State Assembly to vote on expungement proposal

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A proposal expanding the state’s expungement process is scheduled for a vote Wednesday on the floor of the state Assembly.

Expungement is a process that removes criminal convictions from the state’s online records. Those eligible for expungement include offenders who committed felonies and misdemeanors that have no more than a six-year maximum prison sentence. To have records expunged, offenders must have been under the age of 25 when their crimes were committed. Also, expungement can only be requested and ordered at sentencing.

Senate Bill 39 and Assembly Bill 33 propose expanding who can be eligible for expungement and when expungement can be ordered. The proposals, among other things, would remove the current age limit, let judges order expungement after offenders complete their sentences and clarify that for employment purposes, expunged crimes are not convictions.

Committees in the Senate and the Assembly voted earlier this year to give both AB 33 and SB 39 a favorable recommendation. The full Assembly was scheduled to vote on AB 33 on Wednesday. Should the bill pass in that house, it still will need to go to the Senate for approval. Follow @erikastrebel