Suffrage; restoration upon completion of sentence and other conditions for individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes.

2025 Regular Session

SB 2631 appropriates over 38 million general revenue to fund the Office of the State Appellate Defender, including targeted programs like expungement, defender training, and a juve

Died In Committee

#constitution #elections

Summary — SB 2631 (104th General Assembly)

Note up front: the bill title and subject you provided (“Suffrage; restoration upon completion of sentence…”) do not match the text of the bill filed as SB 2631. The official bill text introduced in March 2025 is an appropriations measure that funds the Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD). This summary describes the content of the introduced bill text.

Purpose and intent

SB 2631 would appropriate state General Revenue Fund dollars to support the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, including targeted funding for an Expungement Program, a Defender Training Program, and a Juvenile Defender Resource Center. The bill’s stated effective date is July 1, 2025.

Key provisions and dollar amounts

Total base appropriation to OSAD: $38,275,200 (from the General Revenue Fund), allocated as follows:

Personal services: $29,301,900
State contributions to Social Security: $2,219,900
Contractual services: $3,683,900
Travel: $47,000
Commodities: $37,000
Printing: $20,000
Equipment: $115,000
EDP (electronic data processing): $1,739,300
Telecommunications: $43,000

Additional targeted appropriations:

Expungement Program: $258,100
Public Defender Training Program (statewide training): $172,500
Juvenile Defender Resource Center development: $637,600

Who would be affected

Primary beneficiary: Office of the State Appellate Defender — funding supports staffing, operations, technology, and programs.

Indirect beneficiaries: indigent appellants represented by OSAD, public defenders who would receive statewide training, persons served by the Expungement Program, and juveniles whose defense may be supported by the proposed Juvenile Defender Resource Center.

State budget: would require the appropriated amounts be made from the General Revenue Fund.

Procedural status and timeline

Introduced and filed in early March 2025 (filed by Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr.; bill text lists an effective date of July 1, 2025, if enacted).

Committee activity recorded (referred to committees; scheduled for public hearing; left pending).

Status shown as “Died In Committee,” indicating the measure did not advance to enactment in this session. Because it did not pass, the appropriations would not take effect.

Notes and considerations

The bill as introduced is a fiscal/appropriations bill and contains no provisions about voting rights or suffrage restoration despite the initial title you provided. If the policy intent is to address suffrage restoration, that appears to be a different or separate measure and is not reflected in the SB 2631 text summarized here.