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H 8081Criminal Procedure

Criminal Procedure - Expungement of Criminal Records

This bill requires individuals applying for a handgun carry permit to disclose past criminal convictions, even if they were expunged.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends current state laws regarding the expungement of criminal records. Under existing law, individuals with expunged records are generally not required to disclose them for most applications. This bill creates a new exception: individuals applying for a license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver must disclose any expunged criminal convictions. Furthermore, it authorizes law enforcement agencies to access these sealed records when evaluating applications for such firearm permits to determine an applicant's suitability.

For younger readers

When someone breaks the law, it goes on a permanent record. Sometimes, if they behave well for a long time, the government "erases" (expunges) that record so they can get a fresh start. Usually, nobody is allowed to look at that erased record. However, this new rule says that if someone wants to get a special license to carry a handgun, they must tell the police about their erased record. The police are also allowed to look at that erased record to decide if the person is safe enough to carry a gun.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Gun ownersPistol permit applicantsLaw enforcement agenciesIndividuals with expunged recordsLicensing officials
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Prioritizes community safety by ensuring that law enforcement has a complete picture of an applicant's history, including past behavioral issues, before issuing a concealed carry permit.
  • Closes a loophole that allowed individuals with potentially violent or concerning histories to obtain weapons permits simply because their records were legally sealed.
  • Maintains the social benefits of expungement for housing and employment opportunities while creating a necessary, specific exception for lethal weapons licensing.
  • Undermines the core philosophy of expungement and rehabilitation by allowing the state to use a person's "erased" past against them, suggesting a debt to society is never truly paid.
  • Risks disproportionately impacting marginalized communities who are over-policed and more likely to have criminal records, thereby creating unequal barriers to exercising rights.
  • Sets a concerning precedent for eroding privacy rights regarding sealed records, which could lead to a slippery slope where expunged records are used for other exclusionary purposes.
For Conservatives
  • Supports the "law and order" principle by ensuring police have all available intelligence and data necessary to make informed decisions regarding public safety.
  • Protects the integrity of the concealed carry permitting process by ensuring that only citizens with a demonstrated history of lawful behavior are licensed to carry weapons in public.
  • Prevents the bureaucracy of the court system from hiding relevant criminal history from the law enforcement officers responsible for maintaining order in the community.
  • Infringes upon Second Amendment rights by creating additional bureaucratic hurdles and disqualifiers for citizens seeking to bear arms for self-defense.
  • Violates the government's statutory promise that an expunged record is sealed, effectively changing the rules on citizens retroactively and invading their privacy.
  • Expands the power of the administrative state to deny licenses based on history that the legal system had previously deemed irrelevant or forgiven.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 7 additions · 1 deletion

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 12-1.3-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-1.3 entitled "Expungement of Criminal Records" is hereby amended to read as follows: 12-1.3-4. Effect of expungement of records — Access to expunged records — Wrongful disclosure.

(a) Any person having his or her record expunged shall be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the crime of which he or she had been convicted, except, upon conviction of any subsequent crime, the expunged conviction may be considered as a prior conviction in determining the sentence to be imposed.

(b) In any application for employment, license, or other civil right or privilege, or any appearance as a witness, a person whose conviction of a crime has been expunged pursuant to this chapter may state that he or she has never been convicted of the crime; provided, that if the person is an applicant for a law enforcement agency position, for admission to the bar of any court, an applicant for a teaching certificate, under chapter 11 of title 16, a coaching certificate under § 16- 11.1-1, or the operator or employee of an early childhood education facility pursuant to chapter 48.1 of title 16, or an applicant for a license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver under §§ 11-47- 11 or 11-47-18, the person shall disclose the fact of a conviction.

(c) Whenever the records of any conviction and/or probation of an individual for the commission of a crime have been expunged under the provisions of this chapter, any custodian of the records of conviction relating to that crime shall not disclose the existence of the records upon inquiry from any source unless the inquiry is that of the individual whose record was expunged, that of a sentencing court following the conviction of the individual for the commission of a crime, or that of a bar admission, character and fitness, or disciplinary committee, board, or agency, or court which is considering a bar admission, character and fitness, or disciplinary matter, or that of the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, or that of any law enforcement agency when the nature and character of the offense with which an individual is to be charged would be affected by virtue of the person having been previously convicted of the same offense, or that of any law enforcement agency which is considering the issuance of a license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver under §§ 11-47-11 or 11-47-18.

(d) The custodian of any records which have been expunged pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall only release or allow access to those records for the purposes specified in subsections (b) or (c) of this section or by order of a court. Any agency and/or person who willfully refuses to carry out the expungement of the records of conviction pursuant to § 12-1.3-2, or this section or willfully releases or willfully allows access to records of conviction, knowing them to have been expunged, shall be civilly liable.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.