HR3111-119

What This Bill Does

The Fresh Start Act of 2025 amends the Brady Act's National Criminal History Improvement Program grant uses so states can receive grants to implement covered expungement laws. A covered expungement law is a state law that automatically expunges or seals criminal records, subject to state requirements including continued access for courts and law enforcement, without requiring an eligible person to take action and without delay because of unpaid fees or fines. States receiving grants must report each year to the Attorney General, under federal guidelines, the number of people eligible for automatic expungement or sealing, the number whose records have been expunged or sealed each year since enactment of the law, and the number whose applications remain pending, all disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender. If data cannot be compiled, the state must develop and report a plan within one year after the first grant year to obtain as much unavailable data as possible. The Attorney General must publish annual public reports with state-reported data beginning one year after enactment.

Who Benefits and How

People eligible for automatic expungement benefit because states can receive federal support to implement sealing without requiring individual applications. People blocked by unpaid fees or fines benefit because covered laws cannot delay expungement for failure to pay. State courts benefit from grant support to implement automatic sealing while preserving access for courts and law enforcement. State criminal history repositories benefit from federal funds to update records systems and data reporting. Civil rights researchers benefit from race, ethnicity, and gender data on eligibility, completed expungements, and pending applications.

Who Bears the Burden and How

States receiving grants must report expungement eligibility, completion, and pending data every year. The Attorney General must set guidelines and publish annual public reports. State data administrators must develop plans when required data cannot be compiled. Law enforcement agencies must manage continued access to sealed or expunged material under state law.

Key Provisions

• Adds implementation of covered expungement laws as an eligible Brady Act grant use.
• Defines automatic expungement or sealing as relief requiring no action by an eligible individual.
• Defines covered laws to include no delay based on unpaid fees or fines while preserving court and law enforcement access.
• Requires annual state reporting on eligibility, completed expungements, and pending applications by race, ethnicity, and gender.
• Requires annual public Attorney General reports using the state data.