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SB 649

Relating to estate tax; prescribing an effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Daniel Bonham and 1 co-sponsor

SB 649 allows expungement petitions under § 10‑110 for charges ended with a no finding or terminated without finding, expanding eligibility beyond final convictions.

In committee upon adjournment.
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Bill Summary · SB 649

SB 649 — Criminal Procedure: Expungement — “No Finding” and “Terminated Without Finding”

Status: Referred to interim study by Judicial Proceedings (introduced in early 2025)
Introduced: 2025 (session documents list dates in Jan–Feb 2025)
Effective date (if enacted): October 1, 2025
Companion: HB 610

Main purpose

SB 649 expands eligibility for conviction-based expungement under Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure § 10‑110 by expressly permitting expungement petitions for charges that were not disposed of by an “unequivocal conviction” but instead were (1) disposed of by the court with a “no finding” designation or (2) included in a case the court designated as “terminated without finding.”

In short: certain charges that ended without a final guilty conviction but with court labels of “no finding” or “terminated without finding” would become eligible for expungement under § 10‑110.

Key provisions

  • Adds language to § 10‑110 to authorize filing an expungement petition for a charge that:
    • was disposed of by the court with a “no finding” designation; or
    • was part of a case the court designated as “terminated without finding.”
  • Does not amend the substantive expungement procedures in § 10‑110 (waiting periods, petition process, rights of State’s Attorneys or victims to object, or existing “unit rule” that ties together charges arising from the same incident).
  • Effective date of the act: October 1, 2025.

Context — how § 10‑110 currently works

  • § 10‑110 permits persons convicted of specified offenses (an enumerated list of offenses) to petition for expungement after statutory waiting periods that begin upon satisfaction of sentence, parole, probation, or mandatory supervision. Typical waiting periods (under existing law) include:
    • Misdemeanors (general): 5 years
    • Felonies (general) and certain assaults/battery: 7 years
    • Certain domestically related crimes: 15 years
    • Other enumerated shorter/longer periods for specific offenses
  • The bill places the newly covered dispositions under the § 10‑110 expungement pathway (conviction-based statute) rather than the nonconviction statute § 10‑105.

Who is affected

  • Individuals whose charges ended with “no finding” or were part of cases “terminated without finding” — these persons could seek expungement under § 10‑110 where previously they may not have been eligible under that section.
  • The Judiciary — will need to update materials and may experience operational impacts (case identification, petitions), though the Judiciary has said its case management system does not currently use the bill’s specific terminology, making workload impacts uncertain.
  • State’s Attorneys and victims retain existing rights to object to expungement petitions under the statute.

Fiscal and operational impacts

  • Fiscal Note: One‑time general fund increase of $11,700 in FY 2026 to the Judiciary to revise brochures, forms, and instructional videos. No material long‑term State or local fiscal impact is anticipated.
  • Operational: The Judiciary flagged uncertainty about which dispositions the bill covers (its case management system does not use the same terminology), so there may be some implementation complexity or limited additional workload if courts must identify affected cases.

Policy/Equity note

  • A Racial Equity Impact Statement observes that expanding expungement eligibility can reduce collateral consequences (employment, housing, licensing) and may disproportionately benefit Black Marylanders, who are overrepresented in the criminal legal system. The Judiciary could not quantify the impact due to terminology and data limitations.

Procedure / legislative timeline (selected)

  • Introduced in early 2025 and assigned to Judicial Proceedings.
  • Committee activity in March 2025 (from committee with author’s amendments; re‑referred to Committee on Rules/Executive Nominations and later referred to interim study).
  • Current procedural status: referred to interim study by Judicial Proceedings.

For more detail, see the bill text amending Criminal Procedure § 10‑110 and the Department of Legislative Services fiscal and racial equity notes.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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