HOUSE BILL No. 5997


     September 27, 2000, Introduced by Rep. Price and referred to the Committee on Criminal Law and Corrections.


        A bill to allow the court to order certain criminal records

   sealed under certain circumstances; to prescribe the powers and

   duties of certain state and local governmental officers and enti-

   ties; and to provide penalties.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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           Sec. 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the

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      "fresh start act".

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           Sec. 2.  (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, a

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      person who was convicted of a crime may, upon the expiration of 5

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      years after the judgment of conviction and fulfillment of all

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      sentencing, probation, and parole obligations arising out of that

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      conviction, petition the court for an order sealing all criminal

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      records for that criminal violation and for all previous criminal

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      violations committed by that person.




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           (2) The petition for an order under this section shall be

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      filed in the court in which the individual was last convicted of

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      a crime, and shall list all crimes for which the order shall

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      apply.  The person shall serve notice of the petition on the

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      prosecuting attorney for each criminal violation listed by the

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      person and for which the person seeks an order under this

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      section.  The notice shall be served not less than 60 days before

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      a hearing is held on the petition.

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           (3) A prosecuting attorney has the right to contest a peti-

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      tion filed under this section.

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           Sec. 3.  A person is not eligible for an order under this

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      act if any of the following circumstances exist:

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           (a) The person was previously convicted of a felony involv-

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      ing the use of physical force or the threat of the use of physi-

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      cal force against another person.

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           (b) The person previously was convicted of a listed

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      offense.

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           (c) The person was previously convicted of more than 2

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      felonies.

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           Sec. 4.  The court shall grant a petition for an order that

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      is properly submitted under section 2 if the prosecuting attorney

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      does not contest the petition and the person is not ineligible

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      for an order under this section.  If the prosecuting attorney

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      contests the petition, the court shall conduct a hearing on the

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      petition.  The court shall grant the petition if the court deter-

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      mines the person is eligible for an order under this section





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      unless the court determines that, in the interests of justice,

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      the petition should be denied.

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           Sec. 5.  (1) A person is eligible for an order under section

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      2 only if all of the following apply:

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           (a) The person successfully completes 100 hours of community

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      service approved by the court or a program of self-improvement

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      approved by the court.  As used in this subsection, "program of

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      self-improvement" means an educational program that provides job

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      training skills or counseling to address a mental or emotional

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      illness or disorder.

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           (b) The person successfully completes a program of substance

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      abuse treatment and rehabilitation services if the person is

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      determined by the court to be in need of those services.

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           (c) The person obtains a high school diploma or its substan-

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      tial equivalent if the person does not have a high school diploma

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      or its substantial equivalent.

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           (2) The court may approve any program described in subsec-

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      tion (1)(a) that was completed within 1 year immediately preced-

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      ing the date of application or may approve the program for com-

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      pletion after the application is filed.

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           Sec. 6.  (1) If the court issues an order sealing a person's

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      records under this act, the court shall promptly provide a copy

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      of the order to all of the following:

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           (a) Each court named in the petition having jurisdiction

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      over a prior conviction.

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           (b) Each law enforcement agency that investigated the prior

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      criminal violation.



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           (c) Each prosecuting attorney who prosecuted the prior

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      criminal violation.

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           (d) The criminal records division of the department of state

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      police.

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           (e) The department of corrections, if the person was placed

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      in the jurisdiction of the department of corrections for the

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      criminal violation.

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           (2) An entity that receives a copy of an order under subsec-

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      tion (1) shall promptly close all records within that entity's

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      possession or control relating to each crime that is set forth in

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      the order and shall not disclose the existence of a record or the

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      contents of a record to any other person except as otherwise pro-

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      vided in this act.

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           Sec. 7.  Except as otherwise provided in this act, if a

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      person's records are ordered sealed under this section, the

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      person is considered not to have been convicted of a crime and is

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      not disqualified from any legal occupation.  Except as otherwise

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      provided by law, a person whose records are sealed under this

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      section for a prior conviction may deny the existence of that

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      prior conviction.

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           Sec. 8.  A person who knows that a record has been ordered

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      sealed under this act who willfully discloses the existence or

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      the contents of that record in violation of this act is guilty of

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      a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00.

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      This subsection does not apply to any of the following:







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           (a) A person who discloses the existence of a record or the

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      contents of a record to a police officer, prosecutor, or

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      investigator for a prosecutor for law enforcement purposes.

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           (b) A person who discloses the existence of a record or the

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      contents of a record to a county concealed weapon licensing board

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      for determining the person's right to own, carry, or possess a

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      firearm or to engage in the business of selling firearms.

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           (c) A person who discloses the existence of a record or the

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      contents of a record to the person who obtained the order or his

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      or her attorney.

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           Sec. 9.  As used in this act:

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           (a) "Felony" means a crime specifically designated to be a

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      felony, or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for more than

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      1 year.

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           (b) "Listed offense" means that term as defined in section 2

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      of the sex offenders registration act, 1994 PA 295, MCL 28.722.

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           (c) "Prosecuting attorney" means the attorney general or a

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      county prosecuting attorney, or the attorney for a city, village,

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      or township who prosecutes criminal ordinance violations on

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      behalf of that city, village, or township.

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           (d) "Substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation services"

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      means that term as defined in section 6107 of the public health

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      code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.6107.











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