,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fa ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #c1 #bjag,ms4 ,jackson ,lee introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to provide for the expungement and sealing of youth criminal records1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fair ,chance for ,youth ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,youth sealing and expungement 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #bbi of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,d ,expungement and ,sealing of ,youth ,criminal ,records ,sec4 #cfca4 ,youth ,offense ,expungement and ,sealing ,review ,board4 #cfcb4 ,expungement and sealing for youth4 #cfcc4 ,definitions4 #cfcd4 ,reporting4 #cfca4 ,youth ,offense ,expungement and ,sealing ,review ,board 7a7 ,in general ,the ,chief ,judge for each ,federal ,district shall establish-- 7#a7 a ,youth ,offense ,expungement and ,sealing ,review ,board 7hereinafter in this section referred to as the ,review ,board7 to review petitions for discretionary expungement and sealing of youth offenses2 and 7#b7 the rules and procedures governing the operation of the ,review ,board in the exercise of its powers under subsection 7c74 7b7 ,composition ,the ,review ,board shall include one representative1 selected by the ,chief ,judge to serve without compensation1 from each of the following3 7#a7 ,the ,department of ,justice4 7#b7 ,the ,united ,states ,probation and ,pretrial ,services ,system4 7#c7 ,the ,office of the ,federal ,defender or a designated ,criminal ,justice ,act panel attorney or private criminal defense attorney4 7c7 ,powers ,the ,review ,board shall-- 7#a7 review petitions under this subchapter to determine whether the youth1 and the offense on which the petition is based1 meet the eligibility requirements for expungement or sealing consideration2 7#b7 for petitions meeting the eligibility requirements1 evaluate those petitions on the merits in order to make a recommendation on the advisability of granting the petition2 and 7#c7 convey its recommendation1 with a written explanation1 to the ,chief ,judge in each ,federal ,district1 or a designee of the ,chief ,judge1 for consideration4 7d7 ,recommendation ,in making its recommendation1 the ,review ,board-- 7#a7 shall consider all the evidence and testimony presented in the petition and any hearings held on the petition2 7#b7 may not consider any arrest or prosecution that did not result in a conviction and that took place prior to the conviction or arrest the petitioner is seeking to expunge or seal2 and 7#c7 shall balance-- 7,a7 the public safety1 the interest of public knowledge1 and any legitimate interest of the ,government in maintaining the accessibility of the protected information2 against 7,b7 the interest of the petitioner in having the petition granted1 including the benefit to the petition's ability to positively contribute to the community1 and the petitioner's conduct and demonstrated desire to be rehabilitated4 7e7 ,court ,to consider and decide upon petitions ,the ,court shall consider and decide upon each petition for which the court receives a recommendation from the ,review ,board4 ,the ,court's decision to grant or deny the petition shall give significant weight to the ,review ,board recommendation4 ,the ,court shall grant the petition unless the ,government shows the interests described in subsection 7d77#c77;,a7 outweigh the interests of the petitioner described in subsection 7d77#c77;,b74 7f7 ,one opportunity ,a youth may only file a petition for expungement or sealing under this subchapter once and the decision of the district court on the petition shall be final and is not appealable4 7g7 ,online forms for petitions ,the ,director of the ,administrative ,office of the ,united ,states ,courts shall create and make available to the public1 online and in paper form1 a universal form to file a petition under this section1 and establish a process under which indigent petitioners may obtain a waiver of any fee for filing a petition under this section4 7h7 ,making available standard forms for court orders ,the ,director of the ,administrative ,office of the ,united ,states ,courts shall create and make available to the ,chief ,judge of every ,federal district standard expungement and sealing orders that empower the petitioner to seek destruction of records in accordance with the order4 #cfcb4 ,expungement and sealing for youth 7a7 ,expungement petition eligibility ,a youth may petition a district court of the ,united ,states for expungement-- 7#a7 of the record of any misdemeanor or nonviolent felony drug conviction #c years after the youth has completed every term of imprisonment related to that misdemeanor or nonviolent felony drug conviction2 7#b7 of the record of any person who has not attained the age of #ah at the time of committing the conduct resulting in conviction for any misdemeanor or nonviolent offense #c years after the person has completed every term of imprisonment related to that misdemeanor or nonviolent offense conviction2 and 7#c7 of the record of an arrest or prosecution for any nonviolent offense on the date on which the case related to that arrest or prosecution is disposed of4 7b7 ,sealing petition eligibility ,a youth may petition a district court of the ,united ,states1 for sealing-- 7#a7 of the record of any nonviolent conviction #e years after the youth has completed every term of imprisonment related to that nonviolent conviction2 7#b7 of the record of any person who has not attained the age of #ah at the time of committing the conduct resulting in conviction for any offense #aj years after the person has completed every term of imprisonment related to that offense conviction2 and 7#c7 of the record of an arrest or prosecution for any nonviolent offense on the date on which the case related to that arrest or prosecution is disposed of4 7c7 ,notice of opportunity ,to file petition ,a youth shall be informed of the eligibility to1 procedures for1 and benefits of filing an expungement or sealing petition-- 7#a7 by the ,district ,court on the date of conviction2 7#b7 by the ,office of ,probation and ,pretrial ,services on the date the youth completes every term of imprisonment2 or 7#c7 if the arrest or prosecution does not result in a conviction1 then by the ,department of ,justice on the date the case is disposed of4 7d7 ,grant of petition ,if a court grants a petition under this section-- 7#a7 the person to whom the record pertains may choose to1 but is not required to1 disclose the existence of the record1 and the offense conduct and any arrest1 juvenile delinquency proceeding1 adjudication1 conviction1 or other result of such proceeding relating to the offense conduct1 shall be treated as if it never occurred2 7#b7 the court shall destroy each paper and electronic copy of the record in the possession of the court2 7#c7 the court shall issue an expungement or sealing order requiring the destruction of any paper and electronic copies of the record by any court1 law enforcement officer1 law enforcement agency1 treatment or rehabilitation services agency1 or employee thereof in possession of those copies2 7#d7 any entity or person listed in paragraph 7#c7 that receives an inquiry relating to the record shall reply to the inquiry stating that no such record exists2 and 7#e7 except as provided in subsection 7f71 no person shall not be subject to prosecution under any civil or criminal provision of ,federal or ,state law relating to perjury1 false swearing1 or making a false statement for failing to acknowledge the record or respond to any inquiry made of the petitioner or the parent relating to the record1 for any purpose4 7e7 ,civil actions 7#a7 ,in general ,if an individual who has a record expunged or sealed under this section brings an action that might be defended with the contents of the record1 there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the defendant has a complete defense to the action4 7#b7 ,showing by plaintiff ,in an action described in paragraph 7#a71 the plaintiff may rebut the presumption of a complete defense by showing that the contents of the record would not prevent the defendant from being liable4 7#c7 ,duty to testify as to existence of record ,the court in which an action described in paragraph 7#a7 is filed may require the plaintiff to state under oath whether the plaintiff had a record and whether the record was expunged or sealed4 7#d7 ,proof of existence of record ,if the plaintiff in an action described in paragraph 7#a7 denied the existence of a record1 the defendant may prove the existence of the record in any manner compatible with the applicable laws of evidence4 7f7 ,attorney ,general nonpublic records ,the ,attorney ,general shall-- 7#a7 maintain a nonpublic database of all records expunged or sealed under this subchapter2 7#b7 disclose1 access1 or utilize records contained in the nonpublic database only-- 7,a7 in defense of any civil suit arising out of the facts contained in the record2 7,b7 to determine whether the individual to whom the record relates is eligible for a first-time-offender diversion program2 7,c7 for a background check that relates to law enforcement employment or any employment that requires a ,government security clearance2 or 7,d7 if the ,attorney ,general determines that disclosure is necessary to serve the interests of national security2 and 7#c7 to the extent practicable1 notify the individual to whom the record pertains of the disclosure unless it is made pursuant to paragraph 7#b77;,d74 #cfcc4 ,definitions ,in this subchapter-- 7#a7 the term youth means an individual who was #ba years of age or younger at the time of the criminal offense for which the individual was arrested1 prosecuted1 or sentenced2 7#b7 the term nonviolent felony means a ,federal criminal felony offense that is not-- 7,a7 a crime of violence2 or 7,b7 a sex offense 7as that term is defined in section #aaa of the ,sex ,offender ,registration and ,notification ,act72 7#c7 the term record means information1 whether in paper or electronic form1 containing any reference to-- 7,a7 an arrest1 conviction1 or sentence of an individual for an offense2 7,b7 the institution of juvenile delinquency or criminal proceedings against an individual for the offense2 or 7,c7 adjudication1 conviction1 or any other result of juvenile delinquency or criminal proceedings2 7#d7 the term expunge-- 7,a7 means to destroy a record and obliterate the name of the person to whom the record pertains from each official index or public record2 and 7,b7 has the effect described in section #cfca7;g71 including-- 7i7 the right to treat an offense to which an expunged record relates1 and any arrest1 juvenile delinquency proceeding1 adjudication1 conviction1 or other result of such proceeding relating to the offense1 as if it never occurred2 and 7ii7 protection from civil and criminal perjury1 false swearing1 and false statement laws with respect to an expunged record2 7#e7 the term seal-- 7,a7 means-- 7i7 to close a record from public viewing so that the record cannot be examined except by court order2 and 7ii7 to physically seal the record shut and label the record ,,sealed or1 in the case of an electronic record1 the substantive equivalent2 and 7,b7 has the effect described in section #cfca7;g71 including-- 7i7 the right to treat an offense to which an expunged record relates1 and any arrest1 juvenile delinquency proceeding1 adjudication1 conviction1 or other result of such proceeding relating to the offense1 as if it never occurred2 and 7ii7 protection from civil and criminal perjury1 false swearing1 and false statement laws with respect to an expunged record2 7#f7 the term conviction-- 7,a7 means a judgment or disposition in criminal court against a person following a finding of guilt by a judge or jury2 and 7,b7 for the purposes of this section-- 7i7 multiple convictions shall be deemed to be one conviction if the convictions result from or relate to the same act or acts committed at the same time2 and 7ii7 multiple convictions1 not to exceed #c1 that do not result from or relate to the same act or acts committed at the same time shall be deemed to be one conviction if the convictions result from or relate to the same indictment1 information1 or complaint1 or plea of guilty2 and 7#g7 the term destroy means to render a file unreadable1 whether paper1 electronic1 or otherwise stored1 by shredding1 pulverizing1 pulping1 incinerating1 overwriting1 reformatting the media1 or other means4 #cfcd4 ,reporting ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this subchapter1 and each year thereafter1 the ,attorney ,general shall issue a public report that-- 7#a7 describes-- 7,a7 the number of expungement and sealing petitions granted and denied2 and 7,b7 the number of instances in which the office of a ,united ,states attorney supported or opposed an expungement or sealing petition2 and 7#b7 includes any supporting data that the court determines relevant but does not name any petitioner4 4 #c4 ,retroactive ,effect ,this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act apply with respect to youth without regard to whether they become involved in the ,federal criminal justice system before1 on1 or after the date of the enactment of this ,act4