SPONSOR: Christofanelli
This bill establishes an automatic record-clearing process for the closing of certain records not excluded from eligibility for expungement and offenses for which the Governor has granted a full pardon, beginning August 28, 2025. An individual may be granted more than one expungement under this bill, subject to specified parameters and exceptions. Beginning August 28, 2025, the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA) must identify and transmit to the central repository all records of charges and convictions eligible for expungement within 30 days of the record becoming eligible for expungement without petition. If a record is eligible for expungement on or before August 28, 2023, it must be identified and expunged by August 28, 2026. If a circuit court determines a record is not eligible for expungement without petition, the court must notify OSCA within 30 days and specify the reasons upon which the court relied to make the determination.
A digital access portal of all orders of expungement will be created by OSCA and the portal will allow users to determine if an order of expungement in the individual's name has been granted.
If a court finds, after a motion, a conviction was improperly or erroneously expunged under this bill, the court must reinstate the conviction.
Beginning August 28, 2026, OSCA must report yearly certain data to the Judiciary committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. A credit bureau may report records of arrests, indictments pending trial, and convictions for no more than seven years from the date of release or parole. A credit bureau may no longer report such records if at any time after conviction, indictment, or arrest it is learned that a full pardon or expungement has been granted for such conviction.
Lastly, the bill creates in the State Treasury the "Missouri Expungement Fund", which is a fund dedicated to the creation, operation, and maintenance of the program.
Statutes affected: