SB 426 - This act authorizes courts to set aside criminal convictions and to expunge criminal records under certain circumstances. Current law allows courts to expunge arrest records if there was no probable cause for the arrest, no charges will be filed, and the subject of the arrest has no criminal convictions. This act adds the additional restriction that the subject not have suspended impositions of sentence (SISs) on his record and that there are no pending investigations regarding the arrest. This act also allows expungement, however, based only upon a finding that no criminal charges have been filed against the subject for 10 years after the arrest.

This act contains the Missouri Rehabilitation and Sealed Records Act which authorizes a court to set aside a person's criminal convictions and seal a person's criminal record if such person: 1. Has had no more than 1 felony or 2 misdemeanors; 2. Has not been convicted for 10 consecutive years following service of his or her most recent sentence; 3. Has no convictions for violent felonies or a sex-related offense; 4. Has no A or B felony convictions for a drug-distribution offense; 5. Has no convictions on his or her commercial drivers license (CDL) involving a BAC of .04 or higher; and 6. Is at least 25.

The act criminalizes knowing use or release of records sealed pursuant to the act. Failure to seal or knowingly releasing such records is a Class B misdemeanor (time: 6 months or less; fine: $500 or less), and knowing use of the records for financial gain is a Class D felony (time: 5 years or less; fine: $5,000 or less, or double the gain (not more than $20,000)).
ALAN KELLY