HB 1481 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to expungement of juvenile criminal 2
records; providing a short title; creating s. 3
943.0517, F.S.; providing for expunction of criminal 4
history records for certain offenses committed by 5
juveniles; providing requirements; providing 6
procedures; providing for effect of expunction; 7
amending s. 943.053, F.S.; conforming provisions to 8
changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 9
10
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11
12
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Second Chance 13
Act." 14
Section 2. Section 943.0517, Florida Statutes, is created 15
to read: 16
943.0517 Expunction of records for offenders under the age 17
of 18 at the time of commission of certain offenses upon 18
completion of the sentence. — 19
(1) A person or the state attorney may file, with the 20
circuit court of the county where the person was convicted, a 21
petition for expunction of the person's criminal record of any 22
misdemeanor or third degree felony not excluded by subsection 23
(2) if the offense was committed and while the person was less 24
than 18 years of age, but at least 16 years of age. The petition 25
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may not be filed until all active sentences, periods of 26
probation, and postrelease supervisions ordered for the offense 27
have been served. 28
(2) An offense is not eligible for expunction under this 29
section if it is an offense listed under s. 775.21(4)(a)1. or s. 30
943.0435(1)(h)1.a.(I)., whether or not the person is curren tly 31
required to register under s. 775.21(4)(a)1. or s. 32
943.0435(1)(h)1.a.(I). 33
(3) If the petition was not filed by the state attorney, 34
the petition shall be served upon the state attorney of the 35
court wherein the case was tried resulting in conviction. T he 36
state attorney may, within 30 days after service is provided, 37
file any objection to the petition and shall be duly notified as 38
to the date of the hearing of the petition. If there are 39
victims, the state attorney shall make his or her best efforts 40
to contact the person, to notify him or her of the request for 41
expunction before the date of the hearing. Upon request by the 42
victim, he or she has a right to be present at any hearing on 43
the petition for expunction and the victim's views and concerns 44
shall be considered by the court at such hearing. 45
(4) If the court, after the hearing, finds: 46
(a) The offense was a misdemeanor or felony eligible for 47
expunction under this section; 48
(b) The offense was committed while the person was less 49
than 18 years of age, but at least 16 years of age; and 50
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(c) All active sentences, periods of probation, and 51
postrelease supervisions ordered for the offense were completed 52
53
the court shall order that the person be restored, in the 54
contemplation of the law, to the status the person occupied 55
before such arrest or indictment or information, and that the 56
record be expunged from the records of the court. A person 57
convicted of multiple offenses is eligible to have those 58
convictions expunged pursuant to this section. 59
(5) Any petition for expunction under this section shall 60
be on a form approved by the Office of State Courts 61
Administrator and shall be filed with the clerk of circuit court 62
in the county where the person was convicted. Upon order of 63
expunction, the clerk shall fo rward the order to the department. 64
(6)(a) Any criminal history record which is ordered 65
expunged by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to this 66
section must be physically destroyed or obliterated by the 67
criminal justice agency having custody of suc h record, except 68
that any criminal history record in the custody of the 69
department must be retained in all cases. 70
(b) The person who is the subject of a criminal history 71
record that is expunged under this section may lawfully deny or 72
fail to acknowledge the arrests covered by the expunged record, 73
except when he or she: 74
1. Is a candidate for employment with a criminal justice 75
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agency; 76
2. Is a defendant in a criminal prosecution; 77
3. Concurrently or subsequently petitions for relief under 78
this section, s. 943.0583, or s. 943.059; 79
4. Is a candidate for admission to The Florida Bar; 80
5. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by or to contract 81
with the Department of Children and Families, the Division of 82
Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Education, 83
the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Agency for 84
Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Health, the 85
Department of Elderly Affairs, or the Department of Juvenile 86
Justice or to be employed or used by such contractor or licensee 87
in a sensitive position having direct contact with children, the 88
disabled, or the elderly; 89
6. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by the Department 90
of Education, any state school board, any university laboratory 91
school, any charter school, any private or p arochial school, or 92
any local governmental entity that licenses child care 93
facilities; 94
7. Is seeking to be licensed by the Division of Insurance 95
Agent and Agency Services within the Department of Financial 96
Services; or 97
8. Is seeking to be appointed as a guardian pursuant to s. 98
744.3125. 99
(c) Subject to the exceptions in paragraph (b), a person 100
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who has been granted an expunction under this section may not be 101
held under any provision of general law of this state to commit 102
perjury or to be otherwise liabl e for giving a false statement 103
by reason of such person's failure to recite or acknowledge an 104
expunged criminal history record. 105
Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section 106
943.053, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 107
943.053 Dissemination of criminal justice information; 108
fees.— 109
(3) 110
(c)1. Criminal history information relating to juveniles, 111
including criminal history information consisting in whole or in 112
part of information that is confidential and exempt under 113
paragraph (b), shall be ava ilable to: 114
a. A criminal justice agency for criminal justice purposes 115
on a priority basis and free of charge; 116
b. The person to whom the record relates, or his or her 117
attorney; 118
c. The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the person 119
to whom the record relates, provided such person has not reached 120
the age of majority, been emancipated by a court, or been 121
legally married; or 122
d. An agency or entity specified in s. 943.0517(6), s. 123
943.0585(6), or s. 943.059(6), for the purposes specified 124
therein, and to any person within such agency or entity who has 125
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direct responsibility for employment, access authorization, or 126
licensure decisions. 127
2. After providing the program with all known personal 128
identifying information, the criminal history information 129
relating to a juvenile which is not confidential and exempt 130
under this subsection may be released to the private sector and 131
noncriminal justice agencies not specified in s. 943.0517(6), s. 132
943.0585(6), or s. 943.059(6) in the same manner as provided in 133
paragraph (a). Criminal history information relating to a 134
juvenile which is not confidential and exempt under this 135
subsection is the entire criminal history information relating 136
to a juvenile who satisfies any of the criteria listed in 137
subparagraphs (b)1.-4., except for any portion of such 138
juvenile's criminal history record which has been expunged or 139
sealed under any law applicable to such record. 140
3. All criminal history information relating to juveniles, 141
other than that provided to criminal justice agencies for 142
criminal justice purposes, shall be provided upon tender of fees 143
as established in this subsection and in the manner prescribed 144
by rule of the Department of Law Enforcement. 145
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 146