Bill
S 1114
Automates sealing of eligible misdemeanor and felony records after waiting periods, with records sealed within 30 days of eligibility without individuals filing petitions.
Note on source materials
- The provided packet contains mixed and partly conflicting documents (an unrelated Idaho fireworks bill and differing sponsor lists). This summary focuses on the Massachusetts Clean Slate bill (Senate No. 1114 / SD 949), titled “An Act requiring clean slate automated record sealing,” submitted in the 194th General Court and primarily sponsored by Senator Cindy F. Friedman and co-petitioners listed in the docket.
Purpose and intent
- Establish an automated, administrative “clean slate” process to seal eligible adult and juvenile criminal records in Massachusetts without requiring an individual petition, thereby improving access to employment, housing, and collateral opportunities for people with eligible prior records.
Key provisions
- Automated sealing mandate: The Commissioner of Probation must create and operate an automated process to seal eligible criminal court appearance and disposition records; records that meet eligibility must be sealed within 30 days of becoming eligible.
- Eligibility windows:
- Misdemeanor records: eligible if the court appearance/disposition (including incarceration/custody) occurred at least 3 years prior.
- Felony records: eligible if the court appearance/disposition (including incarceration/custody) occurred at least 7 years prior.
- Eligibility is conditioned on no subsequent convictions in the Commonwealth within the applicable 3- or 7-year lookback period.
- Release-date reporting and data matching:
- The Commissioner of Probation will add release-from-custody dates to the Probation database when received.
- The Department of Correction, houses of correction, and jails must report, by the 7th day of each month, names, identifying information, and actual release dates for persons released during the prior month to the Commissioner of Probation to support automated sealing.
- The Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) must include known release dates in criminal offender record information.
- Exceptions and special rules:
- Convictions for certain offenses are excluded from automatic sealing: specifically, convictions referenced in chapter 140 (sections 121–129, 131A–131D, and 131F) and convictions under chapters 268 and 268A are not sealable (these are specified statutory exceptions in the bill text); resisting arrest is noted as an exception that may be sealable.
- Sex offenses (as defined in chapter 6, §178C) — sealing of these convictions requires an affirmative petition by the person on a form provided by the Commissioner.
- Persons with prior marijuana possession convictions that were later decriminalized may seek earlier or immediate sealing by filing a request.
- Notice and access:
- At conviction or disposition, defendants must be given notice that their offense(s) may be sealed in the future without filing a petition, along with a summary of the sealing law and available resources.
- Upon request, clerks, the Commissioner of Probation, and other criminal justice agencies must provide sealed records to the person or their legal representative without requiring a court order or unsealing process.
- Juvenile/delinquent records: The bill amends applicable juvenile sealing provisions to implement a similar automated sealing approach (text indicates parallel amendments; some text truncated).
Who is affected
- Individuals with eligible misdemeanor or felony convictions in Massachusetts whose waiting periods have elapsed and who have not reoffended within the applicable lookback period.
- State agencies: Commissioner of Probation (primary administrator), Department of Correction, houses of correction and jails (reporting duties), DCJIS, trial court clerks.
- Employers and other background-check recipients will encounter more sealed records over time under the automated regime.
Procedural / timeline notes
- The bill requires monthly reporting from correctional facilities (by the 7th) and directs sealing within 30 days of eligibility.
- Legislative status (from provided actions): introduced and referred to committees; hearings were scheduled (06/03/2025 per packet). Exact current committee stage should be confirmed with the Massachusetts Legislature’s docket because materials contained mixed jurisdiction items.
Potential impacts
- Expected to substantially increase the volume of records sealed without individual action, reducing administrative barriers for affected individuals.
- Administrative workload for the Commissioner of Probation and data-reporting agencies will increase, requiring system updates and interagency data matching.
- Exceptions for certain serious offenses and sex offenses preserve public-safety carve-outs; the bill provides procedures for individuals seeking sealing of some excluded or special-case records.
If you want, I can:
- Produce a side-by-side comparison of this bill with prior “clean slate” proposals (e.g., SD 979 of 2023–2024),
- Extract and summarize exact statutory citations and excluded offenses in plain language, or
- Verify current status on the Massachusetts Legislature website and update the procedural timeline.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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