I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8917 

To amend Federal law to create an expungement mechanism and a process 

to petition for expungement for low-level violations of the Controlled 

Substances Act as it relates to marijuana, to study the impact of 

expungements issued, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 2, 2024 

Mr. CARTER of Louisiana (for himself and Mr. ARMSTRONG) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend Federal law to create an expungement mechanism 

and a process to petition for expungement for low-level 

violations of the Controlled Substances Act as it relates 

to marijuana, to study the impact of expungements 

issued, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marijuana Mis5 demeanor Expungement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8917 IH

1 (1) CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘‘criminal justice agency’’ means— 

3 (A) a Federal or State court; 

4 (B) a governmental agency or any subunit 

5 thereof that— 

6 (i) performs the administration of 

7 criminal justice pursuant to a statute or 

8 Executive order, and allocates a substan9 tial part of its annual budget to the admin10 istration of criminal justice; 

11 (ii) is designated by Congress, the 

12 President, the Attorney General of the 

13 United States, the Federal Bureau of In14 vestigation, or other appropriate Federal 

15 official, to perform centralized record16 keeping functions for official records, in17 cluding the collection, storage, mainte18 nance, updating, and dissemination of such 

19 records and responding to requests for in20 formation in or about such records; or 

21 (iii) is designated by the Governor or 

22 other appropriate executive official or the 

23 legislature of a State to perform central24 ized recordkeeping functions for official 

25 records, including the collection, storage, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8917 IH

1 maintenance, updating, and dissemination 

2 of such records and responding to requests 

3 for information in or about such records; 

4 and 

5 (C) a Federal or State inspector general in 

6 his or her review of other criminal justice agen7 cies. 

8 (2) OFFICIAL RECORD.— 

9 (A) The term ‘‘official record’’ means any 

10 documentation or other information on an indi11 vidual, in electronic or physical form, consisting 

12 of identifiable descriptions or notations by 

13 criminal justice agencies about that individual, 

14 regarding— 

15 (i) detection activities, investigations 

16 (including police questioning and searches 

17 and seizures), and arrests conducted by 

18 criminal justice agencies, as well as their 

19 decisions not to refer cases for legal pro20 ceedings; 

21 (ii) institution of legal proceedings by 

22 indictment, complaint, information, other 

23 formal criminal charge, summons or cita24 tion, and notice of civil penalty; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8917 IH

1 (iii) legal results or consequences of 

2 clauses (i) and (ii), including court-ordered 

3 detention, pretrial and post-trial release, 

4 diversion, non-prosecution or deferred 

5 prosecution, deferred adjudication, pleas 

6 (e.g., not-guilty pleas, guilty pleas, and 

7 nolo contendere), nolle prosequi, com8 petence findings, dismissal, acquittal, con9 viction, mistrial, juvenile adjudication, sen10 tencing, correctional supervision, rehabili11 tation, probation, parole, release, and civil 

12 penalty. 

13 (B) The term does not include identifica14 tion information, such as fingerprint records, if 

15 such information does not indicate involvement 

16 of the individual with an ‘‘expungable event’’ as 

17 defined by subsection (a)(8). 

18 (3) EXPUNGE.—The term ‘‘expunge’’ means to 

19 remove an official record and any references to such 

20 record in another official record (including an offi21 cial index or list) or in other public records, except 

22 for publicly available court opinions and legal briefs. 

23 (4) SEAL.—The term ‘‘seal’’ means to store se24 curely any expunged records possessed by the court 

25 issuing the expungement order to prevent access to 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8917 IH

1 such records except pursuant to subsection (e) or by 

2 further order of the court. 

3 (5) SEQUESTER.—The term ‘‘sequester’’ means 

4 to retain an unaltered nonpublic copy of an official 

5 record and any other record or index subject to an 

6 expungement order, and to store such records in a 

7 separate, secure area to prevent access to those 

8 records except pursuant to subsection (e) or by fur9 ther order of the court issuing the expungement 

10 order. 

11 (6) REDACT.—The term ‘‘redact’’ means to re12 move or obscure from an official record any ref13 erences to an expunged record, including, as nec14 essary and consistent with subsection (a)(2)(B), any 

15 identifying information. 

16 (7) MARIJUANA.—The term ‘‘marijuana’’ 

17 means the substance defined as ‘‘marihuana’’ in 21 

18 U.S.C. 802(16) and also defined or referred to as 

19 ‘‘marijuana’’ (e.g., 18 U.S.C. 1791(d)(1)(B), 21 

20 U.S.C. 863(d)) and ‘‘tetrahydrocannabinols’’ (e.g., 

21 21 U.S.C. 812(c)). 

22 (8) EXPUNGABLE EVENT.— 

23 (A) The term ‘‘expungable event’’ means 

24 an arrest, the initiation of legal proceedings, 

25 and any legal results or consequences, as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Aug 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8917.IH H8917

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8917 IH

1 fined by subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii), for vio2 lating, attempting to violate, or conspiring to 

3 violate the following, as well as sentencing (in4 cluding probation) and imposition of civil pen5 alty pursuant to the following: 

6 (i) 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(4). 

7 (ii) 21 U.S.C. 842(c)(2), where the 

8 controlled substance was marijuana. 

9 (iii) 21 U.S.C. 844(a), where the con10 trolled substance was marijuana. 

11 (iv) 21 U.S.C. 844a, where the con12 trolled substance was marijuana. 

13 (v) 18 U.S.C. 13, where the under14 lying act or omission involves marijuana, 

15 including marijuana-related drug para16 phernalia (as defined by 21 U.S.C. 863), 

17 and results in a Federal misdemeanor or 

18 civil penalty. 

19 (vi) 18 U.S.C. 3607, where the con20 trolled substance was marijuana. 

21 (vii) Any other Federal misdemeanor, 

22 petty offense, infraction, or civil penalty in23 volving marijuana, including marijuana-re24 lated drug paraphernalia, in which the con25 duct constituting the offense did not inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Aug 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8917.IH H8917

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 8917 IH

1 volve the use, attempted use, or threatened 

2 use of physical force against the person or 

3 property of another. 

4 (B) To be considered an expungable event 

5 for purposes of subsections (b) and (c)— 

6 (i) at least one year must have passed 

7 since the date of the arrest or since the 

8 last docket entry in the case (except for 

9 technical or unrelated entries and other 

10 minor issues, as determined by the court), 

11 whichever is latest; and 

12 (ii) the court must not have been in13 formed by the Attorney General of the 

14 United States, the United States Attorney 

15 for the relevant district, the Federal Bu16 reau of Investigation, or another Federal 

17 criminal justice agency, that the case is on18 going or the individual has evaded prosecu19 tion. 

20 SEC. 3. COURT REVIEW FOR EXPUNGEMENT. 

21 (a) PROCEDURES.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of the enactment of this section, the Chief Justice 

23 of the United States shall promulgate procedures or prac24 tices for the review, expungement, sealing, sequester, and 

25 redaction of official records pursuant to and consistent 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 8917 IH

1 with this section, and to facilitate the study of such 

2 records pursuant to subsection (e). In determining such 

3 procedures or practices, the Chief Justice of the United 

4 States and his or her designees—which, at the discretion 

5 of the Chief Justice, may include the Administrative Office 

6 of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, 

7 and the Judicial Conference of the United States—may 

8 consult with relevant entities, including the Attorney Gen9 eral of the United States and his or her designees (includ10 ing Federal Bureau of Prisons and any agency, as defined 

11 by 18 U.S.C. 6, within the United States Department of 

12 Justice), representatives of the United States Sentencing 

13 Commission, representatives of the Federal Defenders Or14 ganizations, nonpartisan scholars and subject-matter ex15 perts, and, for purposes of subsection (e), the Comptroller 

16 General of the United States and his or her designees. 

17 (b) REVIEW.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

18 of the enactment of this section, each Federal district shall 

19 conduct a comprehensive review and issue an order 

20 expunging, sealing, and sequestering— 

21 (1) each official record for an expungable event; 

22 and 

23 (2) other official record(s) related to or ref24 erencing an expungable event, unless such other offi25 cial record is for or related to a felony or a misVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Aug 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8917.IH H8917

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 8917 IH

1 demeanor unrelated to marijuana, in which case the 

2 court shall redact from such other official record any 

3 reference to the expunged official record, and seal or 

4 order the sequester of an unaltered nonpublic copy 

5 of such other official record. 

6 (c) NOTIFICATION OF EXPUNGEMENT.— 

7 (1) GOVERNMENT.—Not later than 7 days after 

8 issuing an expungement order, to notify affected 

9 criminal justice agencies and to facilitate the timely 

10 update of relevant records, the court shall send a 

11 copy of the final order to— 

12 (A) the Attorney General of the United 

13 States, the United States Attorney for that dis14 trict, and the relevant criminal justice agency 

15 (as defined by subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)); and 

16 (B) the relevant criminal justice agency (as 

17 defined by subsection (a)(1)(B)(iii)) that serves 

18 the jurisdiction in which the expungable event 

19 occurred or, if no such agency exists, the chief 

20 law enforcement officer of the State in which 

21 the expungable event occurred. 

22 (2) INDIVIDUALS.— 

23 (A) Pursuant to procedures or practices 

24 established under subsection (b)(1)— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 8917 IH

1 (i) notification about the expungement 

2 of official record(s) and the effect of such 

3 expungement shall be provided to individ4 uals whose arrest, legal proceedings, and 

5 any legal results or consequences, as de6 fined by subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii), have 

7 been expunged; and/or 

8 (ii) a reasonable process shall be 

9 available so that such individuals may in10 quire as to whether an arrest, legal pro11 ceedings, and any legal results or con12 sequences have been expunged and, if so, 

13 the effect of such expungement. 

14 (B) Upon motion or written request of an 

15 individual whose arrest, legal proceedings, and 

16 any legal results or consequences, as defined by 

17 subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii), have been ex18 punged pursuant to this subsection, the court 

19 shall send a copy of the final order to— 

20 (i) the relevant criminal justice agency 

21 (as defined by subsection (a)(1)(B)(iii)) 

22 that serves the jurisdiction in which the in23 dividual resides or, if no such agency ex24 ists, the chief law enforcement officer of 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 8917 IH

1 the State in which the individual resides; 

2 and 

3 (ii) any local law enforcement agency 

4 that serves the jurisdiction in which the in5 dividual resides. 

6 (3) NO NEW RECORDS.—Any notifications pur7 suant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be or be8 come publicly accessible records that identify the in9 dividual subject of the expungement order, and such 

10 notifications shall not be used by criminal justice 

11 agencies except for purposes of complying with this 

12 section and court orders issued pursuant to it. 

13 (d) APPEAL.—The Attorney General of the United 

14 States and the United States Attorney for the district 

15 from which the expungement order was issued may appeal 

16 an order, within 60 days of its issuance, to the United 

17 States Circuit Court of Appeals for that district. 

18 SEC. 4. PETITIONING COURT FOR EXPUNGEMENT. 

19 (a) PETITION.—At any point after the date of enact20 ment of this section, any individual with an official record 

21 for an expungable event may file a motion for 

22 expungement in the court for the Federal district in which 

23 the arrest, legal proceedings, and any legal results or con24 sequences, as defined by subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii), was 

25 obtained. A petition filed pro se shall be construed liberally 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 8917 IH

1 so as to ensure substantial justice (see, e.g., Erickson v. 

2 Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (per curiam)). 

3 (b) SERVICE AND RESPONSE.—The clerk of the court 

4 shall serve that petition on the United States Attorney for 

5 that district. Not later than 60 days after service of such 

6 petition, the United States Attorney may submit a re7 sponse to the Petitioner’s motion. 

8 (c) REPRESENTATION AND FEES.—No fee shall be 

9 imposed for filing a petition in any proceeding provided 

10 for under this subsection. If an indigent Petitioner sub11 mits a facially viable claim for expungement that nonethe12 less requires the assistance of legal counsel for purposes 

13 of filing a superseding petition, presenting evidence in sup14 port of the petition, or responding to the Government, 

15 counsel shall be appointed to represent the individual in 

16 proceedings under this subsection. 

17 (d) EVIDENCE AND STANDARD OF PROOF.—The Pe18 titioner and the Government may file with the court rel19 evant evidence relating to the petition. Notwithstanding 

20 any Federal rule of evidence or procedure, the court shall 

21 have discretion in admitting and evaluating the petition 

22 and any evidence submitted by a Petitioner pro se (cf. 

23 Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972)). The Peti24 tioner bears the initial burden to establish a prima facie 

25 case that the official record in question is for an 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 8917 IH

1 expungable event, at which point the burden shifts to the 

2 Government to establish by a preponderance of the evi3 dence that the official record is not for an expungable 

4 event or the requirements for expungement have not been 

5 met. If the Government fails to meet this burden, or if 

6 the Government fails to respond to the petition, the court 

7 shall enter an appropriate expungement order unless it 

8 finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the interests 

9 of justice and of public safety weigh against expungement. 

10 (e) EXPUNGEMENT ORDER.—If required under this 

11 section, the court shall order the expungement, sealing, 

12 sequester, and redaction of official records of the arrest, 

13 legal proceedings, and any legal results or consequences, 

14 as defined by subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii). The court may 

15 also order the expungement, sealing, sequester, and redac16 tion of another official record related to or referencing an 

17 expungable event, unless such other official record is for 

18 or related to a felony or a misdemeanor unrelated to mari19 juana, in which case the court shall redact from such other 

20 official record any reference to the expunged official 

21 record, and seal or order the sequester of an unaltered 

22 nonpublic copy of such other official record. 

23 (f) NOTIFICATION OF EXPUNGEMENT.— 

24 (1) Not later than 7 days after granting an 

25 expungement petition, to facilitate the timely update 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 8917 IH

1 of relevant records, the court shall send a copy of 

2 the petition and final order to— 

3 (A) the Attorney General of the United 

4 States, the United States Attorney for that dis5 trict, and the relevant criminal justice agency 

6 (as defined by subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)); and 

7 (B) the relevant criminal justice agency (as 

8 defined by subsection (a)(1)(B)(iii)) that serves 

9 the jurisdiction in which the expungable event 

10 occurred or, if no such agency exists, the chief 

11 law enforcement officer of the State in which 

12 the expungable event occurred. 

13 (2) Upon motion or written request of a Peti14 tioner whose expungement petition was granted, the 

15 court shall send a copy of the petition and final 

16 order to— 

17 (A) the relevant criminal justice agency (as 

18 defined by subsection (a)(1)(B)(iii)) that serves 

19 the jurisdiction in which the Petitioner resides 

20 or, if no such agency exists, the chief law en21 forcement officer of the State in which the Peti22 tioner resides, when such criminal justice agen23 cy or chief law enforcement officer is different 

24 from those notified pursuant to subsection 

25 (c)(6)(A)(ii)); and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 8917 IH

1 (B) any local law enforcement agency that 

2 serves the jurisdiction in which the Petitioner 

3 resides. 

4 (3) Notifications pursuant to this subsection 

5 shall not be or become publicly accessible records 

6 about the expungable event, including information 

7 identifying the individual subject of the expungement 

8 order; and such notifications shall not be used by 

9 criminal justice agencies except for purposes of com10 plying with this section and court orders issued pur11 suant to it. 

12 (g) APPEAL.—The Attorney General of the United 

13 States and the United States Attorney for the district in 

14 which the expungement order was issued may appeal an 

15 order within 60 days of its issuance to the United States 

16 Circuit Court of Appeals for that district. Within 60 days 

17 of the denial of his or her petition, the Petitioner may 

18 appeal that denial to the United States Circuit Court of 

19 Appeals for that district. 

20 SEC. 5. EFFECT OF EXPUNGEMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—An order of expungement shall re22 store the affected individual, in the contemplation of the 

23 law, to the status he or she occupied before such arrest, 

24 legal proceedings, and any legal results or consequences, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 8917 IH

1 as defined by subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii), for an 

2 expungable event. 

3 (b) SELF-DISCLOSURE.—An affected individual may 

4 treat the expunged arrest, legal proceedings, and any legal 

5 results or consequences, as defined by subsection 

6 (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii), as if it never occurred and shall not be 

7 held thereafter under any provision of law to be guilty of 

8 perjury, false swearing, or making a false statement for 

9 failure to disclose, recite, or acknowledge such official 

10 record. 

11 (c) DISQUALIFICATION.—The fact that an individual 

12 has an official record, including a conviction, for an 

13 expungable event shall not operate as a disqualification 

14 of such individual to pursue or engage in any lawful activ15 ity, occupation, or profession. 

16 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 

17 (1) Expungement under this section does not 

18 include an official record of conduct constituting a 

19 felony or a misdemeanor unrelated to marijuana, 

20 and such official record may be accessed, with any 

21 redactions, pursuant to this section or by further 

22 order of the court issuing the expungement order. 

23 (2) Nothing in this section is intended to create 

24 a right to compensation, restitution, or any other 

25 monetary damages. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 8917 IH

1 (e) COMPLIANCE.— 

2 (1) This section and courts orders issued pursu3 ant to it shall apply to— 

4 (A) criminal justice agencies in the Federal 

5 Government; 

6 (B) other Federal agencies in possession of 

7 expunged documents or related official docu8 ments; 

9 (C) State criminal justice agencies subject 

10 to Federal law, due to the powers delegated to 

11 the Federal Government by the Constitution of 

12 the United States, due to voluntary agreement 

13 of the relevant State, and/or due to that State’s 

14 acceptance of relevant Federal funding— 

15 (i) where such Federal law may in16 clude in relevant part: 28 CFR 0.85(j); 28 

17 CFR part 20 (Criminal Justice Informa18 tion Systems); 28 CFR part 23 (Criminal 

19 Intelligence Systems Operating Policies); 

20 28 CFR part 25(A) (The National Instant 

21 Criminal Background Check System); 28 

22 CFR 50.12 (Exchange of FBI identifica23 tion records); 5 U.S.C. 9101; 18 U.S.C. 

24 922; 28 U.S.C. 534; 34 U.S.C. chapter 

25 101 (Justice System Improvement); 34 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 8917 IH

1 U.S.C. chapter 403 (Criminal Justice 

2 Identification, Information, and Commu3 nication); 34 U.S.C. chapter 409 (National 

4 Instant Criminal Background Check Sys5 tem); 34 U.S.C. chapter 411 (Access to 

6 Criminal History and Identification 

7 Records); 34 U.S.C. 40102; 34 U.S.C. 

8 40743; 34 U.S.C. 12592(d); and 

9 (ii) where such Federal law and its 

10 application are consistent with relevant de11 cisions of the Supreme Court of the United 

12 States, including: South Dakota v. Dole, 

13 483 U.S. 203 (1987); New York v. United 

14 States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992); Printz v. 

15 United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997); Reno 

16 v. Condon, 528 U.S. 141 (2000); National 

17 Federation of Independent Business v. 

18 Sebelius, 567 U.S. 519 (2012); and Mur19 phy v. National Collegiate Athletic Associa20 tion, 138 S. Ct. 1461 (2018); and 

21 (D) any consumer credit agency (as de22 fined by 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) subject to the 

23 Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681 et 

24 seq. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 8917 IH

1 (2) Individuals, agencies, and other entities or 

2 organizations covered by subsection (d)(4)(A)— 

3 (A) shall comply with a court order issued 

4 pursuant to this section and, to the extent pos5 sible, conform their official records to be con6 sistent with such order; 

7 (B) shall respond to any inquiries as 

8 though the expunged records do not exist; and 

9 (C) shall not disseminate, use internally, or 

10 reveal the existence of expunged records for any 

11 purpose, except as authorized under this section 

12 or by further order of the court issuing the 

13 expungement order. 

14 SEC. 6. ACCESS, STUDY, AND SUPPORT. 

15 (a) ACCESS.—Any expungement of an individual’s of16 ficial record for an expungable event or any related seal17 ing, sequester, and redaction of relevant records per18 taining to that individual, may be made available only— 

19 (1) to that individual or to such individual’s 

20 designated agent; 

21 (2) to the Chief Justice of the United States 

22 and his or her designees (including for support 

23 under subsection (e)(3)(A)); 

24 (3) to the Comptroller General of the United 

25 States and his or her designees (including for supVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Aug 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8917.IH H8917

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 8917 IH

1 port under subsection (e)(3)(B)) for purposes of 

2 conducting the study described in subsection (e)(3); 

3 (4) to a criminal justice agency (as defined by 

4 subsection (a)(1)), for the exclusive purpose of— 

5 (A) maintaining accurate official records; 

6 and 

7 (B) investigating or prosecuting an indi8 vidual or for conducting a background check on 

9 an individual who has applied for employment 

10 by such criminal justice agency, but only when 

11 the relevant official record is of conduct consti12 tuting a felony or a misdemeanor unrelated to 

13 marijuana and such record has appropriate 

14 redactions of any reference to official records 

15 expunged pursuant to this section; and 

16 (5) to the United States Department of Jus17 tice’s Office of Justice Programs (and its units or 

18 subunits), and to qualified academic researchers 

19 from relevant schools and centers at accredited non20 profit universities and colleges, for purpose of re21 search, evaluative, or statistical activities pursuant 

22 to an agreement with the Chief Justice of the 

23 United States and his or her designees (including 

24 the Administrative Office of the United States 

25 Courts) that specifically authorizes access to the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Aug 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8917.IH H8917

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 8917 IH

1 formation, limits the use of the information to re2 search, evaluative, or statistical purposes, and in3 sures the confidentiality and security of the informa4 tion consistent with this section and with Federal 

5 law. 

6 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

7 States, in consultation with the United States Secretary 

8 of Health and Human Services, shall conduct a study of 

9 arrests, legal proceedings, and any legal results or con10 sequences, as defined by subsection (a)(2)(A)(i)–(iii), for 

11 Federal marijuana-related misdemeanors, petty offenses, 

12 infractions, and civil penalties. 

13 (1) DEMOGRAPHICS.—Such study shall include 

14 information about the age, race, ethnicity, sex, and 

15 gender identity of those individuals with an official 

16 record for an expungable event, as well as informa17 tion about the type of community such individuals 

18 dwell in and such other demographic information as 

19 the Comptroller General determines should be in20 cluded. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

22 date of the enactment of this section, the Comp23 troller General of the United States shall report to 

24 Congress the results of the study conducted under 

25 this subsection. In consultation with the Chief JusVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Aug 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8917.IH H8917

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 8917 IH

1 tice of the Supreme Court, the Comptroller General 

2 of the United States shall also report to Congress on 

3 the implementation of this section, including issues 

4 relevant to future expungement efforts (e.g., 

5 expungement of Federal marijuana-related felonies, 

6 expungement of Federal offenses for other controlled 

7 substances, models for automatic record-clearing and 

8 for general expungement). 

9 (c) SUPPORT.—In addition to Federal funding and 

10 other resources afforded for staffing and implementation 

11 of this section— 

12 (1) at the discretion of the Chief Justice of the 

13 United States and his or her designees (including 

14 the court for the district at issue) and pursuant to 

15 rules and procedures established by the Chief Jus16 tice, legal researchers and law students from eligible 

17 nonprofit law schools accredited by the American 

18 Bar Association, as well as academic researchers and 

19 students from other relevant schools and centers at 

20 accredited nonprofit colleges and universities, may 

21 be retained (including on a pro bono basis) to con22 duct research and provide other support for the im23 plementation of this section; and 

24 (2) at the discretion of the Comptroller General 

25 of the United States and his or her designees and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 8917 IH

1 pursuant to rules and procedures established by the 

2 Comptroller General, legal researchers and law stu3 dents from eligible nonprofit law schools accredited 

4 by the American Bar Association, as well as aca5 demic researchers and students from other relevant 

6 schools and centers at accredited nonprofit colleges 

7 and universities, may be retained (including on a pro 

8 bono basis) to conduct research and provide other 

9 support for the study described in subsection (e)(2). 

10 SEC. 7. PARDON REFERRAL. 

11 After issuing an order of expungement under sub12 section (b) or subsection (c), upon a finding of good cause, 

13 the court may refer the case or petition to the President 

14 of the United States and his or her designees (including 

15 the Pardon Attorney of the United States, notwith16 standing 28 CFR part 1 (Executive Clemency)), for review 

17 consistent with the authority granted to the President 

18 under article II, section 2 of the Constitution of the 

19 United States. 

20 SEC. 8. INAPPLICABILITY. 

21 The Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 551 et 

22 seq., and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. 

23 Appendix, shall not apply to this section and to orders or 

24 other actions taken pursuant to it. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 8917 IH

1 SEC. 9. INTERPRETATION AND SEVERABILITY. 

2 (a) Nothing in this section should be construed to 

3 preempt or supersede the laws of any State with respect 

4 to its authority to define and enforce the criminal law of 

5 that State, or with respect to any power reserved to the 

6 States respectively, or to the people, or to any citizen as 

7 a right, under the Constitution of the United States. This 

8 section does not annul, alter, or affect, or exempt any per9 son subject to this section from complying with, the laws 

10 of any State, except to the extent that those laws are in11 consistent with the provisions of this section, and then 

12 only to the extent of the inconsistency. This section shall 

13 not in any way abridge or alter the remedies now existing 

14 at common law or by statute, but consistent with sub15 section (d)(3)(B), the provisions of this section are in ad16 dition to such remedies. 

17 (b) If any provision of this section or the application 

18 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 

19 remainder of this section, or the application of that provi20 sion to persons or circumstances other than those as to 

21 which it is held invalid, is not affected thereby. 

22 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

24 take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS