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Proposed Pennsylvania House Legislation HB1425

Would allow for the expungement of specific offenses from a person's criminal record provided certain criteria are met.

Too often individuals make mistakes in their youth that can have a lasting effect on their lives, often hindering their ability to become responsible adults who can make positive contributions to the community. We believe that if any person who has successfully completed their sentence and penalties for the crime he or she committed, should not be required to continue to pay the price indefinitely. As such, our legislation would give these individuals an opportunity to appear before a judge and request an order for limited access of their criminal record for a misdemeanor of the third degree or a misdemeanor of the second degree if at least seven or ten years, respectively, has passed since they completed their sentence. All violent offenses, offenses punishable by imprisonment of more than two years, and many others are prohibited from being subject to an order for limited access under our bill. Instead, our legislation targets non-violent offenders favorable to rehabilitation.

If a court grants an order for limited access for a conviction, a person's criminal record would have the conviction extracted prior to being disseminated to an individual or noncriminal justice agency. Criminal justice and government agencies would not be subject to the order for limited access, and they would still be able to see a person's entire criminal record information.