Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 468
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì9568325Î956832                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Bracy) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 943.0586 is created to read:
    6         943.0586 Expunction of criminal history records relating to
    7  qualifying cannabis offenses.—
    8         (1) ELIGIBILITY.—A person is eligible to petition a court
    9  to expunge a criminal history record under this section if all
   10  of the following apply:
   11         (a) The person was arrested or given a notice to appear for
   12  a misdemeanor offense for obtaining, purchasing, or possessing
   13  20 grams or less of cannabis, regardless of disposition.
   14         (b) The person was not convicted of, or did not pled no
   15  contest to, a contemporaneous offense other than the misdemeanor
   16  offense for obtaining, purchasing, or possessing 20 grams or
   17  less of cannabis.
   18         (c)At least one year has elapsed since the disposition of
   19  the arrest or alleged criminal activity to which the petition to
   20  expunge pertains.
   21         (d)The person is no longer under court supervision
   22  applicable to the disposition of the arrest or alleged criminal
   23  activity to which the petition to expunge pertains.
   24         (e)The person has not previously been granted relief under
   25  this section.
   26         (2) CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY.—Before petitioning a court
   27  to expunge a criminal history record, a person seeking to
   28  expunge a criminal history record must apply to the department
   29  for a certificate of eligibility for expunction. The department
   30  shall adopt rules to establish procedures for applying for and
   31  issuing a certificate of eligibility for expunction.
   32         (a) The department shall issue a certificate of eligibility
   33  for expunction to a person who is the subject of a criminal
   34  history record if that person:
   35         1. Satisfies the eligibility criteria in paragraphs (1)(a)
   36  (e) and is not ineligible under s. 943.0584.
   37         2. Has submitted to the department a written certified
   38  statement from the appropriate state attorney or statewide
   39  prosecutor which confirms the criminal history record complies
   40  with the criteria in paragraphs (1)(a) through (1)(d).
   41         3. Has submitted to the department a certified copy of the
   42  disposition of the charge to which the petition to expunge
   43  pertains.
   44         4. Remits a processing fee, equal to that fee charged
   45  pursuant to s. 943.0585(2)(a)4., to the department for placement
   46  in the Department of Law Enforcement Operating Trust Fund,
   47  unless the executive director waives such fee.
   48         (b) A certificate of eligibility for expunction is valid
   49  for 12 months after the date stamped on the certificate when
   50  issued by the department. After that time, the petitioner must
   51  reapply to the department for a new certificate of eligibility.
   52  The petitioner’s status and the law in effect at the time of the
   53  renewal application determine the petitioner’s eligibility.
   54         (3) PETITION.—Each petition to expunge a criminal history
   55  record must be accompanied by:
   56         (a) A valid certificate of eligibility issued by the
   57  department.
   58         (b) The petitioner’s sworn statement that he or she:
   59         1. Satisfies the eligibility requirements for expunction in
   60  subsection (1).
   61         2. Is eligible for expunction to the best of his or her
   62  knowledge and does not have any other petition to seal or
   63  expunge a criminal history record pending before any court.
   64  
   65  A person who knowingly provides false information on such sworn
   66  statement commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
   67  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   68         (4) COURT AUTHORITY.—
   69         (a) The courts of this state have jurisdiction over their
   70  own procedures, including the maintenance, expunction, and
   71  correction of judicial records containing criminal history
   72  information to the extent that such procedures are not
   73  inconsistent with the conditions, responsibilities, and duties
   74  established by this section.
   75         (b) A court of competent jurisdiction may order a criminal
   76  justice agency to expunge the criminal history record of a minor
   77  or an adult who complies with the requirements of this section.
   78  The court may not order a criminal justice agency to expunge a
   79  criminal history record until the person seeking to expunge a
   80  criminal history record has applied for and received a
   81  certificate of eligibility under subsection (2).
   82         (c) The court may order expunction of a criminal history
   83  record pertaining to one arrest or one incident of alleged
   84  criminal activity only, except that the court may order the
   85  expunction of a criminal history record pertaining to more than
   86  one arrest if the additional arrests directly relate to the
   87  original arrest. If the court intends to order the expunction of
   88  records pertaining to such additional arrests, such intent must
   89  be specified in the order. A criminal justice agency may not
   90  expunge any record pertaining to such additional arrests if the
   91  order to expunge does not articulate the intention of the court
   92  to expunge a record pertaining to more than one arrest. This
   93  section does not prevent the court from ordering the expunction
   94  of only a portion of a criminal history record pertaining to one
   95  arrest or one incident of alleged criminal activity.
   96         (d) This section does not confer any right to expunction of
   97  any criminal history record, and any request for expunction of a
   98  criminal history record may be denied at the sole discretion of
   99  the court.
  100         (5) PROCESSING OF A PETITION OR AN ORDER.—
  101         (a) In judicial proceedings under this section, a copy of
  102  the completed petition to expunge shall be served upon the
  103  appropriate state attorney or the statewide prosecutor and upon
  104  the arresting agency; however, it is not necessary to make any
  105  agency other than the state a party. The appropriate state
  106  attorney or the statewide prosecutor and the arresting agency
  107  may respond to the court regarding the completed petition to
  108  expunge.
  109         (b) If relief is granted by the court, the clerk of the
  110  court shall certify copies of the order to the appropriate state
  111  attorney or the statewide prosecutor and the arresting agency.
  112  The arresting agency shall forward the order to any other agency
  113  to which the arresting agency disseminated the criminal history
  114  record information to which the order pertains. The department
  115  shall forward the order to expunge to the Federal Bureau of
  116  Investigation. The clerk of the court shall certify a copy of
  117  the order to any other agency which the records of the court
  118  reflect has received the criminal history record from the court.
  119         (c) The department or any other criminal justice agency is
  120  not required to act on an order to expunge entered by a court
  121  when such order does not comply with the requirements of this
  122  section. Upon receipt of such an order, the department must
  123  notify the issuing court, the appropriate state attorney or
  124  statewide prosecutor, the petitioner or the petitioner’s
  125  attorney, and the arresting agency of the reason for
  126  noncompliance. The appropriate state attorney or statewide
  127  prosecutor shall take action within 60 days to correct the
  128  record and petition the court to void the order. No cause of
  129  action, including contempt of court, shall arise against any
  130  criminal justice agency for failure to comply with an order to
  131  expunge when the petitioner for such order failed to obtain the
  132  certificate of eligibility as required by this section or such
  133  order does not otherwise comply with the requirements of this
  134  section.
  135         (6) EFFECT OF EXPUNCTION ORDER.—
  136         (a)The person who is the subject of a criminal history
  137  record that is expunged under this section, may lawfully deny or
  138  fail to acknowledge the arrests and notices to appear covered by
  139  the expunged record, except when the subject of the record:
  140         1. Is a candidate for employment with a criminal justice
  141  agency;
  142         2.Is a defendant in a criminal prosecution;
  143         3.Is a candidate for admission to The Florida Bar;
  144         4. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by or to contract
  145  with the Department of Children and Families, the Division of
  146  Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Education,
  147  the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Agency for
  148  Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Health, the
  149  Department of Elderly Affairs, or the Department of Juvenile
  150  Justice or to be employed or used by such contractor or licensee
  151  in a sensitive position having direct contact with children, the
  152  disabled, or the elderly;
  153         5. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by the Department
  154  of Education, any district school board, any university
  155  laboratory school, any charter school, any private or parochial
  156  school, or any local governmental entity that licenses child
  157  care facilities;
  158         6. Is seeking to be licensed by the Division of Insurance
  159  Agent and Agency Services within the Department of Financial
  160  Services; or
  161         7. Is seeking to be appointed as a guardian pursuant to s.
  162  744.3125.
  163         (b) Subject to the exceptions in paragraph (a), a person
  164  who has been granted an expunction under this section may not be
  165  held under any provision of law of this state to commit perjury
  166  or to be otherwise liable for giving a false statement by reason
  167  of such person’s failure to recite or acknowledge an expunged
  168  criminal history record.
  169         (7)RELATION TO OTHER LAWS ON EXPUNCTION OR SEALING.
  170  Expunction or sealing granted under this section does not
  171  prevent the person who receives such relief from petitioning for
  172  the expunction or sealing of a criminal history record as
  173  provided for in ss. 943.0583, 943.0585, and 943.059, if the
  174  person is otherwise eligible under those sections.
  175  
  176  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  177  And the title is amended as follows:
  178         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  179  and insert:
  180                        A bill to be entitled                      
  181         An act relating to expunction of criminal history
  182         records relating to certain cannabis offenses;
  183         creating s. 943.0586, F.S.; providing for eligibility;
  184         requiring a petitioner to obtain a certificate of
  185         eligibility from the Department of Law Enforcement;
  186         providing application requirements and contents of a
  187         certificate; requiring a petition to expunge;
  188         providing contents of a petition; providing court
  189         procedures for expungement; providing that the subject
  190         of an expungement order may lawfully deny the arrest;
  191         providing exceptions; providing that a petitioner for
  192         expunction of certain cannabis offenses does not
  193         foreclose the petitioner from applying to seal or
  194         expunge other criminal arrests; providing an effective
  195         date.