I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2348 

To require automatic sealing of certain criminal records, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2019 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) introduced 

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

A BILL 

To require automatic sealing of certain criminal records, 

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 ‘‘Clean Slate Act of 

5 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SEALING OF CERTAIN RECORDS. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter A of chapter 227 of 

8 title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3560. Automatic sealing of certain records 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in4 dividual who— 

5 ‘‘(A) is not a sex offender; 

6 ‘‘(B)(i) has been arrested for a Federal of7 fense; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) has been convicted of an offense 

9 under section 404 of the Controlled Substances 

10 Act (21 U.S.C. 844) or any Federal nonviolent 

11 offense involving marijuana; 

12 ‘‘(C) in the case of a conviction described 

13 in subparagraph (B)(ii), has fulfilled each re14 quirement of the sentence for the offense, in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(i) completing each term of imprison17 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) satisfying each condition of im19 prisonment, probation, or supervised re20 lease; and 

21 ‘‘(D) has not been convicted for any of22 fense related to treason, terrorism, access and 

23 transmission of sensitive defense information, 

24 or other national security related convictions; 

25 ‘‘(2) the term ‘nonviolent offense’ means an of26 fense that is not a crime of violence, as defined in 


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1 subparagraphs (A) and (C) of section 3156(a)(4); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘sex offender’ has the meaning 

4 given the term in section 111 of the Adam Walsh 

5 Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 

6 16911). 

7 ‘‘(b) AUTOMATIC SEALING FOR CERTAIN ARRESTS

8 AND NONVIOLENT OFFENSES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time of sentencing 

10 of a covered individual for a conviction pursuant to 

11 section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

12 U.S.C. 844) or of any Federal nonviolent offense in13 volving marijuana, the court shall enter an order 

14 that each record and portion thereof that relates to 

15 the offense shall be sealed automatically on the date 

16 that is one year after the covered individual fulfills 

17 each requirement of the sentence, except that such 

18 record shall not be sealed if the individual has been 

19 convicted of a subsequent criminal offense. 

20 ‘‘(2) ACQUITTAL; DETERMINATION NOT TO FILE

21 CHARGES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) ACQUITTAL.—Sixty days after the 

23 date on which a covered individual is acquitted, 

24 exonerated, or otherwise subject to a judgment 

25 which did not result in a conviction for a FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2348.IH H2348

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1 eral offense, each record or portion thereof that 

2 relates to the Federal offense shall be sealed 

3 automatically. 

4 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION NOT TO FILE

5 CHARGES.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a covered indi7 vidual is arrested for a Federal offense and 

8 the Government does not file charges 

9 against the covered individual in relation 

10 to the Federal offense before the date that 

11 is 180 days after the date on which the ar12 rest was made, each record or portion 

13 thereof that relates to the arrest and Fed14 eral offense shall be sealed automatically 

15 on such date. 

16 ‘‘(ii) UNSEALING FOR FILING OF

17 CHARGES.—At the request of the Govern18 ment, a court may unseal a record sealed 

19 under clause (i) in order for the Govern20 ment to file charges against the covered in21 dividual in relation to the Federal offense 

22 described in clause (i). 

23 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—If a record is un24 sealed under clause (ii), the record may 

25 only be resealed in accordance with subVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2348.IH H2348

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1 paragraph (A), paragraph (1), or para2 graph (2). 

3 ‘‘(c) NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC SEALING.—Not later 

4 than 60 days after an individual is arrested for a Federal 

5 offense, the Attorney General shall, in writing, inform the 

6 individual of the automatic sealing of records and the ef7 fect of such sealing under this section. 

8 ‘‘(d) EFFECT OF SEALING ORDER.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION FROM ACCESS.—Except as 

10 provided in paragraph (3), a record that has been 

11 sealed under subsection (b) shall not be accessible to 

12 any person. 

13 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION FROM PERJURY LAWS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (B), a covered individual with re16 spect to whom a record has been sealed under 

17 subsection (b) shall not be required to disclose 

18 such information, and shall not be subject to 

19 prosecution under any civil or criminal provi20 sion of Federal or State law relating to perjury, 

21 false swearing, or making a false statement, in22 cluding under section 1001, 1621, 1622, or 

23 1623, for failing to recite or acknowledge any 

24 information that has been sealed with respect to 

25 the offense, or respond to any inquiry made of 


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1 the covered individual, relating to the protected 

2 information. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A covered individual 

4 shall disclose information contained in a record 

5 that has been sealed under subsection (b)— 

6 ‘‘(i) when testifying in court; 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the course of questioning by a 

8 law enforcement officer in connection with 

9 a subsequent criminal investigation; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) in connection with employment 

11 described in subclause (I) or (II) of para12 graph (3)(A)(ii) that the individual is seek13 ing. 

14 ‘‘(3) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—Except as pro15 vided in paragraph (4), a sealed record of a covered 

16 individual shall not be included in any background 

17 check conducted on the covered individual. 

18 ‘‘(4) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COURT EXCEP19 TION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) ACCESS.—An officer or employee of a 

21 law enforcement agency or a court may access 

22 a sealed record of a covered individual in the 

23 possession of the agency or court, or another 

24 law enforcement agency or court, solely— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for investigatory or prosecutorial 

2 purposes; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) for a background check that re4 lates to— 

5 ‘‘(I) employment with a law en6 forcement agency; or 

7 ‘‘(II) any position that a Federal 

8 agency designates as a— 

9 ‘‘(aa) national security posi10 tion; or 

11 ‘‘(bb) high-risk, public trust 

12 position. 

13 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE.—An officer or em14 ployee of a law enforcement agency or a court 

15 may disclose information contained in a sealed 

16 record only in order to carry out the purposes 

17 described in subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(e) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly ac20 cesses or discloses information contained in a sealed 

21 record in a manner that is prohibited under this sec22 tion, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for 

23 not more than 1 year, or both. 

24 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

25 this subsection prevents a covered individual or an 


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1 individual who was the victim of an offense from ac2 cessing or disclosing information contained in a 

3 sealed record. 

4 ‘‘(f) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall, by 

5 rule, establish a process to ensure that any record in the 

6 possession of a Federal agency required to be sealed under 

7 this section, is automatically sealed in accordance with this 

8 section. 

9 ‘‘(g) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to an 

10 arrest or conviction that occurred or was entered before, 

11 on, or after the date of enactment of this section. Not later 

12 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this sec13 tion, the Attorney General shall ensure that any record 

14 related to an arrest or conviction that occurred or was en15 tered prior to the automatic sealing of such a record, 

16 which record is required to be sealed under this section, 

17 is so sealed. 

18 ‘‘(h) EMPLOYER IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY.—An 

19 employer who employs or otherwise engages an individual 

20 whose criminal records were sealed pursuant to this sec21 tion shall be immune from liability for any claim arising 

22 out of the misconduct of the individual, if the misconduct 

23 relates to the portion of the criminal records that were 

24 sealed pursuant to this section. 

25 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrative Office 

2 of the United States Courts may enter into a con3 tract with or make grants to an organization with 

4 expertise in creating digital and technological sys5 tems to develop an efficient and effective process for 

6 automatically sealing records in accordance with this 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to 

10 $2,000,000 to carry out this subsection. 

11 ‘‘§ 3561. Sealing of certain records upon petition 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered nonviolent offense’ 

14 means a Federal criminal offense that is not— 

15 ‘‘(A) a crime of violence (as defined in sub16 paragraphs (A) and (C) of section 3156(a)(4)); 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(B) a sex offense (as that term is defined 

19 in section 111 of the Sex Offender Registration 

20 and Notification Act (42 U.S.C. 16911)); 

21 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible individual’ means an in22 dividual who— 

23 ‘‘(A) has been convicted of a covered non24 violent offense; 


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1 ‘‘(B) has fulfilled each requirement of the 

2 sentence for the covered nonviolent offense, in3 cluding— 

4 ‘‘(i) completing each term of imprison5 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) satisfying each condition of im7 prisonment, probation, or supervised re8 lease; 

9 ‘‘(C) has not been convicted of more than 

10 2 felonies that are covered nonviolent offenses, 

11 including any such convictions that have been 

12 sealed (except that for purposes of this sub13 paragraph, two or more felony convictions that 

14 are covered nonviolent offenses arising out of 

15 the same act, or acts committed at the same 

16 time, shall be treated as one felony conviction); 

17 ‘‘(D) has not been convicted of any felony 

18 that is not a covered nonviolent offense; and 

19 ‘‘(E) has not been convicted for any of20 fense related to treason, terrorism, access and 

21 transmission of sensitive defense information, 

22 or other national security related convictions; 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘petitioner’ means an individual 

24 who files a sealing petition; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘protected information’, with re2 spect to a covered nonviolent offense, means any ref3 erence to— 

4 ‘‘(A) an arrest, conviction, or sentence of 

5 an individual for the offense; 

6 ‘‘(B) the institution of criminal pro7 ceedings against an individual for the offense; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(C) the result of criminal proceedings de10 scribed in subparagraph (B); 

11 ‘‘(5) the term ‘sealing hearing’ means a hearing 

12 held under subsection (c)(2); and 

13 ‘‘(6) the term ‘sealing petition’ means a petition 

14 for a sealing order filed under subsection (b). 

15 ‘‘(b) RIGHT TO FILE SEALING PETITION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date that 

17 is 1 year after the date on which the eligible indi18 vidual has fulfilled each requirement described in 

19 subsection (a)(2)(B), an eligible individual may file 

20 a petition for a sealing order with respect to a cov21 ered nonviolent offense in a district court of the 

22 United States. 

23 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO FILE PETI24 TION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an individual is 

2 convicted of a covered nonviolent offense and 

3 will potentially be eligible to file a sealing peti4 tion with respect to the offense upon fulfilling 

5 each requirement of the sentence for the offense 

6 as described in subsection (a)(2)(B), the court 

7 in which the individual is convicted shall, in 

8 writing, inform the individual, on each date de9 scribed in subparagraph (B), of— 

10 ‘‘(i) that potential eligibility; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the necessary procedures for fil12 ing the sealing petition; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) the benefits of sealing a record. 

14 ‘‘(B) DATES.—The dates described in this 

15 subparagraph are— 

16 ‘‘(i) the date on which the individual 

17 is convicted; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the individual 

19 has completed every term of imprisonment, 

20 probation, or supervised release relating to 

21 the offense. 

22 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION TO PROSECUTOR.—If an in24 dividual files a petition under subsection (b), the disVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2348.IH H2348

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1 trict court in which the petition is filed shall provide 

2 notice of the petition— 

3 ‘‘(A) to the office of the United States at4 torney that prosecuted the petitioner for the of5 fense; and 

6 ‘‘(B) upon the request of the petitioner, to 

7 any other individual that the petitioner deter8 mines may testify as to the— 

9 ‘‘(i) conduct of the petitioner since the 

10 date of the offense; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) reasons that the sealing order 

12 should be entered. 

13 ‘‘(2) HEARING.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date on which an individual files 

16 a sealing petition, the district court shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subpara18 graph (D), conduct a hearing in accord19 ance with subparagraph (B); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) determine whether to enter a 

21 sealing order for the individual in accord22 ance with paragraph (3). 

23 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY AND

24 OFFER EVIDENCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) PETITIONER.—The petitioner 

2 may testify or offer evidence at the sealing 

3 hearing in support of sealing. 

4 ‘‘(ii) PROSECUTOR.—The office of a 

5 United States attorney that receives notice 

6 under paragraph (1)(A) may send a rep7 resentative to testify or offer evidence at 

8 the sealing hearing in support of or 

9 against sealing. 

10 ‘‘(iii) OTHER INDIVIDUALS.—An indi11 vidual who receives notice under paragraph 

12 (1)(B) may testify or offer evidence at the 

13 sealing hearing as to the issues described 

14 in clauses (i) and (ii) of that paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(C) MAGISTRATE JUDGES.—A magistrate 

16 judge may preside over a hearing under this 

17 paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(D) WAIVER OF HEARING.—If the peti19 tioner and the United States attorney that re20 ceives notice under paragraph (1)(A) so agree, 

21 the court shall make a determination under 

22 paragraph (3) without a hearing. 

23 ‘‘(3) BASIS FOR DECISION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining wheth25 er to enter a sealing order with respect to proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:58 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2348.IH H2348

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1 tected information relating to a covered non2 violent offense, the court— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall consider— 

4 ‘‘(I) the petition and any docu5 ments in the possession of the court; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) all the evidence and testi8 mony presented at the sealing hear9 ing, if such a hearing is conducted; 

10 ‘‘(ii) may not consider any non-Fed11 eral nonviolent crimes for which the peti12 tioner has been arrested or proceeded 

13 against, or of which the petitioner has been 

14 convicted; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) shall balance— 

16 ‘‘(I)(aa) the interest of public 

17 knowledge and safety; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) the legitimate interest, if 

19 any, of the Government in maintain20 ing the accessibility of the protected 

21 information, including any potential 

22 impact of sealing the protected infor23 mation on Federal licensure, permit, 

24 or employment restrictions; against 


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1 ‘‘(II)(aa) the conduct and dem2 onstrated desire of the petitioner to be 

3 rehabilitated and positively contribute 

4 to the community; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) the interest of the peti6 tioner in having the protected infor7 mation sealed, including the harm of 

8 the protected information to the abil9 ity of the petitioner to secure and 

10 maintain employment. 

11 ‘‘(B) BURDEN ON GOVERNMENT.—The 

12 burden shall be on the Government to show 

13 that the interests under subclause (I) of sub14 paragraph (A)(iii) outweigh the interests of the 

15 petitioner under subclause (II) of that subpara16 graph. 

17 ‘‘(4) WAITING PERIOD AFTER DENIAL.—If the 

18 district court denies a sealing petition, the petitioner 

19 may not file a new sealing petition with respect to 

20 the same offense until the date that is 2 years after 

21 the date of the denial. 

22 ‘‘(5) UNIVERSAL FORM.—The Director of the 

23 Administrative Office of the United States Courts 

24 shall create a universal form, available over the 


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1 Internet and in paper form, that an individual may 

2 use to file a sealing petition. 

3 ‘‘(6) FEE WAIVER.—The Director of the Ad4 ministrative Office of the United States Courts shall 

5 by regulation establish a minimally burdensome 

6 process under which indigent petitioners may obtain 

7 a waiver of any fee for filing a sealing petition. 

8 ‘‘(7) EFFECT OF SEALING.—Subsections (d) 

9 and (e) of section 3560 shall apply to any record 

10 that is sealed under this section. 

11 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC DEFENDER ELIGIBILITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The district court 

13 may, in its discretion, appoint counsel in ac14 cordance with the plan of the district court in 

15 operation under section 3006A to represent a 

16 petitioner for purposes of this section. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a de18 termination whether to appoint counsel under 

19 subparagraph (A), the court shall consider— 

20 ‘‘(i) the anticipated complexity of the 

21 sealing hearing, including the number and 

22 type of witnesses called to advocate against 

23 the sealing of the protected information of 

24 the petitioner; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the potential for adverse testi2 mony by a victim or a representative of the 

3 office of the United States attorney. 

4 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion may be construed to require a covered individual (as 

6 such term is defined in section 3560) to submit a sealing 

7 petition with respect to records required to be automati8 cally sealed under section 3560. 

9 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—Not later than 2 years after the 

10 date of enactment of this section, and each year there11 after, each district court of the United States shall issue 

12 a public report that— 

13 ‘‘(1) describes— 

14 ‘‘(A) the number of sealing petitions grant15 ed and denied under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the number of instances in which the 

17 office of a United States attorney supported or 

18 opposed a sealing petition; 

19 ‘‘(2) includes any supporting data that the 

20 court determines relevant and that does not name 

21 any petitioner; and 

22 ‘‘(3) disaggregates all relevant data by race, 

23 ethnicity, gender, and the nature of the offense. 

24 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYER IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY.—An 

25 employer who employs or otherwise engages an individual 


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1 whose criminal records were sealed pursuant to this sec2 tion shall be immune from liability for any claim arising 

3 out of the misconduct of the individual, if the misconduct 

4 relates to the portion of the criminal records that were 

5 sealed pursuant to this section.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

7 subchapter A of chapter 227 of title 18, United States 

8 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

9 section 3559 the following: 

‘‘3560. Automatic sealing of certain records. 

‘‘3561. Sealing of certain records upon petition.’’. 

Æ 


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