,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cjdi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #ba1  
#bjba,mr4 ,van ,hollen 7for himself and 
,mr4 ,casey7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a 
,,bill  ,to establish a grant program   
for ,states for purposes of modernizing 
criminal justice data infrastructure to 
facilitate automatic record expungement 
and sealing1 and for other purposes4    
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,fresh ,start ,act of #bjba4    
#b4 ,establishment  7a7 ,in general ,the
 ,attorney ,general may make not more   
than #a grant under this ,act to each   
eligible ,state4 ,each such grant shall 
be in an amount of not more than        
#e1jjj1jjj4  7b7 ,eligibility ,a ,state 
shall be eligible for a grant under this
 ,act if-- 7#a7 the ,state has in effect
 a covered expungement law2  7#b7 the   
covered expungement law of the ,state   
provides that expungement or sealing of 

a criminal record shall not be delayed  
by reason of a failure to pay a fee or  
fine2 and  7#c7 the ,state submits an   
application to the ,attorney ,general1  
containing such information as the      
,attorney ,general may require1         
including1 at a minimum-- 7,a7          
information identifying whether there is
 a system that1 as of the date of the   
application1 exists for record          
expungement or sealing in the ,state2   
7,b7 a description of how infrastructure
 created through grant funding will     
facilitate automatic record expungement 
or sealing for individuals eligible for 
record expungement or sealing2 and  7,c7
 an identification of the anticipated   
number of individuals that would benefit
 from the implementation of automatic   
record expungement or sealing           
infrastructure4  #c4 ,use of grant      
amounts ,a grant under section #b shall 
be used to implement a covered          
expungement law in accordance with the  
following3 7#a7 ,not more than #aj      

percent of such grant shall be used for 
research or planning for criminal record
 data infrastructure improvements that  
will make criminal record expungement or
 sealing automatic4  7#b7 ,any remaining
 amounts shall be used to implement such
 improvements4  7#c7 ,the portion of the
 costs of implementing such a law       
provided by a grant under this section  
may not exceed #ge percent4  #d4        
,reporting requirements  7a7 ,in general
 ,a ,state receiving a grant under      
section #b shall report to the ,attorney
 ,general1 each year of the grant term1 
pursuant to guidelines established by   
the ,attorney ,general1 information     
regarding the following3 7#a7 ,the      
number of individuals eligible for      
automatic expungement or sealing under  
the covered expungement law of that     
,state1 disaggregated by race1          
ethnicity1 and gender4  7#b7 ,the number
 of individuals whose records have been 
expunged or sealed annually since the   
enactment of such law1 disaggregated by 

race1 ethnicity1 and gender4  7#c7 ,the 
number of individuals whose application 
for expungement or sealing under such   
law are still pending1 disaggregated by 
race1 ethnicity1 and gender4  7b7       
,inaccessibility of data for reporting  
,in the event that elements of the data 
on expungement and sealing required to  
be reported under subsection 7a7 are not
 able to be compiled and reported1 the  
,state shall develop and report a       
comprehensive plan to obtain as much of 
the unavailable data as possible not    
later than the date that is #a year     
after the first year of the grant being 
awarded4  7c7 ,publication ,not later   
than #a year after the date of enactment
 of this ,act1 and each year thereafter1
 the ,attorney ,general shall publish1  
and make available to the public1 a     
report containing the data reported to  
the ,attorney ,general under this       
section4  #e4 ,definitions ,in this     
,act3 7#a7 ,terms used have the meanings
 given such terms in section #ija of    

title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control
 and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#cd  
,u4,s4,c4 #ajbea74  7#b7 ,the term      
automatic means1 with regard to the     
expungement or sealing of a criminal    
record1 that such expungement or sealing
 occurs without any action required on  
the part of the ,state from an eligible 
individual4  7#c7 ,the term covered     
expungement law means a law of a ,state 
providing for the automatic expungement 
or sealing1 subject to such requirements
 as the ,state may impose1 of a criminal
 record of an individual4  #f4          
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated       
#ej1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    
#bjbb through #bjbf to carry out this   
,act4