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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10248 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10248

 To create a process for the expungement of pardoned Federal offenses.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 22, 2024

Mr. Armstrong (for himself, Mr. Trone, Ms. Lee of Florida, Mr. Moore of 
  Alabama, Mr. Duncan, and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To create a process for the expungement of pardoned Federal offenses.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Weldon Angelos Presidential Pardon 
Expungements Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Weldon Angelos was sentenced to 55 years in Federal 
        prison for nonviolent marijuana offenses, including possession 
        of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, at the age of 24, 
        despite having no prior criminal record, and the sentence was 
        widely criticized as excessive.
            (2) Mr. Angelos was granted clemency by President Barack 
        Obama after serving 13 years in prison, and fully pardoned 
        subsequently by President Donald Trump, but he continues to 
        face the lasting consequences of his conviction in the form of 
        employment opportunities due to his criminal record.
            (3) Many individuals who have been fully pardoned face 
        similar barriers to reentry into society, hindering their 
        ability to fully participate in their communities and lead 
        productive lives.
            (4) The expungement of criminal records can help pardoned 
        individuals who have paid their debt to society and received a 
        full pardon for their offenses move forward and contribute to 
        society in meaningful ways, as well as reduce the negative 
        impact of a criminal record on their families and communities.
            (5) Federal legislation granting pardoned criminal 
        offenders the right to have their records expunged would 
        provide a second chance for individuals like Mr. Angelos and 
        help to address the inequities and injustices within the 
        criminal justice system.
            (6) This legislation would promote rehabilitation, reduce 
        recidivism, and benefit society as a whole by removing 
        unnecessary barriers to reentry and enabling individuals to 
        fully reintegrate into their communities.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Criminal justice agency.--The term ``criminal justice 
        agency'' means--
                    (A) a Federal or State court;
                    (B) a governmental agency or any subunit thereof 
                that--
                            (i) performs the administration of criminal 
                        justice pursuant to a statute or executive 
                        order, and allocates a substantial part of its 
                        annual budget to the administration of criminal 
                        justice;
                            (ii) is designated by Congress, the 
                        President, the Attorney General of the United 
                        States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or 
                        other appropriate Federal official, to perform 
                        centralized recordkeeping functions for 
                        official records, including the collection, 
                        storage, maintenance, updating, and 
                        dissemination of such records and responding to 
                        requests for information in or about such 
                        records; or
                            (iii) is designated by the Governor or 
                        other appropriate executive official or the 
                        legislature of a State to perform centralized 
                        recordkeeping functions for official records, 
                        including the collection, storage, maintenance, 
                        updating, and dissemination of such records and 
                        responding to requests for information in or 
                        about such records; or
                    (C) a Federal or State inspector general in their 
                review of other criminal justice agencies.
            (2) Official record.--The term ``official record'' means--
                    (A) any documentation or other information on an 
                individual, in electronic or physical form, consisting 
                of identifiable descriptions or notations by criminal 
                justice agencies about that individual, regarding--
                            (i) investigations (including questioning 
                        and searches and seizures) or arrests conducted 
                        by criminal justice agencies, as well as 
                        decisions not to refer cases for prosecution or 
                        other legal proceedings;
                            (ii) institution of prosecution or other 
                        legal proceedings by indictment, complaint, 
                        information, other formal criminal charge, 
                        summons or citation, juvenile certification 
                        (pursuant to section 5032 of title 18, United 
                        States Code), or notice of civil penalty; and
                            (iii) results or consequences of clauses 
                        (i) and (ii), including court-ordered 
                        detention, pretrial and post-trial release, 
                        diversion, non-prosecution or deferred 
                        prosecution, deferred adjudication, pleas 
                        (including not-guilty pleas, guilty pleas, and 
                        nolo contendere), nolle prosequi, competence 
                        findings, dismissal, acquittal, conviction, 
                        mistrial, juvenile adjudication, sentencing, 
                        correctional supervision, rehabilitation, 
                        probation, parole, release, and imposition of a 
                        civil penalty; and
                    (B) the term does not include identification 
                information, such as fingerprint records, if such 
                information does not indicate involvement of the 
                individual with an ``expungable event'' as defined by 
                paragraph (7).
            (3) Expunge.--The term ``expunge'' means to remove an 
        official record and any references to it in any other official 
        record (including an official index or list), except for 
        publicly available court opinions and legal briefs.
            (4) Seal.--The term ``seal'' means to store securely any 
        expunged records possessed by the court issuing the expungement 
        order to prevent access to such records except pursuant to 
        section 7 or by further order of the court.
            (5) Sequester.--The term ``sequester'' means to retain an 
        unaltered nonpublic copy of an expunged official record and any 
        other official record (including an official index or list) 
        subject to an expungement order, and to store such records in a 
        separate, secure area to prevent access to those records except 
        pursuant to section 7 or by further order of the court issuing 
        the expungement order.
            (6) Redact.--The term ``redact'' means to remove or obscure 
        from an official record any references to an expunged record, 
        including, as necessary and consistent with paragraph (2)(B), 
        any identifying information.
            (7) Expungable event.--The term ``expungable event'' 
        means--
                    (A) an investigation, arrest, prosecution, 
                initiation of other legal proceedings, and any results 
                or consequences, as defined by paragraphs (2)(A)(i) 
                through (iii), for violating, attempting to violate, or 
                conspiring to violate the following, as well as 
                sentencing (including probation), or imposition of 
                civil penalty under Federal law, including but not 
                limited to the United States Code or Uniform Code of 
                Military Justice; and
                    (B) to be considered an expungable event for the 
                purposes of this Act--
                            (i) the individual seeking expungement must 
                        have received, for the expungable event, a 
                        full, unconditional pardon by the President of 
                        the United States, notwithstanding part 1 of 
                        title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations; 
                        and
                            (ii) does not include any Presidential act 
                        of clemency which is other or less than a full, 
                        unconditional pardon by the President of the 
                        United States in exercise of article II pardon 
                        power.
            (8) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 
        other Territory, Federal enclave, or outlaying possession of 
        the United States.
            (9) Tribal nation.--The term ``Tribal Nation'' has the same 
        meaning as the term ``Indian Tribe'' as described in section 
        4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
        Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)).
            (10) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence 
        community'' has the same meaning as in section 3(4) of the 
        National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
            (11) Intelligence.--The term ``intelligence'' has the same 
        meaning as in section 3(1) of the National Security Act of 1947 
        (50 U.S.C. 3003(1)).

SEC. 4. COURT REVIEW FOR EXPUNGEMENT.

    (a) Procedures.--No later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts or their designee(s) (hereby referred to as 
``Director'') shall promulgate procedures or practices for the review, 
expungement, sealing, sequester, and redaction of official records 
pursuant to and consistent with the provisions of this Act, and to 
facilitate the study of such records pursuant to section 7 of this Act. 
In determining such procedures or practices, the Director may consult 
with relevant entities, including the Attorney General of the United 
States and any agency within the United States Department of Justice 
(including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement 
Agency, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Office of the Pardon 
Attorney), representatives of the United States Sentencing Commission, 
representatives of the Federal Defenders Organizations, scholars and 
subject-matter experts, and the Comptroller General of the United 
States.
    (b) Review.--No later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the chief judge for each Federal district court shall 
conduct a comprehensive review of its official records, pursuant to the 
procedures or practices promulgated by the Director under subsection 
(a), and the chief judge shall issue a court order expunging, sealing, 
and sequestering--
            (1) each official record for an expungable event; and
            (2) any other official record related to or referencing an 
        expungable event, unless such other official record is for a 
        felony or for a misdemeanor unrelated to the pardoned offenses, 
        in which case the court shall redact from such other official 
        record any reference to the expunged official record, and seal 
        or order the sequester of an unaltered nonpublic copy of such 
        other official record.
    (c) Notification of Expungement.--Not later than 7 days after 
issuing an expungement order, to notify affected criminal justice 
agencies and to facilitate the timely update of relevant records, the 
court shall send a copy of the final order to--
            (1) the Attorney General of the United States, the United 
        States Attorney for that district in which the order was issued 
        expunging the event, and the relevant criminal justice agency 
        (as defined by paragraph (1)(B)(iii) of section 3) that serves 
        the jurisdiction in which order was issued expunging the event, 
        or if no such agency exists, the chief law enforcement officer 
        of the State or Tribal Nation in which the order was issued 
        expunging the event;
            (2) the extent practicable, the individual subject to the 
        issued order expunging the event shall be notified about the 
        expungement of an official record to such individual shall 
        provide information about the effect of such expungement; and
            (3) upon motion or written request of an individual whose 
        official record has been expunged pursuant to this section, the 
        court shall send a copy of the final order to--
                    (A) the relevant criminal justice agency (as 
                defined by paragraph (1)(B)(iii) of section 3) that 
                serves the jurisdiction in which the individual resides 
                or, if no such agency exists, the chief law enforcement 
                officer of the State in which the individual resides, 
                when such criminal justice agency or chief law 
                enforcement officer is different from those notified 
                pursuant to paragraph (1); and
                    (B) any local law enforcement agency that serves 
                the jurisdiction in which the individual resides.
A notification pursuant to this subsection shall not be or become a 
publicly accessible record that identifies the individual who is the 
subject of the expungement order, and such notifications shall not be 
used by criminal justice agencies except for purposes of complying with 
this Act and court orders issued pursuant to it.
    (d) Motion for Reconsideration.--Not later than 60 days after the 
issuance of order expunging an event, the Attorney General of the 
United States or the United States Attorney for the district in which 
the order expunging the event was issued may petition the court for 
reconsideration by timely filing a request in accordance with the 
applicable Federal rules of procedure and, as best as practicable, 
providing notice to the affected individual.
            (1) Government burden.--The Government shall bear the 
        burden of proving by a preponderance of evidence that the event 
        expunged was not an expungable event or that the interests of 
        justice and of public safety weigh against expungement.
            (2) Evidence allowed and federal rules apply.--The 
        Government or an Intervener may submit to the court relevant 
        evidence and proceedings shall be undertaken consistent with 
        the applicable rules of Federal procedure.
            (3) Intervention.--The individual subject to the order 
        issued expunging the event may, as a matter of right, intervene 
        in any such reconsideration.
    (e) Appeal.--Not later than 60 days after the denial of a motion 
for reconsideration, the Attorney General of the United States and the 
United States Attorney for the district in which the order expunging 
the event was issued may appeal such final order or denial to the 
United States Circuit Court of Appeals for that district by timely 
filing a Notice of Appeal in accordance with the applicable Federal 
rules of procedure. The individual subject to the order issued 
expunging the event shall be the respondent in any such proceeding.

SEC. 5. PETITIONING COURT FOR EXPUNGEMENT.

    (a) Petition.--Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, any 
individual with respect to whom there is an official record for an 
expungable event may file a motion for expungement in the court for the 
Federal district in which the official record was entered.
    (b) Service and Response.--The clerk of the court shall serve that 
petition on the United States Attorney for that district.
    (c) Representation and Fees.--No fee shall be imposed for filing a 
petition in any proceeding provided for under this section. If an 
indigent petitioner submits a facially viable claim for expungement (in 
the discretion of the court) that nonetheless requires the assistance 
of legal counsel for purposes of filing a superseding petition, 
presenting evidence in support of the petition, or responding to the 
Government, counsel shall be appointed to represent the individual in 
proceedings under this section.
    (d) Evidence, Standards, and Orders.--
            (1) Federal rules apply.--The Federal rules of procedure 
        and evidence shall apply to these petitioning processes.
            (2) Evidence allowed.--The petitioner and the Government 
        may submit to the court relevant evidence.
            (3) Petitioner's initial burden.--The petitioner bears the 
        initial burden to establish a prima facie case that the 
        official record in question is for an expungable event, at 
        which point the burden shifts to the Government to establish by 
        a preponderance of the evidence that the official record is not 
        for an expungable event or the requirements for expungement 
        have not been met.
            (4) Expungement orders.--
                    (A) Expungement.--If the Government fails to 
                respond to the petition or fails to meet its burden 
                under subsection (d)(2) of this section, the court 
                shall enter an appropriate order for the expungement, 
                sealing, sequester, and redaction of official records 
                of the investigation, arrest, legal proceedings, and 
                any legal results or consequences, as defined by 
                paragraphs (2)(A)(i) through (iii) of section 3.
                    (B) Other records and limitations.--In addition, 
                the court shall order the expungement, sealing, 
                sequester, and redaction of any other official record 
                referencing the expunged official record, unless such 
                other official record is unrelated to the expungable 
                event, in which case the court shall redact from such 
                other official record any reference to the expunged 
                official record, and seal or order the sequester of an 
                unaltered nonpublic copy of such other official record.
    (e) Notification of Expungement.--
            (1) Automatic copies.--Not later than 7 days after granting 
        an expungement petition, to facilitate the timely update of 
        relevant records, the court shall send a copy of the petition 
        and final order to--
                    (A) the Attorney General of the United States, the 
                United States Attorney for that district, and the 
                relevant criminal justice agency (as defined by 
                paragraph (1)(B)(ii) of section 3); and
                    (B) the relevant criminal justice agency (as 
                defined by paragraph (1)(B)(iii) of section 3) that 
                serves the jurisdiction in which the expungable event 
                occurred or was obtained, ordered, or imposed (as the 
                case may be), or if no such agency exists, the chief 
                law enforcement officer of the State in which the 
                expungable event occurred or was obtained, ordered, or 
                imposed.
            (2) Requested copies.--Upon motion or written request of a 
        petitioner whose expungement petition was granted, the court 
        shall send a copy of the petition and final order to--
                    (A) the relevant criminal justice agency (as 
                defined by paragraph (1)(B)(iii) of section 3) that 
                serves the jurisdiction in which the petitioner resides 
                or, if no such agency exists, the chief law enforcement 
                officer of the State in which the petitioner resides, 
                when such criminal justice agency or chief law 
                enforcement officer is different from those notified 
                pursuant to paragraph (1)(B); and
                    (B) any local law enforcement agency that serves 
                the jurisdiction in which the petitioner resides.
            (3) Notifications and copies not to be accessible 
        records.--Notifications pursuant to this subsection shall not 
        be or become publicly accessible records about the expungable 
        event, including information identifying the individual who is 
        the subject of the expungement order; and such notifications 
        shall not be used by criminal justice agencies except for 
        purposes of complying with this Act and court orders issued 
        pursuant to it.
    (f) Appeal.--
            (1) Government.--Not later than 60 days after the issuance 
        of an expungement order, the Attorney General of the United 
        States and the United States Attorney for that district may 
        appeal such order to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals 
        for that district by timely filing a Notice of Appeal in 
        accordance with the applicable Federal rules of procedure.
            (2) Petitioner.--Not later than 30 days after the denial of 
        their petition, the petitioner may appeal that denial to the 
        United States Circuit Court of Appeals for that district by 
        timely filing a Notice of Appeal in accordance with the 
        applicable Federal rules of procedure.

SEC. 6. EFFECT OF EXPUNGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--An order of expungement, consistent with this Act, 
shall restore the affected individual to the legal status they occupied 
before the investigation, arrest, legal proceedings, and any legal 
results or consequences, as defined by paragraphs (2)(A)(i) through 
(iii) of section 3, for which they are the subject of an expunged 
official record, as if such record had never existed and underlying 
activity had never occurred.
    (b) Self-Disclosure.--An individual who is the subject of an 
expungement order may treat the expunged official record of an 
investigation, arrest, legal proceedings, and any legal results or 
consequences, as defined by paragraphs (2)(A)(i) through (iii) of 
section 3, as if it never occurred or never was obtained, ordered, or 
imposed (as the case may be); and to the maximum extent Federal law may 
demand it, that individual shall not be held thereafter under any 
provision of law to be guilty of perjury, false swearing, or making a 
false statement for failure to disclose, recite, or acknowledge such 
official record or the underlying activity with led to its original 
generation.
    (c) No Disqualification.--Notwithstanding any other law, any 
individual who has an expunged official record, including a conviction, 
shall not be disqualified under Federal law from pursuing or engage in 
any Federal employment, contracting, lawful activity, occupation, or 
profession.
    (d) Limitations.--Nothing in this Act is intended to create a right 
to compensation, restitution, or any monetary damages in law or equity.
    (e) Compliance.--
            (1) Applicability.--This Act and courts orders issued 
        pursuant to it shall apply to--
                    (A) Federal criminal justice agencies and 
                commissions;
                    (B) all other Federal agencies and commissions, 
                including the Executive Office of the President, in 
                possession of expunged documents or related official 
                documents;
                    (C) State and local criminal justice agencies in 
                possession of official records order pursuant to 
                Federal law or participation in a Federal program that 
                are subject to an expungement order, including but not 
                limited to records kept under--
                            (i) section 9101 of title 5, United States 
                        Code;
                            (ii) section 922 of title 18, United States 
                        Code;
                            (iii) section 103 of the Brady Handgun 
                        Violence Prevention Act (National Instant 
                        Criminal Background Check System, 18 U.S.C. 922 
                        note);
                            (iv) section 534 of title 28, United States 
                        Code;
                            (v) the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
                        Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq. 
                        (Justice System Improvement));
                            (vi) section 210304 of the Violent Crime 
                        Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 
                        U.S.C. 12592);
                            (vii) section 3 of the National Child 
                        Protection Act of 1993 (34 U.S.C. 40102);
                            (viii) the Crime Identification Technology 
                        Act of 1998 (34 U.S.C. 40301 et seq.);
                            (ix) the National Criminal History Access 
                        and Child Protection Act (34 U.S.C. 40311 et 
                        seq.);
                            (x) section 4 of the Katie Sepich Enhanced 
                        DNA Collection Act of 2012 (34 U.S.C. 40743);
                            (xi) the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 
                        2007 (34 U.S.C. 40902 et seq.);
                            (xii) sections 0.85(j) and 50.12 of title 
                        28, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 
                        successor regulations); and
                            (xiii) parts 20, 23, 25(A), of title 28, 
                        Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 
                        regulations); and
                    (D) any consumer credit agency (as defined in 
                section 603(f) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act 
                (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f))) subject to the Fair Credit 
                Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).
            (2) Covered entities.--An individual or entity covered by 
        subsection (e)(1)--
                    (A) shall comply with a court order issued pursuant 
                to this section and, to the extent possible, conform 
                their official records to be consistent with such 
                order;
                    (B) shall respond to any inquiries as though any 
                official record subject to an expungement order issued 
                pursuant to this Act does not exist; or, in the case of 
                another official record subject to an expungement order 
                and consistent with paragraph (2)(B) of section 3, 
                subsection (b)(2) of section 4, and subsection 
                (d)(4)(B) of section 5, shall respond as though that 
                other official record does not reference the expunged 
                official record in accordance with the issued court 
                order; and
                    (C) shall not disseminate, use internally, or 
                reveal the existence of expunged records for any 
                purpose, except as authorized under this Act or by 
                further order of the court issuing the expungement 
                order.
    (f) Intelligence Exception.--Notwithstanding this Act, an official 
record of an otherwise expungeable event held by the intelligence 
community may be maintained and used for intelligence purposes.

SEC. 7. ACCESS, STUDY, AND SUPPORT.

    (a) Access.--Any expungement of an individual's official record for 
an expungable event or any related sealing, sequester, and redaction of 
relevant official records pertaining to that individual, may be made 
available only--
            (1) to that individual or to such individual's designated 
        agent;
            (2) to the Director (including for support under subsection 
        (c)(1));
            (3) to the Comptroller General of the United States 
        (including for support under subsection (c)(2)) for purposes of 
        conducting the study described in subsection (b);
            (4) with regard to an official record for a felony or for a 
        misdemeanor unrelated to an expungable event, and where such 
        record has appropriate redactions of any reference to official 
        records expunged pursuant to this Act, to a criminal justice 
        agency (as defined by paragraph (1) of section 3) or 
        intelligence community member (as defined by paragraph (10) of 
        section 3), for the exclusive purpose of--
                    (A) maintaining accurate official records;
                    (B) investigating or prosecuting an individual; or
                    (C) for conducting a background check on an 
                individual who has applied for employment by such 
                criminal justice agency or intelligence community 
                member;
            (5) to the United States Department of Justice's Office of 
        Justice Programs (and its units or subunits); and
            (6) to qualified academic researchers from relevant schools 
        and centers at accredited non- profit universities and 
        colleges, for purpose of research, evaluative, or statistical 
        activities pursuant to an agreement with the Director that 
        specifically authorizes access to the information, limits the 
        use of the information to research, evaluative, or statistical 
        purposes, and ensures the confidentiality and security of the 
        information consistent with this Act and with Federal law, 
        including but not limited to, the redaction of personally 
        identifiable information.
    (b) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States, in 
consultation with the United States Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, shall conduct a study of investigation, arrests, legal 
proceedings, and any legal results or consequences, as defined by 
paragraphs (2)(A)(i) through (iii) of section 3, for Federal 
misdemeanors, petty offenses, infractions, and civil penalties.
            (1) Demographics.--Such study shall include information 
        about the age, race, ethnicity, sex, and gender identity of 
        those individuals with an official record for an expungable 
        event, as well as information about the type of community such 
        individuals dwell in and such other demographic information as 
        the Comptroller General determines should be included.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall report to Congress the results of the study 
        conducted under this subsection. In consultation with the 
        Director, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
        also report to Congress on the implementation of this Act, 
        including issues relevant to future expungement efforts (e.g., 
        expungement of Federal felonies, expungement of Federal 
        offenses for other controlled substances, models for automatic 
        record-clearing and for general expungement).

SEC. 8. INAPPLICABILITY.

    The Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) and the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app. 2 et seq.) shall not 
apply to this Act and to orders or other actions taken pursuant to it.

SEC. 9. INTERPRETATION AND SEVERABILITY.

    (a) No Preemption.--Nothing in this Act should be construed to 
preempt or supersede the laws of any State with respect to its 
authority to define and enforce the criminal law of that State, or with 
respect to any power reserved to the States respectively, or to the 
people, or with respect to the rights guaranteed to each citizen, under 
the Constitution of the United States. This Act does not annul, alter, 
or affect, or exempt any person subject to this Act from complying 
with, the laws of any State, except to the extent that those laws are 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. This Act shall not in any 
way abridge or alter the remedies now existing at common law or by 
statute, but consistent with subsection (d)(2) of section 6, the 
provisions of this Act are in addition to such remedies.
    (b) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, an amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any 
person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of 
this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the 
provisions of such to any person or circumstance shall not be affected 
thereby.
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