HB28 Summary

• Expands eligibility for criminal record expungement to include convictions (not just dismissed charges) for misdemeanor offenses, traffic violations, municipal ordinance violations, and certain Class C and Class D felony convictions, including those adjudicated as youthful offenders.

• Requires petitioners for conviction expungement to meet specific conditions including completion of probation/parole, full payment of fines and restitution, passage of 3 years for misdemeanors or 5 years for felonies, and no prior violent felony or sex offense convictions.

• Establishes a $500 filing fee for conviction expungement petitions (increased from $300 for charge dismissals), with specified distribution to the State Judicial Administrative Fund, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, district attorney's office, clerk's office, Public Safety Fund, and law enforcement agencies.

• Allows indigent petitioners to apply for hardship status and establish payment plans to satisfy filing fees over time before expungement is granted.

• Permits expunged records to be released for use in civil suits filed by the person granted expungement that relate to the arrest or conviction being expunged.