This year is turning out to be another remarkable year for new record relief enactments. In just the first six months of 2021, 25 states enacted no fewer than 51 laws authorizing sealing or expungement of criminal records, with another 5 states enrolling 11 bills that await a governor’s signature. Three of these states authorized sealing of convictions for the first time, seven states passed laws (or enrolled bills) providing authority for automatic sealing, and a number of additional states substantially expanded the reach of their existing expungement laws.

This post hits the highlights of what may well be the most extraordinary six-month period in the extraordinary modern period of criminal record reform that begin in 2013.  The only closely comparable period is the first six months of 2018, when 11 states enacted major reforms limiting consideration of criminal records in occupational licensing.  Further details of the laws mentioned below can be found in the relevant state profiles from the Restoration of Rights Project.

(An earlier post noted new occupational licensing laws in 2021, and subsequent ones will describe significant extensions of the right to vote so far this year, and summarize the more than 100 record reforms enacted to date.)

New Laws

Three states enacted particularly significant new record relief schemes. Alabama and Virginia both authorized petition-based expungement of adult conviction records for the first time, with Virginia making relief for some misdemeanors and non-convictions automatic.  Continuing the trend toward automatic expungement, Connecticut enacted a major “clean slate” bill authorizing automatic “erasure” of most misdemeanors and many felonies.   All three of these important new laws are described in greater detail later in this post.

In other legislative developments, Maryland authorized automatic expungement of non-conviction records after a three-year waiting period, and established a work group to study partial expungement of charges not resulting in conviction.  Vermont took another step toward automation following last year’s automatic marijuana expungement law, by authorizing automatic expungement of motor vehicle-related violations. At the same time, Vermont authorized a broad legislative study of its expungement laws, including the prospects for automation, to be completed by the beginning of the next legislative session.  (This study follows on the heels of an inconclusive report from an executive working group charged with a similar study task in 2018.)  South Dakota reduced the waiting period of its automatic sealing law (applicable to non-conviction records and some misdemeanors) from ten years to five.

Tennessee expanded eligibility for petition-based expungement from misdemeanors and Class E felonies to include Class D and C felonies. It also made the filing fee discretionary with the court clerk, and required courts to both notify defendants of the availability of expungement and give reasons in writing if they deny this relief.  Washington rewrote its laws applicable to victims of sex trafficking and related sexual abuses, authorizing vacatur for both B and C felonies and misdemeanors, and providing that a petition may be filed either by the victim or by the prosecutor.

Four additional states made more modest improvements in their existing petition-based expungement schemes:  Arkansas repealed an exclusion for anyone sentenced to prison; Nevada limited the power of the prosecutor to object to expungement, and facilitated expungement of pardoned convictions; North Dakota changed the condition of its waiting period from “no arrest” to “no conviction,” and authorized sealing of DUI convictions; and Utah provided that restitution ordered by the parole board would no longer bar eligibility for expungement. Eight additional states extended their juvenile record expungement laws, and four states broadened authorities for diversion leading to expungement.

New Mexico added to its significant 2019 expungement scheme by enacting most of the provisions of the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act (UCCCA), giving its courts authority to relieve mandatory collateral consequences as early as sentencing (New York, Vermont, and New Jersey are the only other states with such authority). This same law not only offered this relief to those with convictions from other jurisdictions, it also gave effect to relief granted by other jurisdictions, the only state other than Vermont that has done this (also through its enactment of the UCCCA).

Enrolled bills

As of the end of June, four states had enrolled major record relief laws awaiting the governor’s signature, two of which provided for automatic record sealing. The Delaware legislature passed Clean Slate legislation, automating sealing for most of the offenses that had been authorized for petition-based mandatory and discretionary sealing in 2019. The bill is to be effective in 2021, but sealing is to begin in August 2024.  The Oregon legislature made substantial changes to eligibility criteria under its petition-based expungement law, described here, reducing waiting periods and modifying disqualifying priors. Colorado expanded eligibility for petition-based sealing and made sealing of non-conviction records automatic.  The Michigan legislature send to the governor two bills providing for expungement of first DUI convictions, a category omitted from their 2020 package of record relief legislation. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, on the final day of its session the Arizona legislature for the first time ever passed a record-sealing bill and it is quite broad, applicable to most misdemeanors and felonies. Earlier in the session, the governor signed a bill authorizing courts to issue a “Certificate of Second Chance” when setting aside a conviction, which lifts mandatory bars to licensure and offers employers and landlords protection from liability.

Marijuana expungement

The first half of 2021 was also an unprecedented period for policymaking at the intersection of marijuana legalization and criminal record reform. Between February and April, four states enacted legislation legalizing recreational marijuana. In conjunction with legalization, these states (New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Virginia) also enacted innovative criminal policy reforms—including the automatic expungement of an exceptionally broad array of past marijuana convictions—along with a variety of social equity provisions. These laws are described in our report on Marijuana Legalization and Expungement in Early 2021. Since that report was published, Connecticut authorized petition-based marijuana expungement for a range of misdemeanors and felonies as well as limited automatic relief for some misdemeanors. Colorado also expanded petition-based marijuana expungement eligibility.

The particularly significant relief schemes enacted in Alabama, Virginia and Connecticut are described in greater detail below. We will provide further details on the Arizona, Colorado, and Delaware laws when they are signed into law, as appears likely.

Alabama:

Until 2021, Alabama courts had no statutory authority to expunge or seal adult conviction records, with the exception of a narrowly drawn exception for victims of human trafficking. With enactment of Act No. 2021-286 (SB117), the so-called REDEEMER Act, Alabama courts were authorized to expunge non-violent misdemeanors and violations, and pardoned felonies.  Eligible misdemeanors and violations may apply three years after conviction if “all probation or parole requirements have been completed, including payment of all fines, costs, restitution, and other court-ordered amounts, and are evidenced by the applicable court or agency.” Pardoned felonies are eligible 180 days after the pardon was granted. Convictions for violent and sexual offenses and “serious traffic offenses” are not eligible.  Nor are the dozens of crimes of “moral turpitude” that are grounds for felony disenfranchisement, unless the crime was  reclassified as a misdemeanor. There is also an administrative filing fee of $500, which may be waived under with a finding of indigency.

Expunged records must remain available to law enforcement and prosecutors, utilities, the agency engaged in protecting children and vulnerable adults, and “any entities or services providing information to banking, insurance, and other financial institutions as required for various requirements as provided in state and federal law.”

The REDEEMER Act also expanded the laws governing expungement of non-conviction records to cover violent felony charges that were dismissed with prejudice, nol prossed or indictment quashed (after limitation period has run or prosecutor confirms charges will not be refiled), and reduced the waiting period for expungement after diversion of misdemeanor charges to one year.  A five-year waiting period was retained for felony charges dismissed without prejudice

Virginia

Until 2021, Virginia law made no provision for expunging or sealing conviction records, except those that have been vacated pursuant to a writ of actual innocence, or those which were the subject of an absolute pardon (for innocence).

With enactment of HB 2113 and SB 1406, Virginia gained one of the more progressive record relief systems in the country, with a mixture of automatic and petition-based sealing, both for convictions generally and marijuana offenses specifically.

The general record relief legislation (HB 2113) includes five key provisions:

1. Establishes a system of automatic sealing for misdemeanor non-convictions, nine types of misdemeanor convictions, and deferred dismissals for underage alcohol and marijuana possession.
2. Allows for sealing of felony acquittals and dismissals at disposition with the consent of the prosecuting attorney.
3. Provides for sealing a broad range of misdemeanor and low-level felony convictions and deferred dismissals through a petition-based court process. Notably, court debt will not be a barrier to record clearance under the legislation.
4. Introduces a system of court-appointed counsel for individuals who cannot afford an attorney for the petition-based sealing process.
5. Requires private companies that buy and sell criminal records to routinely delete sealed records and creates a private right of action for individuals against companies that refuse to do so.

The provisions of HB 2113 are scheduled to go into effect in 2025 (or earlier).

A separate bill providing for marijuana legalization and expungement (SB 1406) authorized the automatic expungement of records related to certain misdemeanor marijuana offenses along with petition-based expungement of all other misdemeanor and many felony marijuana offenses. With the exception of the sealing of certain police records, these provisions are also scheduled to go into effect by 2025.

Connecticut

Public Act 21-42, Connecticut’s “Clean Slate” law, establishes a process to automatically erase records of most misdemeanor convictions and certain felony convictions entered after January 1, 2000, after a specified period following the person’s most recent conviction for any crime (with an exception for certain drug possession crimes). Class C, D, or E felonies are covered, as are unclassified felonies with up to 10-year prison terms. The bill excludes family violence crimes and offenses requiring sex offender registration. Under the bill, misdemeanors are eligible for erasure seven years after the person’s most recent conviction for any crime; class D or E felonies or unclassified felonies with prison terms of five years or less are eligible after 10 years; and class C felonies or unclassified felonies with prison terms greater than five years but no more than 10 years are eligible after 15 years.  For offenses before January 1, 2000, the records are erased when the person files a petition on a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator.

Various provisions that now apply to erasure of non-conviction records also apply to erasure under this bill: no fee is charged, and partial expungement is available. That is, if the case contained multiple charges and only some are entitled to erasure, electronic records released to the public must be erased to the extent they reference charges entitled to erasure.

The law requires all purchasers of court records, including background screening providers, to update their records on a regular basis. It extends these provisions to records of other agencies (State Police, DMV, Department of Correction). The bill prohibits various forms of discrimination based on someone’s erased criminal history record information, such as in
employment, public accommodations, the sale or rental of housing, the granting of credit, and several other areas. In several cases, it classifies discrimination based on these erased
records as a “discriminatory practice” under the state human rights laws.

The automatic erasure provisions of the law take effect on January 1, 2023.

This year is turning out to be another extraordinary year for new record relief enactments. In just the first six months of 2021, 22 states enacted no fewer than 47 separate laws authorizing sealing or expungement of criminal records, with another 5 states having enrolled 11 bills from awaiting the governor’s signature.  Three states authorized sealing for adult convictions for the first time, seven states passed laws (or enrolled bills) providing authority for automatic sealing of convictions, and several additional states substantially expanded the reach of their existing expungement laws.

This post hits the highlights of what may well be the most extraordinary single 6-month period in this extraordinary modern period of criminal record reform. (The only one that comes close is the first six months of 2018, when 10 states enacted major reforms to their occupational licensing schemes.)

(An earlier post noted new occupational licensing laws in 2021, and a subsequent one will describe significant extensions of the right to vote so far this year.)

New Laws

Three states enacted significant new record relief schemes. Alabama and Virginia both authorized petition-based expungement of adult conviction records for the first time, with Virginia making some misdemeanors and non-convictions automatic.  Continuing the trend toward automatic expungement, Connecticut enacted a major “clean slate” bill authorizing automatic “erasure” of most misdemeanors and many felonies.   All three of these important new laws are described in greater detail later in this post.

In other legislative developments, Maryland authorized automatic expungement of non-conviction records after a three-year waiting period, and established a work group to study partial expungement of charges not resulting in conviction.  Vermont took another step toward automation following last year’s marijuana expungement law, by authorizing automatic expungement of motor vehicle-related violations. At the same time, Vermont also authorized a broad legislative study of its expungement laws, including the prospects for automation, to be completed by the beginning of the next session.  (This study follows on the heels of an inconclusive report from an executive working group charged with a similar study task in 2018.) 

Tennessee expanded eligibility for petition-based expungement from misdemeanors and Class E felonies to Class D and C felonies, made the filing fee was made discretionary with the court, and required courts to notify defendants of the availability of expungement and give reasons in writing for denying this relief.  Four additional states made more modest improvements in their existing petition-based expungement scheme:  Arkansas repealed an exclusion for anyone sentenced to prison; Nevada limited the power of the prosecutor to object to expungement, and facilitated expungement of pardoned convictions; North Dakota changed the condition of its waiting period from “no arrest” to “no conviction,” and authorized sealing of DUI convictions; and Utah provided that restitution ordered by the parole board would no longer bar eligibility for expungement.  Seven additional states extended their juvenile record expungement laws, and four states broadened authorities for diversion leading to expungement.

Enrolled bills

As of the end of June, four states had enrolled major record relief laws awaiting the governor’s signature, two of which provided for automatic record sealing.  The Delaware legislature passed its Clean Slate Act, automating sealing for most of the offenses that had been authorized for petition-based mandatory and discretionary sealing in 2019. The bill was to be effective in 2021, but sealing was to begin in August 2024.  The Colorado legislature sent to the governor a bill expanding eligibility for petition-based sealing and making sealing of non-conviction records automatic. The Oregon legislature made substantial changes to eligibility criteria under its petition-based expungement law, described here, reducing waiting periods and modifying disqualifying priors. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, the Arizona legislature for the first time passed a broad record-sealing bill applicable to most misdemeanors and felonies; it also authorized its courts to issue a “Certificate of Second Chance” when setting aside a conviction, which lifts mandatory bars to licensure and offers employers and landlords protection from liability.  The Michigan legislature send to the governor two bills providing for expungement of first DUI convictions, a category omitted from their 2019 clean slate law.   

Marijuana expungement

The first half of 2021 was also an unprecedented period for policymaking at the intersection of marijuana legalization and criminal record reform. Between February and April, four states enacted legislation legalizing recreational marijuana. In conjunction with legalization, these states (New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Virginia) also enacted innovative criminal policy reforms—including the automatic expungement of an exceptionally broad array of past marijuana convictions—along with a variety of social equity provisions.  These laws are described in our report on Marijuana Legalization and Expungement in Early 2021. Connecticut also automated marijuana expungement but at a more modest level.  Colorado and Montana both enacted petition-based marijuana expungement laws   

The important record relief schemes enacted in Alabama, Virginia and Connecticut are described in greater detail below.  We will provide further details on the Arizona, Colorado, and Delaware laws when they are signed into law, as appears likely.   

Alabama:

Until 2021, Alabama courts had no statutory authority to expunge or seal adult conviction records, with the exception of a narrowly drawn exception for victims of human trafficking. With enactment of Act No. 2021-286 (SB117), the so-called REDEEMER Act, Alabama courts were authorized to expunge non-violent misdemeanors and violations, and pardoned felonies.  Eligible misdemeanors and violations may apply three years after conviction if “all probation or parole requirements have been completed, including payment of all fines, costs, restitution, and other court-ordered amounts, and are evidenced by the applicable court or agency.” Pardoned felonies are eligible 180 days after the pardon was granted. Convictions for violent and sexual offenses and “serious traffic offenses” are not eligible.  Nor are the dozens of crimes of “moral turpitude” that are grounds for felony disenfranchisement, unless the crime was  reclassified as a misdemeanor. There is also an administrative filing fee of $500, which may be waived under with a finding of indigency.

Expunged records must remain available to law enforcement and prosecutors, utilities, the agency engaged in protecting children and vulnerable adults, and “any entities or services providing information to banking, insurance, and other financial institutions as required for various requirements as provided in state and federal law.”

The REDEEMER Act also expanded the laws governing expungement of non-conviction records to cover violent felony charges that were dismissed with prejudice, nol prossed or indictment quashed (after limitation period has run or prosecutor confirms charges will not be refiled), and reduced the waiting period for expungement after diversion of misdemeanor charges to one year.  A five-year waiting period was retained for felony charges dismissed without prejudice.

Virginia

Until 2021, Virginia law made no provision for expunging or sealing adult conviction records, except those that have been vacated pursuant to a writ of actual innocence, or those which were the subject of an absolute pardon (for innocence).

With enactment of HB 2113 and SB 1406, Virginia gained one of the more progressive record relief systems in the country, with a mixture of automatic and petition-based sealing, both for convictions generally and marijuana offenses specifically.

The general record relief legislation (HB 2113) includes five key provisions:

1. Establishes a system of automatic sealing for misdemeanor non-convictions, nine types of misdemeanor convictions, and deferred dismissals for underage alcohol and marijuana possession.
2. Allows for sealing of felony acquittals and dismissals at disposition with the consent of the prosecuting attorney.
3. Provides for sealing a broad range of misdemeanor and low-level felony convictions and deferred dismissals through a petition-based court process. Notably, court debt will not be a barrier to record clearance under the legislation.
4. Introduces a system of court-appointed counsel for individuals who cannot afford an attorney for the petition-based sealing process.
5. Requires private companies that buy and sell criminal records to routinely delete sealed records and creates a private right of action for individuals against companies that refuse to do so.

The provisions of HB 2113 are scheduled to go into effect in 2025 (or earlier).

A separate bill providing for marijuana legalization and expungement (SB 1406) authorized the automatic expungement of records related to certain misdemeanor marijuana offenses along with petition-based expungement of all other misdemeanor and many felony marijuana offenses. With one exception, these provisions are also scheduled to go into effect by 2025.

Connecticut

Public Act 21-42, Connecticut’s “Clean Slate” law, establishes a process to automatically erase records of most misdemeanor convictions and certain felony convictions entered after January 1, 2000, after a specified period following the person’s most recent conviction for any crime (with an exception for certain drug possession crimes). Class C, D, or E felonies are covered, as are unclassified felonies with up to 10-year prison terms. The bill excludes family violence crimes and offenses requiring sex offender registration. Under the bill, misdemeanors are eligible for erasure seven years after the person’s most recent conviction for any crime; class D or E felonies or unclassified felonies with prison terms of five years or less are eligible after 10 years; and class C felonies or unclassified felonies with prison terms greater than five years but no more than 10 years are eligible after 15 years.  For offenses before January 1, 2000, the records are erased when the person files a petition on a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator.

Various provisions that now apply to erasure of non-conviction records also apply to erasure under this bill: no fee is charged, and partial expungement is available. That is, if the case contained multiple charges and only some are entitled to erasure, electronic records released to the public must be erased to the extent they reference charges entitled to erasure.

The law requires all purchasers of court records, including background screening providers, to update their records on a regular basis. It extends these provisions to records of other agencies (State Police, DMV, Department of Correction). The bill prohibits various forms of discrimination based on someone’s erased criminal history record information, such as in
employment, public accommodations, the sale or rental of housing, the granting of credit, and several other areas. In several cases, it classifies discrimination based on these erased
records as a “discriminatory practice” under the state human rights laws.

The automatic erasure provisions of the law take effect on January 1, 2023.