Regular Session 2015-2016 House Bill 1984 P.N. 3202

PRINTER'S NO. 3202

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

1984

Session of

2015

INTRODUCED BY DELOZIER, J. HARRIS, STURLA, DAY, M. DALEY,

ROTHMAN, SCHLOSSBERG, DAVIS, V. BROWN, KINSEY, THOMAS,

NEILSON, HARHART, A. HARRIS, DERMODY, BULLOCK, GIBBONS,

MAHONEY, GROVE, DAVIDSON, CONKLIN, McCARTER, ACOSTA, ROZZI,

FLYNN, GOODMAN, HANNA, ZIMMERMAN, ELLIS, KLUNK, GINGRICH,

FRANKEL, SIMS, MCCLINTON, REESE, FARRY, KIM, DeLISSIO,

DiGIROLAMO AND SCHREIBER, APRIL 14, 2016

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 14, 2016

AN ACT

Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in criminal history record

information, further providing for general regulations and

for order for limited access, providing for clean slate for

convictions of certain offenses, nonconvictions and 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)(2) and (3) and (b.2) and 9122.1

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):

* * *

(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 subject to limited

access in section 9122.2 (relating to clean slate for

convictions of certain offenses, nonconvictions and

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

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limited access as provided in section 9122.1 or which is

subject to limited access in 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 pursuant to 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

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 or court 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

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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 certain offenses,

nonconvictions and records of juvenile delinquency.

(a) Legislative policy.--It is declared the policy of the

Commonwealth that:

(1) Persons with charges not leading to convictions are

inherently harmed by the maintenance of that record and have

a constitutional presumption of innocence.

(2) Persons convicted of crimes in this Commonwealth

must serve their sentences as ordered by the courts of this

Commonwealth.

(3) After persons 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 should provide a clean slate remedy

to create a strong incentive for avoidance of recidivism by

offenders, to provide hope for the alleviation of the

hardships of having a criminal record by offenders who are

trying to rehabilitate themselves and to save the

Commonwealth funds that must be spent in the administration

of criminal justice when offenders recidivate.

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(5) The clean slate remedy should be implemented without

the cost to the Commonwealth's criminal justice agencies and

the former offender of filing and adjudicating a petition

with a court.

(b) Clean slate remedy for persons convicted of

misdemeanors.--Except for offenses set forth in Article B

(relating to offenses involving danger to the person) or

offenses which require registration under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 97

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

criminal history record information of all qualifying

convictions of misdemeanor offenses shall automatically receive

limited access when 10 years have passed since the final

conviction without subsequent felony or misdemeanor convictions.

offenses.--Criminal history record information of all qualifying

convictions of summary offenses shall automatically receive

limited access when five years have passed since the final

conviction without subsequent felony or misdemeanor convictions.

(d) Clean slate remedy for records of juvenile

delinquency.--Records of juvenile delinquency shall

automatically receive limited access when seven years have

passed since the final delinquency proceeding resulting in an

adjudication of juvenile delinquency without conviction for a

felony or misdemeanor offense or adjudication of delinquency.

(e) Clean slate remedy for persons with 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.

(f) No court petition required.--

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(1) Limited access of criminal proceedings as authorized

in 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 be construed to

preclude the filing of a petition for limited access of

criminal proceedings eligible for limited access as set forth

in subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e) if limited access has

not been provided by criminal justice agencies without a

petition.

(g) Right of district attorney.--The district attorney may

petition the court to eliminate limited access under this

section if the person 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 of expunged offense or offense provided

limited access.--No individual may be required or requested to

disclose information about the person'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 certain offenses,

nonconvictions and records of juvenile delinquency). An

individual required or requested to provide information in

violation of this section may respond as if the 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

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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)(2) 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:

* * *

(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 certain offenses, nonconvictions and

records of juvenile delinquency).

* * *

Section 4. This act shall take effect in 90 days.

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