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Missouri Senate Bill SB19

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB19 Compare Versions

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22 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
33 SENATE BILL NO. 19
44 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
55 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR WILLIAMS.
66 0610S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
77 AN ACT
88 To amend chapter 610, RSMo, by adding thereto four new sections relating to expungement.
99
1010 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1111 Section A. Chapter 610, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
1212 four new sections, to be known as sections 610.141, 610.142, 2
1313 610.143, and 610.144, to read as follows:3
1414 610.141. 1. As used in sections 610.140 to 610.146, 1
1515 the following terms mean: 2
1616 (1) "Automated expungement", technology -assisted, 3
1717 state-initiated bulk closing of records in the manner 4
1818 established under section 610.120; 5
1919 (2) "Central repository", the Missouri state highway 6
2020 patrol central repository for compiling and disseminating 7
2121 complete and accurate criminal history records; 8
2222 (3) "Charges pending", charges for which an individual 9
2323 has not yet been sentenced; 10
2424 (4) "Clean slate eligible offense", an infraction, 11
2525 misdemeanor, or felony not listed under subsection 2 of 12
2626 section 610.140 for which an electronic record exists; 13
2727 (5) "Close" or "closed", to make records inaccessible 14
2828 to the general public and to all individuals other than the 15
2929 defendant, except as provided under section 610.120 and 16
3030 chapter 43; 17
3131 (6) "Expunge" or "expunged", to close a record in the 18
3232 manner established under se ction 610.120; 19 SB 19 2
3333 (7) "Final disposition", the date the person has 20
3434 completed his or her incarceration or probation and has 21
3535 satisfied all obligations, including the payment of any 22
3636 restitution, but not including the payment of outstanding 23
3737 fines or fees imposed by the court; 24
3838 (8) "Petitioner", includes a person who has petitioned 25
3939 the court to have his or her conviction or convictions 26
4040 expunged and a person whose conviction or convictions have 27
4141 been automatically expunged under this section; 28
4242 (9) "Traffic violation", a violation of the traffic 29
4343 regulations provided under chapters 301, 302, 303, 304, and 30
4444 307. 31
4545 2. (1) Beginning August 28, 2028, all records and 32
4646 files maintained in any administrative or court proceeding 33
4747 in a municipal, associate, or circuit court pertaining to 34
4848 clean slate eligible offenses shall be closed in the manner 35
4949 established under section 610.120 without the filing of a 36
5050 petition under section 610.140, subject to the limitations 37
5151 contained in subdivisions (2), (3), and (4) of this 38
5252 subsection and subject to the following: 39
5353 (a) For cases in which the imposition of sentence has 40
5454 been suspended, if an individual has successfully completed 41
5555 probation, the record shall be closed so long as one year 42
5656 has passed since final disposition, and the individual has 43
5757 not committed any felony or misdemeanor offense other than a 44
5858 traffic violation during that time; 45
5959 (b) For infractions, municipal offenses, and 46
6060 misdemeanors, the record shall be closed if one year has 47
6161 passed since final disposition and the individual has not 48
6262 committed any felony or misdemeanor offense other than a 49
6363 traffic violation during that time; 50 SB 19 3
6464 (c) For felony offenses, the record shall be closed if 51
6565 three years have passed since final dispositio n and the 52
6666 individual has not committed any felony or misdemeanor 53
6767 offense other than a traffic violation during that time; 54
6868 (d) For all of an individual's offenses if the 55
6969 individual has attained sixty -five years of age and has not 56
7070 been convicted of any misdemeanors or felonies other than a 57
7171 traffic violation or a technical violation of the terms of 58
7272 their probation or parole in the immediate ten preceding 59
7373 years; or 60
7474 (e) All offenses for which the governor of Missouri 61
7575 has granted a full pardon . 62
7676 (2) Records pertaining to juvenile adjudications or 63
7777 offenses involving the operation of a motor vehicle are not 64
7878 eligible for automated expungement. 65
7979 (3) No offense, violation, or infraction shall be 66
8080 eligible for automated expungement if a p erson has charges 67
8181 pending during the period of review for clean slate 68
8282 eligibility as described in subsection 3 of this section. 69
8383 (4) (a) An individual may be granted more than one 70
8484 expungement under this section, provided that during his or 71
8585 her lifetime the total number of offenses, violations, or 72
8686 infractions for which expungement can be granted to the 73
8787 individual under this section or section 610.140 shall not 74
8888 exceed the following limits: 75
8989 a. No more than two felony offenses; and 76
9090 b. No more than four misdemeanor offenses or ordinance 77
9191 violations that have an authorized term of imprisonment. 78
9292 (b) An individual may be granted expungement under 79
9393 this section for any number of infractions. 80
9494 (c) If an individual's record contains more felonies 81
9595 or misdemeanors than can be expunged during the individual's 82 SB 19 4
9696 lifetime under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the 83
9797 individual shall not be eligible for automated expungement 84
9898 under this section. 85
9999 (d) For purposes of determining lifeti me limits on 86
100100 expungement under this section and section 610.140: 87
101101 a. If the offenses or violations were charged as 88
102102 counts in the same case, all such offenses and violations 89
103103 shall count as only the highest level offense or violation 90
104104 in that case for purposes of determining lifetime limits on 91
105105 expungement under this section and section 610.140. 92
106106 However, if one or more counts in the same indictment or 93
107107 information or conduct committed were a part of the same 94
108108 course of criminal conduct as an offense listed in 95
109109 subsection 2 of section 610.140, the entire record shall not 96
110110 be expunged under this section. 97
111111 b. If the offenses or violations were committed by an 98
112112 individual who has reached sixty -five years of age and has 99
113113 not been convicted of any mis demeanors or felonies other 100
114114 than traffic violations in the immediate ten preceding 101
115115 years, all clean slate eligible offenses shall be expunged. 102
116116 (e) The court shall maintain records to ensure that a 103
117117 person has not exceeded the limitations provided u nder this 104
118118 subsection. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 105
119119 limit or impair the subsequent use of any record maintained 106
120120 by the court for the purpose of any law enforcement or 107
121121 prosecutorial investigation or activity including any arrest 108
122122 or findings of guilt expunged under this section by a law 109
123123 enforcement agency, criminal justice agency, prosecuting 110
124124 attorney, circuit attorney, or municipal prosecuting 111
125125 attorney, including its use as a prior offense, violation, 112
126126 or infraction in a subsequent c riminal or civil 113
127127 investigation or prosecution. 114 SB 19 5
128128 3. (1) Beginning August 28, 2028, on a monthly basis, 115
129129 the office of state courts administrator shall identify and 116
130130 transmit to the central repository and every prosecuting 117
131131 agency in the state all cle an slate eligible offense records 118
132132 within thirty days of the record becoming eligible for 119
133133 automated expungement. 120
134134 (2) Records that are eligible for automated 121
135135 expungement on or before August 28, 2025, shall be 122
136136 identified and expunged by August 28, 2 030. 123
137137 (3) Delinquent court costs, fines, fees, or other sums 124
138138 ordered by a court, except restitution owed to a victim of a 125
139139 crime, shall not be expunged and shall not be considered by 126
140140 the office of state courts administrator when determining 127
141141 expungement of a record without the filing of a petition 128
142142 under subsection 2 of this section. The office of state 129
143143 courts administrator shall seek a setoff of any income tax 130
144144 refund and lottery prize payouts under section 488.5028 for 131
145145 all delinquent court costs , fines, fees, or other sums 132
146146 ordered by a court relating to convictions expunged under 133
147147 subsection 2 of this section. 134
148148 (4) Each prosecuting agency in this state has no later 135
149149 than sixty days from the day on which the notice described 136
150150 in subdivision (1) of this subsection is transmitted to 137
151151 object to an automated expungement and transmit such 138
152152 objection to all parties. The prosecuting agency may object 139
153153 to the automatic expungement for any of the following 140
154154 reasons: 141
155155 (a) After reviewing the pros ecuting agency's record, 142
156156 the agency believes the record does not meet the definition 143
157157 of a clean slate eligible case; 144
158158 (b) The person has not paid court -ordered restitution 145
159159 to the victim; or 146 SB 19 6
160160 (c) The person has charges pending against them in 147
161161 another case. 148
162162 (5) If a prosecuting agency objects for a reason 149
163163 described in subdivision (4) of this subsection, within 150
164164 sixty days of the day on which the notice described in 151
165165 subdivision (1) of this subsection is transmitted, the 152
166166 record shall not be expunged. 153
167167 (6) If sixty days have passed without an objection 154
168168 from a prosecuting agency or the central repository for one 155
169169 of the reasons set forth under this subsection, the office 156
170170 of state courts administrator shall transmit within fifteen 157
171171 days all the records to be expunged, sorted by circuit, to 158
172172 the presiding judges of every circuit court. 159
173173 (7) (a) Within thirty days of receiving a notice to 160
174174 expunge, the circuit court shall issue orders for 161
175175 expungement of all records maintained in th e circuit for 162
176176 which no notification of ineligibility was received by the 163
177177 office of state courts administrator from the central 164
178178 repository or a prosecuting agency unless the circuit court 165
179179 determines the record is not eligible for automated 166
180180 expungement. 167
181181 (b) If the circuit court determines a record is not 168
182182 eligible for automated expungement, the court shall notify 169
183183 the office of state courts administrator in writing of its 170
184184 determination within thirty days and shall specify the 171
185185 reasons the court re lied upon in making the determination. 172
186186 (8) On a monthly basis, each circuit court shall issue 173
187187 orders for expungement of all records of arrest, charge, and 174
188188 conviction for ordinance violations and nonfingerprintable 175
189189 offenses in the circuit that the court determines are 176
190190 eligible for automated expungement. 177 SB 19 7
191191 (9) On a monthly basis, each circuit court shall 178
192192 transmit copies of all orders for expungement that the court 179
193193 issues under this section to the office of state courts 180
194194 administrator. 181
195195 (10) Once the transmitted records are expunged, the 182
196196 office of state courts administrator shall provide notice to 183
197197 all state agencies maintaining official copies of the 184
198198 records including, but not limited to, the appropriate 185
199199 circuit court clerk, the prosecu ting or circuit attorney, 186
200200 the arresting law enforcement agency or agencies, the 187
201201 department of corrections, the central repository, and the 188
202202 department of revenue to expunge the records within thirty 189
203203 days. 190
204204 (11) The Missouri state highway patrol sha ll retain a 191
205205 nonpublic record of the order expunging a conviction or 192
206206 other notification regarding a conviction that was 193
207207 automatically expunged under this section and of the record 194
208208 of the arrest, fingerprints, conviction, and sentence of the 195
209209 person in the case to which the order or other notification 196
210210 applies. The nonpublic record shall be made available only 197
211211 to a court of competent jurisdiction, the office of state 198
212212 courts administrator, the department of corrections, a law 199
213213 enforcement agency, a prose cuting or circuit attorney, the 200
214214 attorney general, or the governor upon request and only for 201
215215 the following purposes: 202
216216 (a) To show that a person who has filed a petition to 203
217217 expunge a conviction has previously had a conviction 204
218218 expunged under this sec tion; 205
219219 (b) The court's consideration in determining the 206
220220 sentence to be imposed upon conviction for a subsequent 207
221221 offense that is punishable as a felony or by imprisonment 208
222222 for more than one year; 209 SB 19 8
223223 (c) Consideration by the governor if a person wh ose 210
224224 conviction has been expunged applies for a pardon for 211
225225 another offense; 212
226226 (d) Consideration by the department of corrections or 213
227227 a law enforcement agency if a person whose conviction has 214
228228 been expunged applies for employment with the department of 215
229229 corrections or a law enforcement agency; 216
230230 (e) Consideration by a court, law enforcement agency, 217
231231 prosecuting or circuit attorney, or the attorney general in 218
232232 determining whether a person required to register under 219
233233 sections 589.400 to 589.425 has co mmitted an offense that 220
234234 requires registration under sections 589.400 to 589.425, or 221
235235 for use in a prosecution for committing an offense requiring 222
236236 registration under sections 589.400 to 589.425; or 223
237237 (f) Consideration by a court, law enforcement agenc y, 224
238238 prosecuting or circuit attorney, or the attorney general for 225
239239 use in making determinations regarding charges, plea offers, 226
240240 and sentencing, as applicable. 227
241241 (12) The office of state courts administrator shall 228
242242 create a digital access portal of all orders of expungement 229
243243 issued under this section. The portal shall allow users to 230
244244 determine if an order for automated expungement has been 231
245245 granted in an individual's name. The portal shall employ 232
246246 measures to prevent disclosure of any order to anyone o ther 233
247247 than the individual for whom the order was issued. 234
248248 4. Any court sentencing an individual for a clean 235
249249 slate eligible offense shall notify the individual at the 236
250250 time of sentencing of the date when the individual's 237
251251 conviction may become eligibl e for automated expungement 238
252252 provided the individual is not convicted of any misdemeanor 239
253253 or felony, not including a violation of a traffic 240 SB 19 9
254254 regulation, during the time period specified for the 241
255255 underlying offense or offenses. 242
256256 5. Any probation or par ole office releasing an 243
257257 individual from supervision for a clean slate eligible 244
258258 offense shall notify the individual at the time supervision 245
259259 is discharged of the date when the individual's record or 246
260260 records may become eligible for automated expungement 247
261261 provided the individual is not convicted of any misdemeanor 248
262262 or felony, not including a violation of a traffic 249
263263 regulation, during the time period specified for the 250
264264 underlying offense or offenses. 251
265265 6. The provisions of this section shall apply 252
266266 retroactively to any arrest, charge, trial, and conviction 253
267267 for which there is a digital record regardless of the date 254
268268 that the arrest was made, the charge or charges were 255
269269 brought, the trial occurred, or the conviction was entered. 256
270270 7. Nothing in this section precludes an individual 257
271271 from filing a petition for expungement of records under 258
272272 section 610.140 if an individual is eligible for an 259
273273 automated expungement under this section if such an 260
274274 automated expungement has not yet occurred or cannot occur 261
275275 pursuant to the provisions of this section. 262
276276 8. Upon the occurrence of one of the circumstances 263
277277 provided under subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, a 264
278278 conviction that was expunged under this section shall be 265
279279 reinstated by the court as provided i n this subsection. 266
280280 (1) If it is determined that a conviction was 267
281281 improperly or erroneously expunged because the conviction 268
282282 was not eligible to be expunged under this section, the 269
283283 court shall, on its own motion, reinstate the conviction. 270
284284 (2) Upon a motion by a person owed restitution or on 271
285285 its own motion, the court shall reinstate a conviction that 272 SB 19 10
286286 was expunged under this section for which the person whose 273
287287 conviction was expunged was ordered to pay restitution if 274
288288 the court determines that the person has not made a good - 275
289289 faith effort to pay the ordered restitution. 276
290290 9. Upon the entry of an order under section 610.140, 277
291291 or upon the automated expungement of a conviction under this 278
292292 section, the petitioner, for purposes of the law, shall b e 279
293293 considered not to have been previously convicted, except for 280
294294 purposes of the following: 281
295295 (1) The petitioner shall not be entitled to the 282
296296 remission of any fine, costs, or other moneys paid as a 283
297297 consequence of a conviction that is expunged; 284
298298 (2) This section shall not affect the right of the 285
299299 petitioner to rely upon the conviction to bar subsequent 286
300300 proceedings for the same offense; 287
301301 (3) This section shall not affect the right of a 288
302302 victim of an offense to bring or defend a civil action f or 289
303303 damages; 290
304304 (4) This section shall not create a right to commence 291
305305 an action for damages for incarceration under the sentence 292
306306 that the petitioner served before the conviction is expunged 293
307307 under this section; 294
308308 (5) This section shall not relieve any obligation to 295
309309 pay restitution owed to the victim of an offense nor shall 296
310310 such sections affect the jurisdiction of the convicting 297
311311 court or the authority of any court order with regard to 298
312312 enforcing an order for restitution; 299
313313 (6) A conviction, including any records relating to 300
314314 the conviction and any records concerning a collateral 301
315315 action, that has been expunged under this section shall not 302
316316 be used as evidence in an action for negligent hiring, 303
317317 admission, or licensure against any person; or 304 SB 19 11
318318 (7) A conviction that is expunged under this section 305
319319 or section 610.140 may be considered a prior conviction by a 306
320320 court, law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney, or the 307
321321 attorney general, as applicable, for purposes of charging a 308
322322 crime as a second or subsequent offense or for sentencing 309
323323 under section 550.016. 310
324324 610.142. Beginning August 28, 2028, the office of 1
325325 state courts administrator shall report to the judiciary 2
326326 committees of the senate and house of representatives, or 3
327327 any successor committees, the following on a yearly basis: 4
328328 (1) The number of records expunged under subsection 2 5
329329 of section 610.141, by judicial circuit, with data 6
330330 aggregated by race, sex, age, circuit, county, and offense 7
331331 type and level; and 8
332332 (2) The number of records transmitted back to the 9
333333 office of state courts administrator from the Missouri state 10
334334 highway patrol, any prosecuting agency, or any circuit court 11
335335 on objection that the record is not eligible for automated 12
336336 expungement or that the record does not match data held in 13
337337 the central repository, by judicial circuit, with data 14
338338 aggregated by race, sex, age, county, and offense type and 15
339339 level. 16
340340 610.143. 1. A credit bureau may report records of 1
341341 arrests, indictments pending trial, and convictions of 2
342342 crimes for no longer than seven years from final 3
343343 disposition. Records of arrests, indictments pending trial, 4
344344 and convictions of crimes shall no longer be reported if at 5
345345 any time after a conviction it is learned that a full pardon 6
346346 or expungement has been granted for that conviction, or at 7
347347 any time after an arrest or indictment it is learned that a 8
348348 conviction did not result. 9 SB 19 12
349349 2. Any credit bureau or user of information that 10
350350 willfully fails to comply with any re quirement of this 11
351351 section with respect to any consumer is liable to that 12
352352 consumer in an amount equal to: 13
353353 (1) Any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a 14
354354 result of the failure; 15
355355 (2) Punitive damages as the court may allow; and 16
356356 (3) In the case of any successful action under this 17
357357 section, costs of the action and reasonable attorney's fees 18
358358 as determined by the court. 19
359359 3. Any credit bureau or user of information that is 20
360360 negligent in failing to comply with any requirement of this 21
361361 section with respect to any consumer is liable to that 22
362362 consumer in an amount equal to: 23
363363 (1) Any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a 24
364364 result of the failure; and 25
365365 (2) In the case of any successful action under this 26
366366 section, costs of the action and reasonable attorney's fees 27
367367 as determined by the court. 28
368368 4. Injunctive relief shall be available to any 29
369369 consumer aggrieved by a violation or a threatened violation 30
370370 of this section regardless of whether the consumer seeks any 31
371371 other remedy under this section. 32
372372 5. An employer who employs or otherwise engages an 33
373373 individual whose criminal history record has been expunged 34
374374 shall be immune from liability for any claim arising out of 35
375375 the misconduct of the individual if the misconduct re lates 36
376376 to the portion of the criminal history record that has been 37
377377 expunged. 38
378378 610.144. 1. (1) There is hereby created in the state 1
379379 treasury the "Missouri Expungement Fund", which shall 2
380380 consist of moneys deposited into the fund from any source 3 SB 19 13
381381 including, but not limited to, gifts, donations, grants, and 4
382382 bequests. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the 5
383383 fund. In accordance with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the 6
384384 state treasurer may approve disbursements. The fund shall 7
385385 be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, moneys in this 8
386386 fund shall be used solely as provided in subsection 2 of 9
387387 this section. 10
388388 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 11
389389 to the contrary, any moneys remaining in the fund at the end 12
390390 of the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the 13
391391 general revenue fund. 14
392392 (3) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the 15
393393 fund in the same manner as other funds are invested. Any 16
394394 interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be 17
395395 credited to the fund. 18
396396 2. The department of public safety, the information 19
397397 technology services division within the office of 20
398398 administration, and the office of state courts administrator 21
399399 shall expend moneys from the fund, upon appropriation, only 22
400400 for one or more of the following purposes: 23
401401 (1) Implementation costs incurred under sections 24
402402 610.141 to 610.143; 25
403403 (2) System upgrades necessitated under sections 26
404404 610.141 to 610.143; or 27
405405 (3) Staffing needs necessitated under sections 610.141 28
406406 to 610.143. 29
407407