[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5433 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5433

    To permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal 
                               offenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 10, 2000

  Mr. Rangel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal 
                               offenses.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act 
of 2000''.

SEC. 2. EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS FOR CERTAIN NONVIOLENT 
              OFFENDERS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after subchapter C the following new subchapter:

                      ``SUBCHAPTER D--EXPUNGEMENT

        ``Sec.
        ``3631. Expungement of certain criminal records.
        ``3632. Requirements for expungement.
        ``3633. Procedure for expungement.
        ``3634. Effect of expungement.
        ``3635. Reversal of expunged records.
        ``3636. Unsealing of records.
``Sec. 3631. Expungement of certain criminal records
    ``(a) In General.--Any individual convicted of a nonviolent 
criminal offense in a United States court who fulfills the requirements 
of section 3632 may file a petition under this subchapter to expunge 
the record of such conviction.
    ``(b) Definition of Nonviolent Criminal Offense.--In this 
subchapter, the term `nonviolent criminal offense' means a misdemeanor 
or felony that does not have as an element of the offense the use of a 
weapon or violence in its commission and which did not actually involve 
violence in its commission.
``Sec. 3632. Requirements for expungement
    ``No individual shall be eligible for expungement under this 
subchapter unless, prior to filing a petition under this subchapter, 
such individual--
            ``(1) has never been convicted of a violent misdemeanor or 
        felony;
            ``(2) has remained free from dependency on or abuse of 
        alcohol or a controlled substance for at least one year;
            ``(3) has obtained a high school diploma or completed a 
        high school equivalency program; and
            ``(4) has completed at least one year of community service, 
        as determined by the court referred to in section 3633(a).
``Sec. 3633. Procedure for expungement
    ``(a) Petition.--An individual meeting the requirements of section 
3632 may file a petition under this subchapter with the Attorney 
General to expunge the record of a conviction for a nonviolent criminal 
offense. Not later than 60 days after receipt of such a petition, the 
Attorney General shall submit such petition with a recommendation 
regarding expungement to the United States district court for the 
district in which the conviction was obtained. The Attorney General 
shall notify the petitioner of his recommendation within such 60-day 
period. If the Attorney General recommends expungement, the court shall 
grant an order expunging the records that are the subject to the 
petition.
    ``(b) Appeal.--If the Attorney General does not recommend 
expungement of the records, the petitioner may, not later than 90 days 
after receiving notification from the Attorney General of such 
recommendation, appeal such denial in the United States district court 
for the district in which the conviction was obtained.
``Sec. 3634. Effect of expungement
    ``(a) In General.--An order granting expungement under this 
subchapter shall restore the individual concerned, in the contemplation 
of the law, to the status such individual occupied before the arrest or 
institution of criminal proceedings for the crime that was the subject 
of the expungement.
    ``(b) No Disqualification; Statements.--After an order granting 
expungement of any individual's criminal records under this subchapter, 
such individual shall not be required to divulge information pertaining 
to the expunged conviction and the fact that such individual has been 
convicted of the criminal offense concerned shall not--
            ``(1) operate as a disqualification of such individual to 
        pursue or engage in any lawful activity, occupation, 
        profession, and
            ``(2) held under any provision of law guilty of perjury, 
        false answering, or making a false statement by reason of his 
        failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest or institution of 
        criminal proceedings, or results thereof, in response to an 
        inquiry made of him for any purpose.
    ``(c) Records Expunged or Sealed.--Upon order of expungement, all 
official law enforcement and court records, including all references to 
such person's arrest for the offense, the institution of criminal 
proceedings against him, and the results thereof, except publicly 
available court opinions or briefs on appeal, shall be expunged (in the 
case of nontangible records) or gathered together and sealed (in the 
case of tangible records).
    ``(d) Record of Disposition To Be Retained.--A nonpublic record of 
a disposition or conviction that is the subject of an expungement order 
shall be retained only by the Department of Justice solely for the 
purpose of use by the courts in any subsequent adjudication.
``Sec. 3635. Disclosure of expunged records
    ``(a) Law Enforcement Purposes.--The Department of Justice may 
release the record of an individual's criminal conviction expunged 
under this subchapter to Federal or State law enforcement agencies and 
United States attorneys and district attorneys--
            ``(1) for the purpose of prosecuting such individual for 
        any subsequent criminal offense and adjudicating such case; or
            ``(2) if such individual has made an application for 
        employment as a law enforcement officer, if such individual is 
        given notice of the disclosure and an opportunity to explain 
        the conviction.
    ``(b) Punishment for Improper Disclosure.--Except as provided in 
subsection (a), whoever knowingly disseminates information relating to 
an expunged conviction, other than the individual whose conviction was 
expunged, or to such individual, shall be punished by imprisonment for 
not less than one year and a fine of not more than $10,000 for each 
offense.
``Sec. 3636. Reversal of expunged records
    ``The records expunged under this subchapter shall be restored by 
operation of law as public records and may be used in all court 
proceedings if the individual whose conviction was expunged is 
subsequently convicted of any misdemeanor or felony in any court of the 
United States.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 229 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following item:

``D.    Expungement.........................................    3631''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply to 
individuals convicted of an applicable crime at any time before or 
after the date of enactment of this Act.
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