The Clemency Board Waiver Authority Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 amends the Clemency Board Establishment Act of 2018 to allow the Clemency Board to grant a waiver of the 5-year waiting period for applicants seeking a pardon. A new subsection (f) is added to section 205, which outlines the conditions under which the Board may grant such waivers. Specifically, the Board can only grant a waiver if it receives notice from the Office of the Pardon Attorney that a waiver has been provided by the Pardon Attorney or the President of the United States. Additionally, the Board retains the discretion to decline a waiver even with such notice, and waivers cannot be granted if the applicant is currently on probation, parole, or supervised release.

The amendment also stipulates that the Board may request further information from the applicant to support their waiver request and must provide written notice of its decision to grant or deny the waiver. Furthermore, the applicant's application will be deferred until a determination on the waiver request is made. This emergency legislation is intended to streamline the pardon process and provide more flexibility for applicants under specific circumstances.