S NO. 4546

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

440

Session of

2019

INTRODUCED BY DELOZIER, McCLINTON, BRIGGS, JAMES, MURT,

KENYATTA, LONGIETTI, READSHAW, RABB, YOUNGBLOOD, ISAACSON,

DIAMOND, FREEMAN, IRVIN, SIMMONS, McNEILL, HOWARD, STAATS,

HILL-EVANS, GROVE, NEILSON, SCHWEYER, WARREN, HARRIS, BURGOS,

SOLOMON, SANCHEZ, STURLA, A. DAVIS, KINSEY, D. MILLER, KORTZ,

CEPHAS, T. DAVIS, BULLOCK, DALEY, DAVIDSON, GOODMAN, KRUEGER,

CIRESI, WILLIAMS, MADDEN, DAWKINS, SNYDER, WHEELAND,

McCARTER, ROEBUCK, DONATUCCI AND ROZZI, FEBRUARY 11, 2019

AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, IN SENATE, OCTOBER 19, 2020

AN ACT

Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and

Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes, in criminal history record information, further

providing for expungement, for petition for limited access,

for clean slate limited access and for effects of expunged

records and records subject to limited access; and, in

administration of justice, further providing for attachment

and summary punishment for contempts.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Sections 9122(a) and 9122.1(a) of Title 18 of the

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:

§ 9122. Expungement.

(a) Specific proceedings.--Criminal history record

information shall be expunged in a specific criminal proceeding

when:

(1) no disposition has been received or, upon request

for criminal history record information, no disposition has

been recorded in the repository within 18 months after the

date of arrest and the court of proper jurisdiction certifies

to the director of the repository that no disposition is

available and no action is pending. Expungement shall not

occur until the certification from the court is received and

the director of the repository authorizes such expungement;

(2) a court order requires that such nonconviction data

be expunged; [or]

(3) a person 21 years of age or older who has been

convicted of a violation of section 6308 (relating to

purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor

or malt or brewed beverages), which occurred on or after the

day the person attained 18 years of age, petitions the court

of common pleas in the county where the conviction occurred

seeking expungement and the person has satisfied all terms

and conditions of the sentence imposed for the violation,

including any suspension of operating privileges imposed

pursuant to section 6310.4 (relating to restriction of

operating privileges). Upon review of the petition, the court

shall order the expungement of all criminal history record

information and all administrative records of the Department

of Transportation relating to said conviction[.]; or

(4) a judicial determination has been made that a person

is acquitted of an offense, if the person has been acquitted

of all charges based on the same conduct or arising from the

same criminal episode following a trial and a verdict of not

guilty . This paragraph shall not apply to a partial

acquittal. A judicial determination under this paragraph may

only be made after the following:

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(i) The court provides notice in writing to the

person and to the Commonwealth that the person's criminal

history record information will be automatically expunged

pursuant to this section.

(ii) Upon receipt of the notice under subparagraph

(i), the Commonwealth shall have 60 days to object to the

automatic expungement on the basis that the expungement

of the acquittal relates PERSON HAS NOT BEEN ACQUITTED OF

ALL CHARGES RELATING to the same conduct, arises ARISING

from the same criminal episode or otherwise relates

RELATING to a partial acquittal.

(iii) Upon the filing of an objection, the court

shall conduct a hearing to determine whether expungement

of the acquittal relates to the same conduct, arises from

the same criminal episode or otherwise relates to a

partial acquittal. The hearing may be waived by agreement

of both parties and the court.

(iv) Following the hearing, or if no objection has

been filed or the hearing has been waived, the court

shall order that the person's criminal history record

information be automatically expunged unless the court

determines the expungement relates to the same conduct,

arises from the same criminal episode or otherwise

relates to a partial acquittal. Expungement shall occur

no later than 12 months from the date of acquittal.

* * *

§ 9122.1. Petition for limited access.

(a) General rule.--Subject to the exceptions in subsection

(b) and notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,

upon petition of a person who has been free from conviction for

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a period of 10 years for an offense punishable by one or more

years in prison and has completed [each court-ordered financial

obligation of the sentence] payment of all court-ordered

restitution and the fee previously authorized to carry out the

limited access and clean slate limited access provisions, the

court of common pleas in the jurisdiction where a conviction

occurred may enter an order that criminal history record

information maintained by a criminal justice agency pertaining

to a qualifying misdemeanor or an ungraded offense which carries

a maximum penalty of no more than five years be disseminated

only to a criminal justice agency or as provided in section

9121(b.1) and (b.2) (relating to general regulations). A court

may not enter an order under this subsection unless the person

who filed the petition, upon payment of all court-ordered

restitution, also paid the fee previously authorized to carry

out the limited access and clean slate limited access

provisions.

* * *

Section 2. Section 9122.2(a)(1) and (3) and (b)(2)(i) of

Title 18 are amended and subsection (a) is amended by adding a

paragraph to read:

§ 9122.2. Clean slate limited access.

(a) General rule.--The following shall be subject to limited

access:

(1) Subject to the exceptions under section 9122.3

(relating to exceptions) or if a court has vacated an order

for limited access under section 9122.4 (relating to order to

vacate order for limited access), criminal history record

information pertaining to a conviction of a misdemeanor of

the second degree, a misdemeanor of the third degree or a

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misdemeanor offense punishable by imprisonment of no more

than two years if a person has been free for 10 years from

conviction for any offense punishable by imprisonment of one

or more years and if [completion of each court-ordered

financial obligation of the sentence] payment of all court-

ordered restitution has occurred. Upon payment of all court-

ordered restitution, the person whose criminal history record

information is subject to limited access under this paragraph

shall also pay the fee previously authorized to carry out the

limited access and clean slate limited access provisions.

* * *

(3) Criminal history record information pertaining to a

conviction for a summary offense when 10 years have elapsed

since entry of the judgment of conviction and [completion of

all court-ordered financial obligations of the sentence]

payment of all court-ordered restitution has occurred. Upon

payment of all court-ordered restitution, the person whose

criminal history record information is subject to limited

access under this paragraph shall also pay the fee previously

authorized to carry out the limited access and clean slate

limited access provisions.

(4) Criminal history record information pertaining to a

conviction for which a pardon was granted.

(b) Procedures.--

* * *

(2) The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts

shall transmit to the Pennsylvania State Police repository:

(i) The record of charges subject to limited access

under subsection (a)(2) within 30 days after entry of the

disposition and payment of [each court-ordered

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obligation] any ordered restitution.

* * *

Section 3. Section 9122.5 of Title 18 is amended by adding

subsections to read:

§ 9122.5. Effects of expunged records and records subject to

limited access.

* * *

of this chapter, a record subject to limited access under

section 9122.1 or 9122.2 shall remain part of a person's

criminal history record information and shall be disclosed to a

court for any relevant purpose in accordance with law, including

sentencing.

(d) Use and disclosure of information.--Notwithstanding any

other provision of this chapter, the Pennsylvania Commission on

Sentencing may maintain a list of the names and other criminal

history record information of persons whose records are required

by law, court rule or court order to be expunged or subject to

limited access under this chapter. The information:

(1) shall be used solely for the purposes of conducting

research and collecting and reporting statistical data under

SECTION 2804-F OF THE ACT OF APRIL 9, 1929 (P.L.177, NO.175),

KNOWN AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF 1929 42 PA.C.S. § 2153

(RELATING TO POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION) ; and

(2) may not be disclosed unless authorized or required

by section 9121(b.1) and (b.2).

Section 4. Section 4132 of Title 42 is amended to read:

§ 4132. Attachment and summary punishment for contempts.

The power of the several courts of this Commonwealth to issue

attachments and to impose summary punishments for contempts of

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court shall be restricted to the following cases:

(1) The official misconduct of the officers of such

courts respectively.

(1.1) The willful failure of the officers of such courts

to disclose a person's complete criminal history record

information when requested.

(2) Disobedience or neglect by officers, parties, jurors

or witnesses of or to the lawful process of the court.

(3) The misbehavior of any person in the presence of the

court, thereby obstructing the administration of justice.

Section 5. Within 365 days of the effective date of this

section, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, THE

PENNSYLVANIA BOARD OF PARDONS and the Pennsylvania State Police

shall identify and complete the processing of records that are

eligible for expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(a)(4), limited

access under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2(a) and clean slate limited

access under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2(a)(1) and, (3) AND (4).

Section 6. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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