What are the proposed reforms to expand expungement?

In 2018, Massachusetts passed legislation that created an opportunity to expunge juvenile and adult criminal records for folks whose offense was charged prior to their 21st birthday. In 2020, the legislature increased the number of eligible cases from one offense to two cases (regardless of number of offenses in each case). While this is a tremendous step forward, the law created a significant limit: there can only be no more than two cases on the record. Anyone who has any other court case is ineligible for expungement. A record can present unjust, lifelong barriers for housing, employment, and education and it’s our goal to make sure that as many people as possible have an opportunity for a clean slate.

A new bill, filed this legislative session, would:

• Remove the restriction on the number of cases that did not end in conviction on a person’s record to be eligible for expungment. Instead the bill would allow individuals to expunge their records if their case ended at least three years ago (for misdemeanors) or seven years ago (for felonies) and they have had no court case since. The bill would maintain the two-case limit for cases resulting in a (non-juvenile) conviction;

• Expand the number of offenses eligible for expungement, so that only sex-based offenses resulting in a sex offender registry requirement (and therefore ineligible for sealing) and those that resulted in serious bodily injury have a lifetime ban on expungement;

• Prohibit police from submitting finger print records of youth under age 18 to the FBI.

The bill does not change the public safety goals in the current law, as those with more recent offenses are not eligible for expungement and it does not change the role of prosecutors and judges in the process.

Download our fact sheet on An Act Relative to Expungement here.