SECTION 1. Section 12-1.3-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-1.3 entitled "Expungement of Criminal Records" is hereby amended to read as follows: 12-1.3-1. Definitions. For purposes of this chapter only, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Administrative office of state courts” or “AOSC” means the administrative arm of the Rhode Island unified judicial system designed by the supreme court to manage statewide judicial administration and court technology.
(2) “Central repository” means the statewide electronic criminal history repository maintained under the authority of the department of attorney general. (1)(3) “Crime of violence” includes murder, manslaughter, first-degree arson, kidnapping with intent to extort, robbery, larceny from the person, first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, first- and second-degree child molestation, assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual assault, burglary, and entering a dwelling house with intent to commit murder, robbery, sexual assault, or larceny. (2)(4) “Expungement of records and records of conviction” means the sealing and retention of all records of a conviction and/or probation and the removal from active files of all records and information relating to conviction and/or probation. (3)(5) “First offender” means a person who has been convicted of a felony offense or a misdemeanor offense, and who has not been previously convicted of or placed on probation for a felony or a misdemeanor and against whom there is no criminal proceeding pending in any court. (4)(6) “Law enforcement agency” means a state police organization of this or any other state; the enforcement division of the department of environmental management; the office of the state fire marshal; the capitol police; a law enforcement agency of the federal government; and any agency, department, or bureau of the United States government that has as one of its functions the gathering of intelligence data. (5)(7) “Misdemeanor” includes, but is not limited to, those crimes previously classified as felonies under law at the time the original sentence was imposed but reclassified by the general assembly as a misdemeanor in the interim, prior to the time the motion to expunge is brought. (6)(8) “Records” and “records of conviction and/or probation” include all court records, all records in the possession of any state or local police department, the bureau of criminal identification, and the probation department, including, but not limited to, any fingerprints, photographs, physical measurements, or other records of identification. The terms “records” and “records of conviction and/or probation” do not include the records and files of the department of attorney general which are not kept by the bureau of criminal identification in the ordinary course of the bureau’s business.
(9) “Sentence completion date” means the date that, based upon the disposition date and the sentence specified in the records, the person appears to have completed their sentence including any probation, mandatory supervision, post release community supervision, and parole.
SECTION 2. Chapter 12-1.3 of the General Laws entitled "Expungement of Criminal Records" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 12-1.3-6. Automated expungement of criminal records.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, and cumulative with any rights to expungement or sealing of criminal records, this subsection authorizes the automatic expungement of eligible conviction records by operation of law, initiated and completed by state agencies through electronic processes without requiring an individual to file a petition, pay a fee, or otherwise take affirmative action. Nothing in this section precludes an individual from filing a petition for expungement of records for eligible records not automatically expunged under this section. All rights and provisions described in § 12-1.3-4 of this section shall apply to records automatically expunged under this subsection.
(b) A person is eligible to have their record automatically expunged pursuant to this section if:
(1) The person has been convicted of a misdemeanor offense, and has not been previously convicted of or placed on probation for a felony or a misdemeanor in the State of Rhode Island.
(2) The person has been convicted of a misdemeanor offense under chapter 29 of title 12, § 31-27-2 and sentenced under § 3l-27-2(d)(1)(i) - (iii); provided that, the person has not been convicted of or placed on probation for a prior or subsequent conviction under chapter 29 of title 12, or § 31-27-2.
(3) The person has been convicted of a felony offense, and has not been previously convicted of or placed on probation for a felony in the State of Rhode Island.
(4) The person has been convicted of more than one misdemeanor, but fewer than six (6) misdemeanors, and has not been convicted of a felony in the State of Rhode Island; provided that, convictions for offenses under chapter 29 of title 12, § 31-27-2 or § 31-27-2.1 are not eligible for and may not be automatically expunged under this subsection.
(5) The person has paid all outstanding court-imposed or court-related fees, fines, costs, assessments, charges, and/or any other monetary obligations associated with the eligible record.
(6) Subject to subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section, the person has not been convicted of any misdemeanor or felony in the State of Rhode Island in the five (5) years following their sentence completion date and against whom there is no criminal proceeding pending in any Rhode Island court; provided that, if a charge is pending, and if the AOSC is otherwise unable to electronically determine disposition status, misdemeanor charges shall not be considered pending if one year has elapsed since the filing of charges and felony charges shall not be considered pending if seven (7) years have elapsed since the filing of charges.
(7) Subject to subsections (b)(3) and (b)(4) of this section, the person has not been convicted of any misdemeanor or felony offenses in the State of Rhode Island in the ten (10) years following the sentence completion date of the most recent eligible record and against whom there is no criminal proceeding pending in any Rhode Island court; provided that, if a charge is pending, and if the AOSC is otherwise unable to electronically determine disposition status, misdemeanor charges shall not be considered pending if one year has elapsed since the filing of charges and felony charges shall not be considered pending if seven (7) years have elapsed since the filing of charges.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, convictions for offenses defined as violent offenses in this chapter are not eligible for automatic expungement.
(d) For purposes of this section, if multiple offenses were charged as counts in the same case, all such offenses shall count as only the highest level offense in that case; provided that, none of those offenses constitute a violent offense as defined in this section.
(e) All electronic records in the statewide court case management system that become eligible for automated expungement either upon the effective date of this legislation or between the effective date and August 28, 2029, shall be identified and expunged before January l, 2030, in a cadence to be determined by the AOSC.
(f) Commencing two (2) years from the effective date of this section, the AOSC shall, on at least a monthly basis, use the electronic records in the central court database to:
(1) Identify all new dispositions that have become eligible for automated expungement since any prior record identification under this section; and
(2) Reevaluate records that were previously ineligible but have become eligible due to the passage of time or other changes in status.
(g) The AOSC shall compile, in an electronic format, a list of all records determined to be eligible under subsection (t) of this section, organized by court (superior court or district court) and by case number. For each monthly determination of eligible records, the AOSC shall transmit, or otherwise make available by secure electronic means, the relevant portions of that list and any supporting data necessary to identify the cases and counts to the clerk of the superior court for superior court cases; and the clerk of the district court for district court cases; provided that, transmission under this subsection may consist of direct updates to a shared case management system, the provision of structured data files, or any other secure electronic mechanism agreed upon by the AOSC and the recipient courts.
(h) Within one month after receiving the eligible record lists transmitted under subsection
(g) of this section, the superior court and the district court, as applicable, shall create the appropriate orders necessary to implement automated expungement for the enumerated records; provided that, the courts may create such orders in omnibus form and may identify covered persons, cases, or counts by reference to electronic attachments, spreadsheets, lists, or other tabular formats generated by the AOSC.
(i) For superior court cases, the presiding judge of the superior court, or a judicial officer designated by the presiding justice, shall review and enter the omnibus orders created under subsection (h) of this section, and for district court cases, the chief judge of the district court, or a judicial officer designated by the chief judge, shall review and enter the omnibus orders created under subsection (h) of this section within one month of receipt of eligible records under subsection
(h) of this section.
(j) Entry of omnibus orders under this section shall occur within ten (10) days of the creation of the orders pursuant to subsection (h) of this section, unless the presiding justice or chief judge certifies in writing that additional time is necessary due to extraordinary operational constraints; provided, however, in no event shall entry be delayed beyond thirty (30) days after receipt of the eligible record lists transmitted under subsection (t) of this section.
(k) Upon entry of the omnibus orders under subsection (g) of this section, the superior court and the district court shall promptly record those orders in the central court database.
(l) Within ten (10) days of the entry of any omnibus orders, the superior court and the district court shall transmit, or otherwise make available by secure electronic means, copies of such omnibus orders, including any electronic attachments or lists, to the AOSC; provided that, the AOSC may satisfy this requirement by retrieving the orders and associated data directly from the central court database.
(m) Upon receipt of any omnibus orders under subsection (i) of this section, the AOSC shall, within ten (10) days of receipt, make all necessary bulk updates to the electronic records in the central court database to:
(1) Reflect that the affected records have been expunged by operation of law; and
(2) Ensure that the affected records cannot be accessed by the public through any electronic public-facing access points operated or controlled by the judiciary, including online docket search portals.
(n) Neither the courts nor the AOSC shall be required to proactively segregate, redact, or physically alter paper court files for the sole purpose of complying with automated expungement obligations under this chapter if doing so would be unduly burdensome, as long as such records are not made available to the public.
(o) Upon receipt of the omnibus orders and associated record lists from the AOSC, the department of attorney general shall, within one month:
(1) Remove from public inspection all applicable electronic records in the central repository that correspond to the expunged court records; provided that, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require the department to perform a separate eligibility determination and the department may rely upon the court orders and notifications transmitted pursuant to this subsection; and
(2) Implement or update any internal electronic flags or access controls necessary to prevent public dissemination of those records through background checks or other public-facing products generated from the central repository.
(p) The department of attorney general shall adopt rules, regulations, and internal policies as necessary to prevent public disclosure of any electronic or physical record in the central repository that has been subjected to automated expungement under this chapter.
(q) State and local police departments, or other law enforcement agencies, are not required to alter their records in response to an expungement order under this section; provided that, if any state or local police department or other law enforcement agency receives a request to disclose arrest or conviction records covered by this section, that agency shall first verify with the department of attorney general whether the records have been subjected to automated expungement, and, if the department of attorney general confirms that a requested record has been subjected to automated expungement, the police department or other law enforcement agency shall not disclose the record to the requesting party, except as otherwise authorized by law for access to expunged records.
(r) Any records already expunged or sealed pursuant to §§ 12-1-12, 12-1-12.1, 12-1.3-5, 12-10-12, or any other existing authority shall be treated as expunged or sealed for purposes of this section and need not be reprocessed under the automated workflow, except to the extent necessary to ensure consistency of electronic records in the central court database and the central repository.
(s) The supreme court, through the AOSC, and the department of attorney general shall adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement this section including, but not limited to, technical specifications for electronic data exchange, standards for matching records, and procedures to address incomplete or inconsistent data.
(t) Upon the entry of an automated expungement order under subsection (m) of this section:
(1) The person who is the subject of the expunged record may truthfully state, for any purpose including, but not limited, to applications for employment, housing, credit, or licensure, that they have never been arrested, charged, or convicted of the crime that was the subject of the expunged record; and
(2) No person, agency, or entity shall inquire into or require the disclosure of the existence of the expunged record, except if federal law, including rules and regulations promulgated by a self-regulatory organization that has been created under federal law, requires the consideration of an applicant’s sealed and/or expunged criminal history.
(u) The AOSC and the department of attorney general shall jointly submit annual public reports for at least the first five (5) years after the effective date of this section, and thereafter upon request of the general assembly, including:
(1) The total number of records identified as eligible in each backlog and monthly run;
(2) The total number of records expunged in the courts and removed from public inspection in the central repository; and
(3) Any significant implementation challenges and steps taken to resolve them; provided that, reporting under this subsection shall not include personally identifiable information but may include aggregate demographic information, consistent with applicable law, to evaluate the equitable impact of automated expungement.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
