Police and court records; Expungement Fee Fund created, expungement of certain records. (SB5043)

Introduced By

Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) with support from 8 copatrons, whose average partisan position is:

Those copatrons are Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington), Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Midlothian), Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston), Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Dale City), Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond), Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon)

Description

Expungement of police and court records; Expungement Fee Fund created. Provides that final disposition may include (i) conviction of the original charge, (ii) conviction of an alternative charge, or (iii) dismissal of the proceedings. The bill also allows a person to petition for the expungement of the police and court records relating to such person's conviction for misdemeanors and certain felonies if he has been granted a simple pardon for the crime. The bill also allows a person to petition for an expungement of the police and court records relating to convictions of marijuana possession, underage alcohol or tobacco possession, and using a false ID to obtain alcohol, and for deferred disposition dismissals for possession of controlled substances or marijuana, underage alcohol or tobacco possession, and using a false ID to obtain alcohol. The bill requires the person to have paid all court costs, fines, and restitution, and for five years to have elapsed since the date of conviction, depending on the nature of the offense. Under current law, police and court records relating to convictions are only expunged if a person received an absolute pardon for a crime he did not commit. The bill creates an Expungement Fee Fund, which would be funded by all collected expungement fees. The bill provides that expungement fees shall not be refundable, but persons who are indigent or represented by court-appointed counsel shall not be required to pay such fees. The Fund would be administered by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court and used to fund the costs of court-appointed counsel. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022, and incorporates SB 5006, SB 5009, and SB 5110. Read the Bill »

Status

10/02/2020: Passed the House

History