I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2864 

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

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2021 

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 2021’’. 

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) has been— 

7 ‘‘(i) arrested for a Federal offense for 

8 which the individual was not convicted; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) convicted of an offense under 

10 section 404 of the Controlled Substances 

11 Act (21 U.S.C. 844) or any Federal non12 violent offense involving marijuana; 

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

14 in subparagraph (B)(ii), has fulfilled each re15 quirement of the sentence for the offense, in16 cluding— 

17 ‘‘(i) completing each term of imprison18 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) satisfying each condition of im20 prisonment, probation, or supervised re21 lease; and 

22 ‘‘(D) has not been convicted for any of23 fense related to treason, terrorism, access and 

24 transmission of sensitive defense information, 

25 or other national security related convictions; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘marijuana’ has the meaning 

2 given the term ‘marihuana’ in section 102 of the 

3 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); 

4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘nonviolent offense’ means an of5 fense that is not a crime of violence, as defined in 

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

7 and 

8 ‘‘(4) the term ‘sex offender’ has the meaning 

9 given the term in section 111 of the Adam Walsh 

10 Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (34 U.S.C. 

11 20911). 

12 ‘‘(b) AUTOMATIC SEALING FOR CERTAIN ARRESTS

13 AND NONVIOLENT OFFENSES.— 

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

15 of a covered individual for a conviction for an of16 fense pursuant to section 404 of the Controlled Sub17 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 844) or any Federal non18 violent offense involving marijuana, the court shall 

19 enter an order that each record and portion thereof 

20 that relates to the offense shall be sealed automati21 cally on the date that is 1 year after the covered in22 dividual fulfills each requirement of the sentence, in23 cluding— 

24 ‘‘(A) completing each term of imprison25 ment, probation, or supervised release; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) satisfying each condition of imprison2 ment, probation, or supervised release. 

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

4 CHARGES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ACQUITTAL.—Not later than 60 days 

6 after the date on which a covered individual is 

7 acquitted, exonerated, or otherwise subject to a 

8 judgment which did not result in a conviction 

9 for a Federal offense, each record or portion 

10 thereof that relates to the Federal offense shall 

11 be sealed automatically. 

12 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION NOT TO FILE

13 CHARGES.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a covered indi15 vidual is arrested for a Federal offense and 

16 the Government does not file charges 

17 against the covered individual in relation 

18 to the Federal offense before the date that 

19 is 180 days after the date on which the ar20 rest was made, each record or portion 

21 thereof that relates to the arrest and Fed22 eral offense shall be sealed automatically 

23 on such date. 

24 ‘‘(ii) UNSEALING FOR FILING OF

25 CHARGES.—At the request of the GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:49 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2864.IH H2864

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1 ment, a court may unseal a record sealed 

2 under clause (i) in order for the Govern3 ment to file charges against the covered in4 dividual in relation to the Federal offense 

5 described in clause (i). 

6 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—If a record is un7 sealed under clause (ii), the record may 

8 only be resealed in accordance with para9 graph (1) or subparagraph (A) of this 

10 paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF SEALING ORDER.— 

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

13 provided in paragraph (4), a record that has been 

14 sealed under this section or section 3560A shall not 

15 be accessible to any person. 

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

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

18 subparagraph (B), an individual whose record 

19 has been sealed pursuant to this section shall 

20 not be required to disclose the existence of or 

21 any information contained in the individual’s 

22 sealed record, and shall not be subject to pros23 ecution under any civil or criminal provision of 

24 Federal or State law relating to perjury, false 

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1 ing under section 1001, 1621, 1622, or 1623, 

2 for failing to recite or acknowledge any infor3 mation that has been sealed with respect to the 

4 offense, or respond to any inquiry made of the 

5 individual, relating to the protected informa6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—An individual whose 

8 record has been sealed pursuant to this section 

9 shall disclose information contained in such 

10 record— 

11 ‘‘(i) when testifying in court; 

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

13 law enforcement officer in connection with 

14 a subsequent criminal investigation; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) in connection with employment 

16 described in subclause (I) or (II) of para17 graph (4)(A)(ii) that the individual is seek18 ing. 

19 ‘‘(3) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—Except as pro20 vided in paragraph (4), the existence of a record of 

21 an individual which has been sealed pursuant to this 

22 section, or the information contained therein, shall 

23 not be included in any background check conducted 

24 on such individual. 

25 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COURT AC2 CESS.—An officer or employee of a law enforce3 ment agency or a court may access a record of 

4 an individual which has been sealed pursuant to 

5 this section and is in the possession of the 

6 agency or court, or another law enforcement 

7 agency or court, solely— 

8 ‘‘(i) for investigatory or prosecutorial 

9 purposes; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) for a background check that re11 lates to— 

12 ‘‘(I) employment with a law en13 forcement agency; 

14 ‘‘(II) any position that a Federal 

15 agency designates as a— 

16 ‘‘(aa) national security posi17 tion; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) high-risk, public trust 

19 position; or 

20 ‘‘(III) the manufacture, importa21 tion, sale, transfer, possession, or car22 rying of firearms, explosives, or am23 munition. 

24 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE.—An officer or em25 ployee of a law enforcement agency or a court 


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1 may disclose information contained in a sealed 

2 record only in order to carry out the purposes 

3 described in subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUAL ACCESS.—Any individual whose 

5 record has been sealed pursuant to this section or section 

6 3560A may access the information contained in the indi7 vidual’s sealed record. 

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

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly ac10 cesses or discloses information contained in a record 

11 sealed under this section or section 3560A in a man12 ner that is prohibited under this section, shall be 

13 fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 

14 1 year, or both. 

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

16 this subsection prevents a covered individual or an 

17 individual who was the crime victim (as such term 

18 is defined in section 3771(e)) from accessing or dis19 closing information contained in record sealed under 

20 this section or section 3560A. 

21 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion or section 3560A shall abrogate or constrain the au23 thority of a judge or judicial body to vacate a judgment 

24 or sentence. 


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1 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall, by 

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

3 possession of a Federal agency required to be sealed under 

4 this section is automatically sealed in accordance with this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to an 

7 arrest that occurred or conviction that was entered before, 

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

9 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this sec10 tion, the Attorney General shall ensure that any record 

11 related to an arrest or conviction that occurred or was en12 tered prior to the automatic sealing of such a record, 

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

14 is so sealed. 

15 ‘‘(i) EMPLOYER IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY.—An 

16 employer who employs or otherwise engages an individual 

17 whose criminal records were sealed pursuant to this sec18 tion shall be immune from liability for any claim arising 

19 out of the misconduct of the individual, if the misconduct 

20 relates to the portion of the criminal records that were 

21 sealed pursuant to this section. 

22 ‘‘(j) ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS.— 

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

24 of the United States Courts or the Attorney General 

25 may enter into a contract with or make grants to an 


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1 organization with expertise in creating digital and 

2 technological systems to develop an efficient and ef3 fective process for automatically sealing records in 

4 accordance with this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) $2,000,000 to the Administrative Of9 fice of the United States Courts; and 

10 ‘‘(B) $2,000,000 to the Attorney General. 

11 ‘‘§ 3560A. 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 (34 U.S.C. 20911)); 

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, 2 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 02:49 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2864.IH H2864

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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) NOTIFICATION TO CRIME VICTIMS.—Upon 

14 receipt of a notification under paragraph (1)(A) by 

15 an office of the United States attorney, the office 

16 shall make reasonable efforts to identify any indi17 vidual who was a crime victim (as such term is de18 fined in section 3771) of the offense and provide no19 tice of the petition. 

20 ‘‘(3) HEARING.— 

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

22 days after the date on which an individual files 

23 a sealing petition, the district court shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subpara2 graph (D), conduct a hearing in accord3 ance with subparagraph (B); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) determine whether to enter a 

5 sealing order for the individual in accord6 ance with paragraph (4). 

7 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY AND

8 OFFER EVIDENCE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) PETITIONER.—The petitioner 

10 may testify or offer evidence at the sealing 

11 hearing in support of sealing. 

12 ‘‘(ii) PROSECUTOR.—The office of a 

13 United States attorney that receives notice 

14 under paragraph (1)(A) may send a rep15 resentative to testify or offer evidence at 

16 the sealing hearing in support of or 

17 against sealing. 

18 ‘‘(iii) OTHER INDIVIDUALS.—At the 

19 request of a petitioner, the district court in 

20 which the petition is filed shall issue a sub21 poena requiring an individual who receives 

22 notice under paragraph (1)(B) to testify or 

23 offer evidence at the sealing hearing as to 

24 the issues described in clauses (i) and (ii) 

25 of that paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(C) MAGISTRATE JUDGES.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A magistrate 

3 judge may preside over a hearing under 

4 this paragraph, and submit to a judge of 

5 the court proposed findings of fact and 

6 recommendations for the disposition, by a 

7 judge of the court, of any sealing petition 

8 filed under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(ii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

10 than 14 days after being served with a 

11 copy, any party may serve and file written 

12 objections to the proposed findings and 

13 recommendations of the magistrate judge 

14 as provided by rules of court. A judge of 

15 the court shall make a de novo determina16 tion of those portions of the report or spec17 ified proposed findings or recommenda18 tions to which objection is made. A judge 

19 of the court may accept, reject, or modify, 

20 in whole or in part, the findings or rec21 ommendations made by the magistrate 

22 judge. The judge may also receive further 

23 evidence or recommit the matter to the 

24 magistrate judge with instructions. 


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1 ‘‘(D) WAIVER OF HEARING.—If the peti2 tioner and the United States attorney that re3 ceives notice under paragraph (1)(A) so agree, 

4 the court shall make a determination under 

5 paragraph (4) without a hearing. 

6 ‘‘(4) BASIS FOR DECISION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining wheth8 er to enter a sealing order with respect to pro9 tected information relating to a covered non10 violent offense, the court— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall consider— 

12 ‘‘(I) the petition and any docu13 ments in the possession of the court; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) all the evidence and testi16 mony presented at the sealing hear17 ing, if such a hearing is conducted; 

18 ‘‘(ii) may not consider any non-Fed19 eral nonviolent crimes for which the peti20 tioner has been arrested or proceeded 

21 against, or of which the petitioner has been 

22 convicted; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) shall balance— 

24 ‘‘(I)(aa) the interest of public 

25 knowledge and safety; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the legitimate interest, if 

2 any, of the Government in maintain3 ing the accessibility of the protected 

4 information, including any potential 

5 impact of sealing the protected infor6 mation on Federal licensure, permit, 

7 or employment restrictions; against 

8 ‘‘(II)(aa) the conduct and dem9 onstrated desire of the petitioner to be 

10 rehabilitated and positively contribute 

11 to the community; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) the interest of the peti13 tioner in having the protected infor14 mation sealed, including the harm of 

15 the protected information to the abil16 ity of the petitioner to secure and 

17 maintain employment. 

18 ‘‘(B) BURDEN ON GOVERNMENT.—The 

19 burden shall be on the Government to show 

20 that the interests under subclause (I) of sub21 paragraph (A)(iii) outweigh the interests of the 

22 petitioner under subclause (II) of that subpara23 graph. 

24 ‘‘(5) WAITING PERIOD AFTER DENIAL.—If the 

25 district court denies a sealing petition, the petitioner 


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1 may not file a new sealing petition with respect to 

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

3 the date of the denial. 

4 ‘‘(6) UNIVERSAL FORM.—The Director of the 

5 Administrative Office of the United States Courts 

6 shall create a universal form, available over the 

7 Internet and in paper form, that an individual may 

8 use to file a sealing petition. 

9 ‘‘(7) FEE WAIVER.—The Director of the Ad10 ministrative Office of the United States Courts shall 

11 by regulation establish a minimally burdensome 

12 process under which indigent petitioners may obtain 

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

14 ‘‘(8) EFFECT OF SEALING.—Subsections (c) 

15 through (e) of section 3560 shall apply to any record 

16 that is sealed under this section. 

17 ‘‘(9) PUBLIC DEFENDER ELIGIBILITY.—The 

18 district court shall appoint counsel in accordance 

19 with the plan of the district court in operation under 

20 section 3006A to represent a petitioner for purposes 

21 of this section. 

22 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec23 tion may be construed to require a covered individual (as 

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


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1 petition with respect to records required to be automati2 cally sealed under section 3560. 

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

4 date of enactment of this section, and each year there5 after, each district court of the United States shall issue 

6 a public report that— 

7 ‘‘(1) describes— 

8 ‘‘(A) the number of sealing petitions grant9 ed and denied under this section; and 

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

11 office of a United States attorney supported or 

12 opposed a sealing petition; 

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

14 court determines relevant and that does not name 

15 any petitioner; and 

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

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

18 ‘‘(f) 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.’’. 


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

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

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

4 section 3559 the following: 

‘‘3560. Automatic sealing of certain records. 

‘‘3560A. Sealing of certain records upon petition.’’. 

Æ 


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