[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4161 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4161

 To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States, units of 
    local government, and Indian Tribes to reduce the financial and 
 administrative burden of expunging convictions for cannabis offenses, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 18, 2024

   Ms. Rosen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States, units of 
    local government, and Indian Tribes to reduce the financial and 
 administrative burden of expunging convictions for cannabis offenses, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing 
Expungement Act of 2024'' or the ``HOPE Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Cannabis.--The term ``cannabis'' means marijuana or 
        cannabis, as defined under the State law authorizing the sale 
        or use of cannabis in which an individual or entity is located.
            (2) Cannabis offense.--The term ``cannabis offense'' means 
        a criminal offense relating to cannabis--
                    (A) that, under State law--
                            (i) is no longer an offense; or
                            (ii) was designated a lesser offense; or
                    (B) for which the penalty under State law--
                            (i) was reduced pursuant to or following 
                        the adoption of a State law authorizing the 
                        sale or use of cannabis;
                            (ii) does not include jail time; or
                            (iii) includes some jail time following the 
                        adoption of a State law substantially reducing 
                        the amount of jail time.
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        State, a unit of local government, or an Indian Tribe.
            (4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any 
        commonwealth or territory of the United States.
            (6) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
        government'' means a county, municipality, town, township, 
        village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government 
        below the State level.

SEC. 3. STATE EXPUNGEMENT OPPORTUNITY GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authorization.--The Attorney General may award grants to 
eligible entities to reduce the financial and administrative burden of 
expunging convictions for cannabis offenses that are available for 
individuals who have been convicted of cannabis offenses under the laws 
of the State.
    (b) Name of Program.--The grant program established under this 
section shall be known as the ``State Expungement Opportunity Grant 
Program''.
    (c) Application.--The chief executive of an eligible entity seeking 
a grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney General an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may reasonably require.
    (d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use funds from the grant--
            (1) for technology to provide cost-effective legal relief 
        at scale;
            (2) to automate the process of expunging convictions for 
        cannabis offenses;
            (3) for clinics, including legal clinics, that assist 
        individuals through the expungement process;
            (4) to implement the notice requirement described in 
        subsection (e);
            (5) to seal records of conviction for cannabis offenses, if 
        appropriate; and
            (6) for other innovative partnerships to provide wide-scale 
        relief to individuals who are eligible for the expungement of a 
        conviction for a cannabis offense under the laws of the State.
    (e) Notice Requirement.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
under this section shall--
            (1) publish on a publicly accessible website information 
        about the availability and process of expunging convictions for 
        cannabis offenses, including information for individuals living 
        in an area other than the area under the jurisdiction of the 
        eligible entity who were convicted of a cannabis offense in the 
        area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity; and
            (2) implement a process to notify each individual convicted 
        of a cannabis offense--
                    (A) when the expungement process has begun; and
                    (B) when the expungement is complete, including, if 
                applicable, when an official certificate of expungement 
                (or any other similar document used by the eligible 
                entity) has been issued.
    (f) Report.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under this 
section shall submit to the Attorney General a report describing--
            (1) the uses of funds from the grant; and
            (2) how many convictions for cannabis offenses have been 
        expunged using funds from the grant.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General to carry out this section 
$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.

SEC. 4. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES RELATED TO CANNABIS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress and make 
publicly available on the website of the Department of Justice a report 
on a study conducted on--
            (1) the effects of the appearance on an individual's 
        criminal record report of a conviction for a criminal offense 
        relating to cannabis, including--
                    (A) disqualifying the individual from future 
                opportunities in housing and employment;
                    (B) increasing the likelihood that the individual 
                will have future involvement with the criminal justice 
                system;
                    (C) how any such effects differ based on 
                demographics, including race; and
                    (D) any other matters determined appropriate by the 
                Attorney General; and
            (2) the costs incurred by States for incarcerating an 
        individual convicted for a criminal offense relating to 
        cannabis.
    (b) Clarification.--The report submitted under subsection (a) may 
not include any personally identifiable information.
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