Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB499 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb0499
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 499
8	8	E2 5lr0443
9	9	CF SB 432
10	10	By: The Speaker (By Request – Administration) and Delegates Allen, Amprey,
11	11	Bartlett, Boafo, Fennell, Harris, D. Jones, J. Long, Palakovich Carr,
12	12	Phillips, Ruff, Simpson, Stein, Taveras, Taylor, Toles, Turner, Vogel,
13	13	White Holland, Wilkins, Williams, Wims, Woods, Woorman, and Wu
14	14	Introduced and read first time: January 22, 2025
15	15	Assigned to: Judiciary
16	16
17	17	A BILL ENTITLED
18	18
19	19	AN ACT concerning 1
20	20
21	21	Criminal Records – Expungement and Maryland Judiciary Case Search 2
22	22	(Expungement Reform Act of 2025) 3
23	23
24	24	FOR the purpose of altering certain provisions of law relating to waiting periods for the 4
25	25	filing of certain petitions for expungement to authorize the filing of a petition a 5
26	26	certain amount of time after the completion of the sentence; adding to the list of 6
27	27	misdemeanor convictions that a person may expunge under certain circumstances; 7
28	28	requiring a court to determine that a person seeking a certain expungement has paid 8
29	29	restitution ordered by the court or does not have the ability to pay the restitution; 9
30	30	prohibiting the Maryland Judiciary Case Search from in any way referring to the 10
31	31	existence of certain records; and generally relating to expungement and the 11
32	32	Maryland Judiciary Case Search. 12
33	33
34	34	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
35	35	Article – Criminal Procedure 14
36	36	Section 10–101, 10–105(c)(6) and (8), 10–110(a), (c), and (f), and 10–401 15
37	37	Annotated Code of Maryland 16
38	38	(2018 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 17
39	39
40	40	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 18
41	41	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 19
42	42
43	43	Article – Criminal Procedure 20
44	44
45	45	10–101. 21
46	46
47	47	(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 22
48	48	2 HOUSE BILL 499
49	49
50	50
51	51	(b) “Central Repository” means the Criminal Justice Information System Central 1
52	52	Repository in the Department. 2
53	53
54	54	(c) “COMPLETION OF THE SENTENCE ” MEANS THE TIME WHEN A SENTENCE 3
55	55	HAS EXPIRED, INCLUDING ANY PERIOD OF PROBATION , PAROLE, OR MANDATORY 4
56	56	SUPERVISION. 5
57	57
58	58	(D) (1) “Court record” means an official record of a court that the clerk of a 6
59	59	court or other court personnel keeps about: 7
60	60
61	61	(i) a criminal proceeding; or 8
62	62
63	63	(ii) any other proceeding, except a juvenile proceeding, concerning a 9
64	64	civil offense or infraction enacted under State or local law as a substitute for a criminal 10
65	65	charge. 11
66	66
67	67	(2) “Court record” includes: 12
68	68
69	69	(i) a record of a violation of the Transportation Article for which a 13
70	70	term of imprisonment may be imposed; and 14
71	71
72	72	(ii) an index, docket entry, charging document, pleading, 15
73	73	memorandum, transcription of proceedings, electronic recording, order, and judgment. 16
74	74
75	75	[(d)] (E) “Expunge” means to remove information from public inspection in 17
76	76	accordance with this subtitle. 18
77	77
78	78	[(e)] (F) Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, “expungement” with 19
79	79	respect to a court record or a police record means removal from public inspection: 20
80	80
81	81	(1) by obliteration; 21
82	82
83	83	(2) by removal to a separate secure area to which persons who do not have 22
84	84	a legitimate reason for access are denied access; or 23
85	85
86	86	(3) if access to a court record or police record can be obtained only by 24
87	87	reference to another court record or police record, by the expungement of it or the part of it 25
88	88	that provides access. 26
89	89
90	90	[(f)] (G) “Law enforcement unit” means a State, county, or municipal police 27
91	91	department or unit, the office of a sheriff, the office of a State’s Attorney, the Office of the 28
92	92	State Prosecutor, or the Office of the Attorney General of the State. 29
93	93
94	94	[(g)] (H) “Minor traffic violation” means a nonincarcerable violation of the 30
95	95	Maryland Vehicle Law or any other traffic law, ordinance, or regulation. 31
96	96	HOUSE BILL 499 3
97	97
98	98
99	99	[(h)] (I) “Police record” means an official record that a law enforcement unit, 1
100	100	booking facility, or the Central Repository maintains about the arrest and detention of, or 2
101	101	further proceeding against, a person for: 3
102	102
103	103	(1) a criminal charge; 4
104	104
105	105	(2) a suspected violation of a criminal law; 5
106	106
107	107	(3) a violation of the Transportation Article for which a term of 6
108	108	imprisonment may be imposed; or 7
109	109
110	110	(4) a civil offense or infraction, except a juvenile offense, enacted under 8
111	111	State or local law as a substitute for a criminal charge. 9
112	112
113	113	10–105. 10
114	114
115	115	(c) (6) A petition for expungement based on the conviction of a crime under 11
116	116	subsection (a)(9) of this section may not be filed within 3 years after the [conviction or 12
117	117	satisfactory completion of the sentence, including probation, that was imposed for the 13
118	118	conviction, whichever is later] COMPLETION OF THE SE NTENCE. 14
119	119
120	120	(8) A petition for expungement based on the conviction of a crime under 15
121	121	subsection (a)(12) of this section may not be filed before [satisfactory] THE completion of 16
122	122	the sentence[, including probation, that was imposed for the conviction]. 17
123	123
124	124	10–110. 18
125	125
126	126	(a) A person may file a petition listing relevant facts for expungement of a police 19
127	127	record, court record, or other record maintained by the State or a political subdivision of 20
128	128	the State if the person is convicted of: 21
129	129
130	130	(1) a misdemeanor that is a violation of: 22
131	131
132	132	(i) § 6–320 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article; 23
133	133
134	134	(ii) an offense listed in § 17–613(a) of the Business Occupations and 24
135	135	Professions Article; 25
136	136
137	137	(iii) § 5–712, § 19–304, § 19–308, or Title 5, Subtitle 6 or Subtitle 9 of 26
138	138	the Business Regulation Article; 27
139	139
140	140	(iv) § 3–1508 or § 10–402 of the Courts Article; 28
141	141
142	142	(v) § 14–1915, § 14–2902, or § 14–2903 of the Commercial Law 29
143	143	Article; 30
144	144
145	145	(vi) § 5–211 of this article; 31 4 HOUSE BILL 499
146	146
147	147
148	148
149	149	(vii) § 3–203 or § 3–808 of the Criminal Law Article; 1
150	150
151	151	(viii) § 5–601 not involving the use or possession of cannabis, § 2
152	152	5–602(b)(1), § 5–618, § 5–619, § 5–620, § 5–703, § 5–708, or § 5–902 of the Criminal Law 3
153	153	Article; 4
154	154
155	155	(ix) § 6–105, § 6–108, § 6–205 (fourth degree burglary), § 6–206, § 5
156	156	6–301, § 6–303, § 6–306, § 6–307, § 6–402, or § 6–503 of the Criminal Law Article; 6
157	157
158	158	(x) § 7–104, § 7–203, § 7–205, § 7–304, § 7–308, or § 7–309 of the 7
159	159	Criminal Law Article; 8
160	160
161	161	(xi) § 8–103, § 8–106, § 8–204, § 8–206, § 8–401, § 8–402, § 8–404, § 9
162	162	8–406, § 8–408, § 8–503, § 8–521, § 8–523, § 8–610, or § 8–904 of the Criminal Law Article; 10
163	163
164	164	(xii) § 9–204, § 9–205, § 9–408, § 9–501, § 9–502, § 9–503, or § 11
165	165	9–506 of the Criminal Law Article; 12
166	166
167	167	(xiii) § 10–110, § 10–201, § 10–402, § 10–404, or § 10–502 of the 13
168	168	Criminal Law Article; 14
169	169
170	170	(xiv) § 11–303, § 11–306, or § 11–307 of the Criminal Law Article; 15
171	171
172	172	(xv) § 12–102, § 12–103, § 12–104, § 12–105, § 12–109, § 12–203, § 16
173	173	12–204, § 12–205, or § 12–302 of the Criminal Law Article; 17
174	174
175	175	(xvi) § 13–401, § 13–602, or § 16–201 of the Election Law Article; 18
176	176
177	177	(xvii) § 4–509 of the Family Law Article; 19
178	178
179	179	(xviii) § 18–215 of the Health – General Article; 20
180	180
181	181	(xix) § 4–411 or § 4–2005 of the Housing and Community Development 21
182	182	Article; 22
183	183
184	184	(xx) § 27–403, § 27–404, § 27–405, § 27–406, § 27–406.1, § 27–407, § 23
185	185	27–407.1, or § 27–407.2 of the Insurance Article; 24
186	186
187	187	(xxi) § 8–725.4, § 8–725.5, § 8–725.6, § 8–725.7, § 8–726, § 8–726.1, § 25
188	188	8–727.1, or § 8–738.2 of the Natural Resources Article or any prohibited act related to speed 26
189	189	limits for personal watercraft; 27
190	190
191	191	(xxii) § 10–301, § 10–306, § 10–308.1, § 10–413(e)(1), § 10–418, § 28
192	192	10–502, § 10–611, or § 10–907(a) of the Natural Resources Article; 29
193	193
194	194	(xxiii) § 5–307, § 5–308, § 6–602, § 7–402, or § 14–114 of the Public 30 HOUSE BILL 499 5
195	195
196	196
197	197	Safety Article; 1
198	198
199	199	(xxiv) § 7–318.1, § 7–509, or § 10–507 of the Real Property Article; 2
200	200
201	201	(xxv) § 9–124 of the State Government Article; 3
202	202
203	203	(xxvi) § 13–1001, § 13–1004, § 13–1007, or § 13–1024 of the 4
204	204	Tax – General Article; 5
205	205
206	206	(xxvii) § 16–101 OR § 16–303 of the Transportation Article; or 6
207	207
208	208	(xxviii) the common law offenses of affray, rioting, criminal 7
209	209	contempt, battery, or hindering; 8
210	210
211	211	(2) a felony that is a violation of: 9
212	212
213	213	(i) § 7–104 of the Criminal Law Article; 10
214	214
215	215	(ii) the prohibition against possession with intent to distribute a 11
216	216	controlled dangerous substance under § 5–602 of the Criminal Law Article; or 12
217	217
218	218	(iii) § 6–202(a), § 6–203, or § 6–204 of the Criminal Law Article; or 13
219	219
220	220	(3) an attempt, a conspiracy, or a solicitation of any offense listed in item 14
221	221	(1) or (2) of this subsection. 15
222	222
223	223	(c) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a petition for 16
224	224	expungement under this section may not be filed earlier than 5 years after the [person 17
225	225	satisfies the sentence or sentences imposed for all convictions for which expungement is 18
226	226	requested, including parole, probation, or mandatory supervision] COMPLETION OF THE 19
227	227	SENTENCE. 20
228	228
229	229	(2) A petition for expungement for a violation of § 3–203 of the Criminal 21
230	230	Law Article or common law battery may not be filed earlier than 7 years after the [person 22
231	231	satisfies the sentence or sentences imposed for all convictions for which expungement is 23
232	232	requested, including parole, probation, or mandatory supervision] COMPLETION OF THE 24
233	233	SENTENCE. 25
234	234
235	235	(3) A petition for expungement for an offense classified as a domestically 26
236	236	related crime under § 6–233 of this article may not be filed earlier than 15 years after the 27
237	237	[person satisfies the sentence or sentences imposed for all convictions for which 28
238	238	expungement is requested, including parole, probation, or mandatory supervision] 29
239	239	COMPLETION OF THE SE NTENCE. 30
240	240
241	241	(4) Except as provided in paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection, a 31
242	242	petition for expungement of a felony may not be filed earlier than 7 years after the [person 32 6 HOUSE BILL 499
243	243
244	244
245	245	satisfies the sentence or sentences imposed for all convictions for which expungement is 1
246	246	requested, including parole, probation, or mandatory supervision] COMPLETION OF THE 2
247	247	SENTENCE. 3
248	248
249	249	(5) A petition for expungement of a conviction of possession with intent to 4
250	250	distribute cannabis under § 5–602 of the Criminal Law Article may not be filed earlier than 5
251	251	3 years after the [person satisfies the sentence or sentences imposed for all convictions for 6
252	252	which expungement is requested, including parole, probation, or mandatory supervision] 7
253	253	COMPLETION OF THE SE NTENCE. 8
254	254
255	255	(6) A petition for expungement of a conviction for § 6–202(a), § 6–203, or a 9
256	256	felony that is a violation of § 7–104 of the Criminal Law Article may not be filed earlier 10
257	257	than 10 years after the [person satisfies the sentence or sentences imposed for all 11
258	258	convictions for which expungement is requested, including parole, probation, or mandatory 12
259	259	supervision] COMPLETION OF THE SE NTENCE. 13
260	260
261	261	(f) (1) If the State’s Attorney or a victim files a timely objection to the petition, 14
262	262	the court shall hold a hearing. 15
263	263
264	264	(2) The court shall order the expungement of all police records and court 16
265	265	records about the charge after a hearing, if the court finds and states on the record: 17
266	266
267	267	(i) that the conviction is eligible for expungement under subsection 18
268	268	(a) of this section; 19
269	269
270	270	(ii) that the person is eligible for expungement under subsection (d) 20
271	271	of this section; 21
272	272
273	273	(iii) that giving due regard to the nature of the crime, the history and 22
274	274	character of the person, THE PERSON’S SUCCESS AT COURT –ORDERED PROBATION , 23
275	275	and the person’s success at rehabilitation, the person is not a risk to public safety; [and] 24
276	276
277	277	(iv) THAT THE PERS ON HAS PAID ANY MONE TARY RESTITUTION 25
278	278	ORDERED BY THE COURT IN THE ORIGINAL PROC EEDING OR DOES NOT H AVE THE 26
279	279	ABILITY TO PAY THE R ESTITUTION; AND 27
280	280
281	281	(V) that an expungement would be in the interest of justice. 28
282	282
283	283	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 29
284	284	as follows: 30
285	285
286	286	Article – Criminal Procedure 31
287	287
288	288	10–401. 32
289	289
290	290	(A) The Maryland Judiciary Case Search may not in any way refer to the existence 33 HOUSE BILL 499 7
291	291
292	292
293	293	of records of a charge in a case with electronic records if the charge resulted in: 1
294	294
295	295	(1) acquittal; 2
296	296
297	297	(2) dismissal; [or] 3
298	298
299	299	(3) nolle prosequi[, except nolle prosequi with the requirement of drug or 4
300	300	alcohol treatment]; OR 5
301	301
302	302	(4) THE COURT MARKING TH E CHARGE STET ON THE DOCKET AT 6
303	303	LEAST 3 YEARS PREVIOUSLY . 7
304	304
305	305	(B) THE MARYLAND JUDICIARY CASE SEARCH MAY NOT IN ANY WAY REFER 8
306	306	TO THE EXISTENCE OF RECORDS OF A CHARGE OF POSSESSION OF CAN NABIS IN A 9
307	307	CASE WITH ELECTRONIC RECORDS IF THE CHARG E RESULTED IN A CONV ICTION 10
308	308	THAT WAS LATER PARDO NED BY THE GOVERNOR. 11
309	309
310	310	SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That Section 2 of this Act shall take 12
311	311	effect January 1, 2026. 13
312	312
313	313	SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, except as provided in Section 14
314	314	3 of this Act, this Act shall take effect October 1, 2025. 15