Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1493 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2963 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1493
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Brandy Fluker Oakley
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to remove collateral consequences and protect the presumption of innocence.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Brandy Fluker Oakley12th Suffolk1/19/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/19/2023Bud L. Williams11th Hampden1/20/2023Michelle M. DuBois10th Plymouth2/7/2023Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/13/2023Russell E. Holmes6th Suffolk2/14/2023Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/14/2023Lydia EdwardsThird Suffolk2/27/2023Christopher J. Worrell5th Suffolk3/8/2023 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2963 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1493
18	18	By Representative Fluker Oakley of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1493)
19	19	of Brandy Fluker Oakley and others for legislation to remove collateral consequences and protect
20	20	the presumption of innocence. The Judiciary.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
24	24	(2023-2024)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act to remove collateral consequences and protect the presumption of innocence.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Section 172(a)(3) of chapter 6, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
30	30	2hereby amended by striking the number “10” in the second sentence in subsection (i) and
31	31	3inserting in place thereof, the following number:- 7.
32	32	4 SECTION 2. Section 172(a)(3) of chapter 6, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
33	33	5hereby amended by striking the number “5” in subsection (ii) and inserting in place thereof, the
34	34	6following number:- 3.
35	35	7 SECTION 3. Section 100A of chapter 276, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
36	36	8hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following sentence:- “The
37	37	9commissioner shall also comply with the request for sealing without imposing a waiting period
38	38	10for any offense that did not result in a conviction or “guilty file” disposition.
39	39	11 SECTION 4. Section 100B of chapter 276, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
40	40	12hereby amended after the last sentence in the first paragraph, the following two paragraphs:- 2 of 3
41	41	13 The words "delinquent" and "delinquency" as used in this section shall include and
42	42	14pertain to any juvenile offense, including where the juvenile is charged as or adjudicated a
43	43	15youthful offender, as long as the juvenile offense was not transferred from the juvenile court or a
44	44	16juvenile session to another court, or not filed in superior court.
45	45	17 Notwithstanding the above provisions, the clerk and the commissioner shall seal all
46	46	18records related to any offense immediately if the offense did not result in an adjudication, absent
47	47	19an objection from the juvenile upon final disposition of the offense, including completion of any
48	48	20period of court-ordered supervision or other court ordered conditions related to the offense. The
49	49	21juvenile shall not be required to file a petition or other request to seal the offense or offenses. A
50	50	22juvenile who objected to sealing of an offense or who otherwise has an unsealed offense that did
51	51	23not result in an adjudication shall be permitted to request sealing of the same offense at a later
52	52	24time, and the commissioner shall seal any such eligible offense upon request.
53	53	25 SECTION 5. Section 100C of chapter 276, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
54	54	26hereby amended by striking the first and second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the
55	55	27following paragraphs:-
56	56	28 (a) Whenever a criminal court offense does not result in a conviction, the clerk and the
57	57	29commissioner shall seal all records related to the offense immediately absent an objection from
58	58	30the defendant upon final disposition of the offense, including completion of any period of court-
59	59	31ordered supervision or other court ordered conditions for the offense. The individual shall not be
60	60	32required to file a petition or other request to seal the charge or charges. A person who objects to
61	61	33sealing or who otherwise has an unsealed offense that did not result in a conviction shall be
62	62	34permitted to request sealing of the same offense at a later time, and the commissioner shall seal 3 of 3
63	63	35any such eligible offense upon request. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the commissioner
64	64	36from sealing any eligible offense pursuant to section 100A of this chapter.
65	65	37 (b) For the purposes of this section, a conviction is defined only as a finding of guilt, and
66	66	38does not include a continuance without a finding.
67	67	39 SECTION 6. Section 172 of chapter 6, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
68	68	40hereby amended by adding after subsection (o), the following new subsection :- (p) When the
69	69	41department provides any requestor with criminal offender record information about any pending
70	70	42charge or any offense that did not result in a criminal conviction, the department shall provide a
71	71	43written statement to the requestor that “A presumption of innocence applies to an individual with
72	72	44an offense that did not result in a conviction or is still pending,”
73	73	45 SECTION 7. Section 100Q of chapter 276, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
74	74	46hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following two sentences:-
75	75	47 The clerk’s office of any division of the trial court, the commissioner of probation, or any
76	76	48other criminal justice agency, upon request of a person whose offense or offenses are sealed, or
77	77	49the person’s legal representative, shall provide access to the sealed records to the individual or
78	78	50the individual’s legal representative without said person or legal representative obtaining a court
79	79	51order to unseal the record or taking other action. Immediately prior to sealing or expungement,
80	80	52the clerk’s office of any division of the trial court or the commissioner of probation shall provide
81	81	53a certified copy of the criminal offender record information to the individual for personal use.