I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6129 

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States and units 

of local government to reduce the financial and administrative burden 

of expunging convictions for cannabis offenses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 2, 2021 

Mr. JOYCE of Ohio (for himself and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced the 

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

A BILL 

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States 

and units of local government to reduce the financial 

and administrative burden of expunging convictions for 

cannabis offenses, 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 ‘‘Harnessing Opportuni5 ties by Pursuing Expungement Act of 2021’’ or the 

6 ‘‘HOPE Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATE EXPUNGEMENT OPPORTUNITY GRANT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) NAME OF PROGRAM.—The grant program estab4 lished under this section shall be known as the ‘‘State 

5 Expungement Opportunity Grant Program’’. 

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is au7 thorized to make grants to States and units of local gov8 ernment to reduce the financial and administrative burden 

9 of expunging convictions for cannabis offenses that are 

10 available to individuals who have been convicted of such 

11 offenses under the laws of the State. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—The chief executive of a State or 

13 unit of local government seeking a grant under this section 

14 shall submit to the Attorney General an application at 

15 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa16 tion as the Attorney General may reasonably require. 

17 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section shall 

18 be used— 

19 (1) for technology to provide cost-effective legal 

20 relief at scale; 

21 (2) to automate the process of expunging con22 victions for cannabis offenses; 

23 (3) for clinics, including legal clinics, that assist 

24 individuals through the expungement process; 

25 (4) to implement the notice requirement de26 scribed in subsection (e); 


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1 (5) to seal records of conviction for cannabis of2 fenses, if appropriate; and 

3 (6) for other innovative partnerships to provide 

4 wide-scale relief to individuals who are eligible for 

5 the expungement of a conviction for a cannabis of6 fense under the laws of the State. 

7 (e) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—A jurisdiction that re8 ceives a grant under this section shall— 

9 (1) publish on a publicly accessible website in10 formation about the availability and process of 

11 expunging convictions for cannabis offenses, includ12 ing information for individuals living in a different 

13 jurisdiction who were convicted of a cannabis offense 

14 in that jurisdiction; 

15 (2) implement a process to notify each indi16 vidual convicted of a cannabis offense when— 

17 (A) the expungement process has begun; 

18 and 

19 (B) when the expungement is complete, 

20 which shall, if applicable, include an official cer21 tificate of expungement (including any other 

22 similar document used by the jurisdiction). 

23 (f) REPORT.—A jurisdiction that receives a grant 

24 under this section shall submit to the Attorney General 

25 a report describing the uses of such funds, and how many 


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1 convictions for cannabis offenses have been expunged 

2 using such funds. 

3 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 to carry out this 

5 section for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032. 

6 SEC. 3. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES 

7 RELATED TO CANNABIS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 

10 conduct a study and submit to Congress and make pub11 licly available on the website of the Department of Justice 

12 a report on— 

13 (1) the effects of the appearance on an individ14 ual’s criminal record report of a conviction for a 

15 criminal offense related to cannabis, including— 

16 (A) disqualifying him or her from future 

17 opportunities in housing and employment; 

18 (B) increasing the likelihood that the indi19 vidual will have future involvement with the 

20 criminal justice system; 

21 (C) how any such effects differ based on 

22 demographics, including race; and 

23 (D) any other matters determined appro24 priate by the Attorney General; and 


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1 (2) the costs incurred by States for incarcer2 ating an individual convicted for a criminal offense 

3 related to cannabis. 

4 (b) CLARIFICATION.—The report under subsection 

5 (a) may not include any personally identifiable informa6 tion. 

7 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) The term ‘‘cannabis’’ means either mari10 juana or cannabis as defined under the State law 

11 authorizing the sale or use of cannabis in which the 

12 individual or entity is located. 

13 (2) The term ‘‘cannabis offense’’ means a 

14 criminal offense related to cannabis that, under 

15 State law, is no longer an offense or that was des16 ignated a lesser offense or for which the penalty was 

17 reduced under State law pursuant to or following 

18 the adoption of a State law authorizing the sale or 

19 use of cannabis. 

Æ 


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