Washington DC - H.R. 2449: Fresh Start Act of 2011

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LEGISLATION | Detail
H.R. 2449: Fresh Start Act of 2011

Sponsor: Cohen (D - TN)

Official Title: A bill to permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal offenses, and for other purposes.

Status:
7/7/2011: Introduced in House
7/7/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee
Commentary:
This bill would create a process for nonviolent criminal offenders to have their criminal record expunged on petition to a federal court. For purposes of expungement, “nonviolent offense” includes any offense that is not (1) defined as crimes of violence by 18 U.S.C. [sec.] 16 and (2) “by its nature, [an offense that] involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.” Offenses that require registration under the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) or cause the crime’s victim or victims to lose at least $25,000 are exceptions. An individual is eligible if he has never been convicted of any crime except for nonviolent offenses and has fulfilled all of the requirements of his sentence. The bill would also provide a “bonus” of an additional five percent increase in federal Byrne grants to any state that implements the expungement standards. Any state that does not implement the bill’s expungement standards would be subjected to a “penalty” that would decrease that state’s federal Byrne grants by five percent.