1 of 1
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1231 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 936
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Cynthia Stone Creem
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to expungement of juvenile and young adult records.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Cynthia Stone CreemNorfolk and MiddlesexSal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk2/9/2023 1 of 5
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1231 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 936
By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 936) of Cynthia Stone Creem and
Sal N. DiDomenico for legislation to expunge juvenile and young adult records. The Judiciary.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 980 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act relative to expungement of juvenile and young adult records.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The first paragraph of Section 60A of chapter 119 of the General Laws, as
2appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence.
3 SECTION 2. Said first paragraph of Section 60A of chapter 119 of the General Laws, is
4hereby further amended by striking out in line 4 of the second sentence the word “other” and by
5inserting between the words “delinquency” and “arising” in lines 4 and 5, the following words:-
6 and youthful offender proceedings
7 SECTION 3. Section 100E of chapter 276 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
8striking the definition “Expunge”, “expunged”, or “expungement” and inserting in place
9thereof:- 2 of 5
10 “Expunge”, “expunged”, or “expungement”, the permanent erasure or destruction of a
11record so that the record is no longer accessible to, or maintained by, the court, any criminal
12justice agencies or any other state agency, municipal agency or county agency. Nothing in this
13Section shall be construed to prohibit the maintenance of information relating to an offense after
14records or files concerning the offense have been expunged if the information is kept in a manner
15that does not enable identification of the petitioner. This information may only be used for
16statistical and bona fide research purposes. If the record contains information on a person other
17than the petitioner, it may be maintained with all identifying information of the petitioner
18permanently obliterated or erased.
19 SECTION 4. Section 100E of chapter 276 of the General Laws is hereby further amended
20by striking the words “or disposition of an offense” in the definition of “record” and inserting in
21place there of the following words:- “or disposition of any offense”
22 SECTION 5. The first sentence of subsection (a) of section 100F of chapter 276 of the
23General Laws, as appearing in section 95 of Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020, is hereby amended
24by striking the following words:- “not more than 2”
25 SECTION 6. The first sentence of subsection (a) of section 100H of chapter 276 of the
26General Laws, as appearing in Section 97 of Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020 is hereby amended
27by striking the following words, “who has not more than 2 records that do not include an
28adjudication as a delinquent, an adjudication as a youthful offender or a conviction” and
29inserting in place thereof the following words:- “who has any criminal or juvenile record where
30the disposition did not include an adjudication or conviction” 3 of 5
31 SECTION 7. Clause (a)(3) of section 100I of chapter 276 of the General Laws, as
32appearing in Section 98 of Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020 is hereby amended by striking the
33clause and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
34 (3) all offenses that are the subject of the petition to expunge the record or records,
35including any period of incarceration, custody or probation, occurred not less than 7 years before
36the date on which the petition was filed if the record or records that are the subject of the petition
37include a felony unless the offense was an offense tried in juvenile court, and not less than 3
38years before the date on which the petition was filed if the record or records that are the subject
39of the petition only include a misdemeanor or misdemeanors or offenses tried in juvenile court;
40 SECTION 8: Section 100J of chapter 276 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
41striking out, section 100J, and inserting in place thereof the following section:
42 Section 100J. None of the following offenses are eligible for expungement under section
43100F, 100G, or 100H:
44 (1) conviction for any offense resulting death or serious bodily injury as defined pursuant
45to section 13K of chapter 265;
46 (2) conviction for any sex offense that can never be sealed under section 178G of chapter
476 of the General Laws; or
48 (3) conviction of a violation of an order issued pursuant to section 18 or 34B of chapter
49208, section 32 of chapter 209, chapter 209A, section 15 of chapter 209C, or chapter 258E.
50 SECTION 9. Chapter 276 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
51section 100U, the following two sections:- 4 of 5
52 Section 100V. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, after an arrest of a
53person under the age of criminal majority, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies shall
54no longer transmit fingerprints and any records related to the arrest or filing of a court case
55against the person to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice for any
56offense that occurred before the age of criminal majority, except for purposes of requesting that
57the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice seal or expunge its records as
58required by section 100T of this chapter and section 36 of chapter 22C of the General laws.
59 Section 100W. The office of the commissioner of probation shall collect and annually
60report on:
61 a) the number of petitions and number of allowances and denials on petitions for sealing,
62pursuant to sections 100B and 100C, separately, of Chapter 276 of the General Laws;
63 b) the number of petitions and number of allowances and denials of petitions for
64expungement, pursuant to sections 100F, 100G and 100H, separately, of Chapter 276 of the
65General Laws
66 c) the number of petitions and number of allowances and denials of petitions for
67expungement, pursuant to section 100K of Chapter 276 of the General Laws; and
68 d) the number of petitions and number of allowances and denials on petitions for sealing,
69pursuant to section 100A of Chapter 276 of the General Laws.
70 e) the number of denials pursuant to sections 100I and 100J, separately, of Chapter 276 of
71the General Laws. 5 of 5
72 Said report shall submitted to the joint committee chairs of the joint committee on the
73judiciary and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate to the house and senate no
74later than 75 days after the end of the fiscal year and made available to the public.