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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 624 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2019
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Chynah Tyler
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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 ensuring equitable access to cannabis related expungement.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Chynah Tyler7th Suffolk1/10/2025 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 624 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2019
By Representative Tyler of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2019) of Chynah
Tyler relative to ensuring equitable access to cannabis related expungement. The Judiciary.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1790 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act ensuring equitable access to cannabis related expungement.
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. Section 100K of chapter 276 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking subsection (b) in its entirety and inserting in
3place thereof the following:-
4 (b) Any decriminalized offense that is eligible for expungement as provided by this
5section, shall be expunged forthwith on request of the petitioner without the necessity of further
6action by the petitioner or a hearing. If the offense was for possession or cultivation of an amount
7of marijuana decriminalized under section 32L of chapter 94C, section 13 of chapter 94G, or any
8other law of the commonwealth, any offense for distribution or other offenses arising out of the
9same incident related to possession or cultivation of said marijuana shall be treated as a single
10offense for the purposes of this section and shall be expunged along with the decriminalized 2 of 3
11offense involving possession of marijuana. The court shall have the discretion to order an
12expungement for other grounds pursuant to this section based on what is in the best interests of
13justice. Prior to entering an order of expungement pursuant to this section, the court shall hold a
14hearing if requested by the petitioner or the district attorney. Upon an order of expungement, the
15court shall enter written findings of fact.
16 SECTION 2. Section 34 of chapter 94C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
17Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following paragraph:-
18 The commissioner of the department of correction, and the sheriffs of all county houses
19of correction shall forthwith review the sentencing mittimus’ of all prisoners in their custody to
20identify any prisoner held for: (i) a now decriminalized marijuana offense committed before the
21enactment of chapter 334 of the acts of 2016; or (ii) after the revocation of probation or parole
22regardless of the nature of the underlying offense, where the only ground for revocation was the
23prisoner’s possession or use of marijuana and said marijuana offense is no longer a criminal
24offense. Any prisoner so identified shall be reported to the committee for public counsel services,
25and the district attorney for the county of the sentencing court, along with a copy of the
26sentencing mittimus. Any prisoner being held only for sentence under a marijuana offense that is
27no longer a criminal offense, or held on a probation or parole surrender based only on drug
28testing or other probation or parole violation regarding the parolee or probationer’s possession or
29use of marijuana, which is no longer a crime, may apply to the sentencing court for an order of
30discharge and release. An initial hearing shall be held within ten days of court application, to
31determine whether any basis other than a marijuana law violation exists for the prisoner’s
32continued detention. If no other basis exists, the prisoner shall be released forthwith at the initial
33hearing; if other non-marijuana related cause for custody appears to exist, the prisoner may seek 3 of 3
34a continuance of the initial hearing to further investigate and present evidence regarding a claim
35that the only basis for the prisoner’s custody is a conviction or probation or parole surrender for
36the violation of an expunged or other marijuana offense or the prisoner’s use of marijuana while
37on probation or parole before such use was decriminalized.
38 SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.