Introduced Version
SENATE BILL No. 217
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 35-31.5-2; IC 35-38-11.
Synopsis: Expungement of addiction related convictions. Establishes
a procedure to permit a person: (1) with an addiction disorder related
conviction; and (2) who has completed a high intensity residential
treatment program; to expunge the person's addiction disorder related
conviction.
Effective: July 1, 2025.
Crider
January 8, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Corrections and Criminal
Law.
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 Introduced
First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
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Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
SENATE BILL No. 217
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
criminal law and procedure.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 35-31.5-2-3.6 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
2 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
3 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 3.6. "Addiction disorder", for
4 purposes of IC 35-38-11, has the meaning set forth in
5 IC 35-38-11-2.
6 SECTION 2. IC 35-31.5-2-3.8 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
7 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
8 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 3.8. "Addiction disorder related
9 conviction", for purposes of IC 35-38-11, has the meaning set forth
10 in IC 35-38-11-2.
11 SECTION 3. IC 35-31.5-2-152.3 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
12 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
13 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 152.3. "High intensity residential
14 treatment program", for purposes of IC 35-38-11, has the meaning
15 set forth in IC 35-38-11-2.
16 SECTION 4. IC 35-31.5-2-297, AS ADDED BY P.L.114-2012,
17 SECTION 67, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 2
1 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 297. (a) "Sex offense", for purposes of
2 IC 35-38-2-2.5, has the meaning set forth in IC 35-38-2-2.5(b).
3 (b) "Sex offense", for purposes of IC 35-38-11, has the meaning
4 set forth in IC 35-38-11-2.
5 (b) (c) "Sex offense", for purposes of IC 35-50-2-14, has the
6 meaning set forth in IC 35-50-2-14(a).
7 SECTION 5. IC 35-38-11 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
8 AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
9 JULY 1, 2025]:
10 Chapter 11. Expungement of Addiction Disorder Related
11 Convictions
12 Sec. 1. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this chapter
13 applies only to a person with an addiction disorder related
14 conviction.
15 (b) This chapter does not apply to a person convicted of:
16 (1) murder;
17 (2) voluntary manslaughter; or
18 (3) a sex offense.
19 Sec. 2. The following definitions apply throughout this chapter:
20 (1) "Addiction disorder" means a diagnosable chronic
21 substance use disorder of sufficient duration to meet
22 diagnostic criteria in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic
23 and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the
24 American Psychiatric Association.
25 (2) "Addiction disorder related conviction" means a
26 conviction:
27 (A) in which the unlawful possession, distribution,
28 cultivation, or manufacture of a controlled substance is a
29 material element of the offense;
30 (B) in which intoxication or impairment by means of
31 alcohol or a controlled substance is a material element of
32 the offense; or
33 (C) for an offense motivated, in whole or in part, by an
34 addiction disorder.
35 The term includes a conviction for an offense committed with
36 the purpose of obtaining money to purchase a controlled
37 substance.
38 (3) "High intensity residential treatment program" means an
39 inpatient residential treatment program for treatment of
40 mental health and addiction disorders that:
41 (A) is certified by the division of mental health and
42 addiction as providing evidence based mental health and
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 3
1 addiction treatment services;
2 (B) provides twenty-four (24) hour inpatient care for a
3 patient in a residential treatment facility with licensed
4 therapists;
5 (C) requires the patient to reside in the residential
6 treatment facility for at least twenty-eight (28) days; and
7 (D) provides follow-up treatment in a transitional facility
8 or on an outpatient basis for at least six (6) months
9 following the patient's discharge from the residential
10 facility.
11 (4) "Sex offense" has the meaning set forth in IC 11-8-8-5.2.
12 Sec. 3. (a) A person who has successfully completed a high
13 intensity residential treatment program, including successful
14 completion of at least six (6) months of follow-up treatment
15 following the person's discharge from the residential treatment
16 facility, may petition a court to expunge the person's addiction
17 disorder related conviction records, including records contained
18 in:
19 (1) a court's files;
20 (2) the files of the department of correction;
21 (3) the files of the bureau of motor vehicles; and
22 (4) the files of any other person that provided treatment or
23 services to the petitioning person under a court order;
24 that relate to the person's addiction disorder related conviction.
25 (b) A person who files a petition to expunge addiction disorder
26 related conviction records shall file the petition in the sentencing
27 court in the county of conviction.
28 (c) If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that:
29 (1) the person was convicted of an offense described in section
30 2(2) of this chapter;
31 (2) the person has successfully completed a high intensity
32 residential treatment program; and
33 (3) the person has not been charged with another offense;
34 the court may order the addiction disorder related conviction
35 records described in subsection (a) expunged in accordance with
36 section 4 of this chapter. The court may order the expungement of
37 some or all of the person's addiction disorder related convictions.
38 Sec. 4. (a) If a court orders a person's addiction disorder related
39 conviction records expunged under section 3 of this chapter, the
40 court shall do the following with respect to the specific records
41 expunged by the court:
42 (1) Order:
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 4
1 (A) the department of correction;
2 (B) the bureau of motor vehicles; and
3 (C) each:
4 (i) law enforcement agency; and
5 (ii) other person;
6 that incarcerated, provided treatment for, or provided
7 other services for the person under an order of a court;
8 to prohibit the release of the person's records or information
9 in the person's records to anyone without a court order, other
10 than a law enforcement officer acting in the course of the
11 officer's official duty.
12 (2) Order the central repository for criminal history
13 information maintained by the state police department to seal
14 the person's expunged conviction records. Records sealed
15 under this subdivision may be disclosed only to:
16 (A) a prosecuting attorney, if:
17 (i) authorized by a court order; and
18 (ii) needed to carry out the official duties of the
19 prosecuting attorney;
20 (B) a defense attorney, if:
21 (i) authorized by a court order; and
22 (ii) needed to carry out the professional duties of the
23 defense attorney;
24 (C) a probation department, if:
25 (i) authorized by a court order; and
26 (ii) necessary to prepare a presentence report;
27 (D) the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
28 Department of Homeland Security, if disclosure is required
29 to comply with an agreement relating to the sharing of
30 criminal history information;
31 (E) the:
32 (i) supreme court;
33 (ii) members of the state board of law examiners;
34 (iii) executive director of the state board of law
35 examiners; and
36 (iv) employees of the state board of law examiners, in
37 accordance with rules adopted by the state board of law
38 examiners;
39 for the purpose of determining whether an applicant
40 possesses the necessary good moral character for
41 admission to the bar;
42 (F) a person required to access expunged records to
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1 comply with the Secure and Fair Enforcement for
2 Mortgage Licensing Act (12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) or
3 regulations adopted under the Secure and Fair
4 Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act;
5 (G) the bureau of motor vehicles, the Federal Motor
6 Carrier Safety Administration, and the Commercial
7 Drivers License Information System (CDLIS), if disclosure
8 is required to comply with federal law relating to reporting
9 a conviction for a violation of a traffic control law; and
10 (H) a school (as defined in IC 22-4-2-37), for the purpose of
11 determining whether to:
12 (i) employ a person seeking employment, including
13 volunteer employment, with the school;
14 (ii) continue a person's employment, including volunteer
15 employment at the school; or
16 (iii) grant access or admission to the school to an
17 applicant contractor or a contractor;
18 if the person, contractor, or applicant contractor is likely
19 to have contact with a student enrolled in the school,
20 regardless of the age of the student.
21 (3) Notify the clerk of the supreme court to seal any records
22 in the clerk's possession that relate to the conviction.
23 A probation department may provide an unredacted version of a
24 presentence report disclosed under subdivision (2)(C) to any
25 person authorized by law to receive a presentence report.
26 (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), if a petition to expunge
27 a person's addiction disorder related conviction records is granted
28 under section 3 of this chapter, the records of:
29 (1) the sentencing court;
30 (2) a juvenile court;
31 (3) a court of appeals; and
32 (4) the supreme court;
33 concerning the person's addiction disorder related conviction shall
34 be permanently sealed. However, a petition for expungement
35 granted under section 3 of this chapter does not affect an existing
36 or pending driver's license suspension.
37 (c) If a petition to expunge addiction disorder related conviction
38 records is granted under section 3 of this chapter with respect to
39 the records of a person who is named as an appellant or an
40 appellee in an opinion or memorandum decision by the supreme
41 court or the court of appeals, the court shall:
42 (1) redact the opinion or memorandum decision as it appears
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 6
1 on the computer gateway administered by the office of
2 technology so that it does not include the petitioner's name (in
3 the same manner that opinions involving juveniles are
4 redacted); and
5 (2) provide a redacted copy of the opinion or memorandum
6 decision to any publisher or organization to whom the opinion
7 or memorandum decision is provided after the date of the
8 order of expungement.
9 The supreme court and court of appeals are not required to
10 destroy or otherwise dispose of any existing copy of an opinion or
11 memorandum decision that includes the petitioner's name.
12 (d) Notwithstanding subsection (b), a prosecuting attorney may
13 submit a written application to a court that granted an
14 expungement petition under this chapter to gain access to any
15 records that were permanently sealed under subsection (b), if the
16 records are relevant in a new prosecution of the person. If a
17 prosecuting attorney who submits a written application under this
18 subsection shows that the records are relevant for a new
19 prosecution of the person, the court that granted the expungement
20 petition shall:
21 (1) order the records to be unsealed; and
22 (2) allow the prosecuting attorney who submitted the written
23 application to have access to the records.
24 If a court orders records to be unsealed under this subsection, the
25 court shall order the records to be permanently resealed at the
26 earliest possible time after the reasons for unsealing the records
27 cease to exist. However, if the records are admitted as evidence
28 against the person in a new prosecution that results in the person's
29 conviction, or are used to enhance a sentence imposed on the
30 person in a new prosecution, the court is not required to reseal the
31 records.
32 (e) If a person whose addiction disorder related conviction
33 records are expunged under section 3 of this chapter is required to
34 register as a sex offender based on the commission of a felony that
35 has been expunged:
36 (1) the expungement does not affect the operation of the sex
37 offender registry website, any person's ability to access the
38 person's records, records required to be maintained
39 concerning sex or violent offenders, or any registration
40 requirement imposed on the person; and
41 (2) the expunged conviction must be clearly marked as
42 expunged on the sex offender registry website.
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1 (f) Expungement of a crime of domestic violence under section
2 3 of this chapter does not restore a person's right to possess a
3 firearm. The right of a person convicted of a crime of domestic
4 violence to possess a firearm may be restored only in accordance
5 with IC 35-47-4-7.
6 (g) If the court issues an order granting a petition for
7 expungement under section 3 of this chapter, the court shall
8 include in its order the information described in section 5(a) of this
9 chapter.
10 Sec. 5. (a) A person may seek an expungement under section 3
11 of this chapter by filing a verified petition for expungement. The
12 petition must include the following:
13 (1) The petitioner's full name and all other legal names or
14 aliases by which the petitioner is or has been known.
15 (2) The petitioner's date of birth.
16 (3) The petitioner's addresses from the date of the offense to
17 the date of the petition.
18 (4) The name and address of the high intensity residential
19 treatment program.
20 (5) The case number or court cause number, if available.
21 (6) The petitioner shall affirm that no criminal investigation
22 or charges are pending against the petitioner.
23 (7) The petitioner shall affirm that the petitioner has not
24 committed another crime within the period required for
25 expungement.
26 (8) The petitioner shall affirm that the petitioner has
27 successfully completed a high intensity residential treatment
28 program.
29 (9) The petitioner shall list all convictions, the cause number
30 of each conviction, if known, the date of the conviction, and
31 any appeals from the conviction and the date any appellate
32 opinion was handed down, if applicable.
33 (10) The petitioner shall separately list the addiction disorder
34 related convictions that the petitioner wishes expunged, with
35 a concise explanation of why these convictions are addiction
36 disorder related convictions.
37 (11) The petitioner shall include:
38 (A) the petitioner's Social Security number;
39 (B) the petitioner's driver's license number;
40 (C) the date of the petitioner's arrest, if applicable; and
41 (D) the date of the petitioner's addiction disorder related
42 conviction.
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 8
1 (12) The petitioner shall describe any other petitions that the
2 petitioner has filed under this chapter.
3 (b) The petitioner may include any other information that the
4 petitioner believes may assist the court.
5 (c) A person who files a petition under this section is required to
6 pay the filing fee required in civil cases. The court may reduce or
7 waive this fee if the person is indigent.
8 (d) The petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition upon the
9 prosecuting attorney in accordance with the Indiana Rules of Trial
10 Procedure.
11 (e) The prosecuting attorney shall inform each victim of the
12 offense for which expungement is sought of the victim's rights
13 under IC 35-40-6 by contacting the victim at the victim's last
14 known address.
15 (f) The prosecuting attorney shall reply to the petition not later
16 than sixty (60) days after receipt. If the prosecuting attorney fails
17 to timely reply to the petition:
18 (1) the prosecuting attorney has waived any objection to the
19 petition; and
20 (2) the court shall proceed to consider the petition under
21 section 6 of this chapter.
22 Sec. 6. (a) If the prosecuting attorney does not object or has
23 waived objection to the petition under section 5 of this chapter, the
24 court may grant a petition for expungement under section 3 of this
25 chapter without a hearing.
26 (b) The court may summarily deny a petition for expungement
27 under section 3 of this chapter if the petition does not meet the
28 requirements of section 5 of this chapter, or if the statements
29 contained in the petition demonstrate that the petitioner is not
30 entitled to relief.
31 (c) If the prosecuting attorney objects to the petition, the
32 prosecuting attorney shall file the reasons for objecting to the
33 petition with the court and serve a copy of the objections on the
34 petitioner at the time the prosecuting attorney objects to the
35 petition. The court shall set the matter for hearing not sooner than
36 thirty (30) days after service of the petition on the prosecuting
37 attorney.
38 (d) A victim of the offense for which expungement is sought may
39 submit an oral or written statement in support of or in opposition
40 to the petition at the time of the hearing.
41 (e) At the hearing, the petitioner must prove by a
42 preponderance of the evidence that the facts alleged in the verified
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 9
1 petition are true.
2 Sec. 7. The grant or denial of a petition under this chapter is an
3 appealable final order.
4 Sec. 8. A petitioner may seek to expunge more than one (1)
5 addiction disorder related conviction under this chapter at the
6 same time. The petitioner shall consolidate all addiction disorder
7 related convictions that the petitioner wishes to expunge from the
8 same county in one (1) petition. A petitioner who wishes to expunge
9 convictions from separate counties must file a petition in each
10 county in which a conviction was entered.
11 Sec. 9. (a) This section does not apply to a person to whom
12 sealed records may be disclosed under section 4(a)(2) of this
13 chapter. With respect to a person seeking employment with a law
14 enforcement agency or a probation or community corrections
15 department, including volunteer employment, subsections (b), (d),
16 and (e) do not apply to the law enforcement agency or the
17 probation or community corrections department.
18 (b) Except as provided in subsection (e), it is unlawful
19 discrimination for any person to:
20 (1) suspend;
21 (2) expel;
22 (3) refuse to employ;
23 (4) refuse to admit;
24 (5) refuse to grant or renew a license, permit, or certificate
25 necessary to engage in any activity, occupation, or profession;
26 or
27 (6) otherwise discriminate against;
28 any person because of a conviction or record expunged under this
29 chapter.
30 (c) Except as provided in section 4(f) of this chapter, the civil
31 rights of a person whose conviction has been expunged under this
32 chapter shall be fully restored, including the right to vote, to hold
33 public office, to be a proper person under IC 35-47-1-7(2), and to
34 serve as a juror.
35 (d) A person whose record is expunged under this chapter shall
36 be treated as if the person had never been convicted of the offense.
37 However, upon a subsequent arrest or conviction for an unrelated
38 offense, the prior expunged conviction:
39 (1) may be considered by the court in determining the
40 sentence imposed for the new offense;
41 (2) is a prior unrelated conviction for purposes of:
42 (A) a habitual offender enhancement; and
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151 10
1 (B) enhancing the new offense based on a prior conviction;
2 and
3 (3) may be admitted as evidence in the proceeding for a new
4 offense as if the conviction had not been expunged.
5 (e) Any person that discriminates against a person as described
6 in subsection (b) commits a Class C infraction and may be held in
7 contempt by the court issuing the order of expungement or by any
8 other court of general jurisdiction.
9 (f) Any person may file a written motion of contempt to bring an
10 alleged violation of this section to the attention of a court. In
11 addition, the person is entitled to injunctive relief.
12 (g) In a judicial or administrative proceeding alleging
13 negligence or other fault, an order of expungement may be
14 introduced as evidence of a person's exercise of due care in hiring,
15 retaining, licensing, certifying, admitting to a school or program,
16 or otherwise transacting business or engaging in activity with a
17 person to whom an order of expungement was issued under this
18 chapter.
19 (h) A conviction that has been expunged under this chapter is
20 not admissible as evidence in an action for negligent hiring,
21 admission, or licensure against a person that relied on the order.
22 (i) An expungement case, and all documents filed in the case,
23 becomes confidential when the court issues an expungement order.
24 However, until the court issues an expungement order, documents
25 filed in the case are not confidential, and any hearing held in the
26 case shall be open.
27 Sec. 10. (a) A person may not waive the right to expungement
28 under this chapter as part of a plea agreement. Any purported
29 waiver of the right to expungement under this chapter in a plea
30 agreement is invalid and unenforceable as against public policy.
31 (b) This section does not prohibit the finding of a waiver of the
32 right to expungement under this chapter based on a failure to
33 comply with the provisions of this chapter.
34 Sec. 11. The remedies provided by this chapter are in addition
35 to, and separate from, any other expungement remedies provided
36 by law.
37 Sec. 12. A criminal history provider (as defined in IC 24-4-18-2)
38 that provides a criminal history report containing an expunged
39 conviction under this chapter is subject to the penalties described
40 in IC 24-4-18-8.
2025 IN 217—LS 6730/DI 151