SB117 Summary: REDEEMER Act

• Expands eligibility for record expungement to include misdemeanor convictions, traffic violations, municipal ordinance violations, and certain felony offenses (excluding violent offenses), with waiting periods ranging from 90 days to 5 years depending on offense type and circumstance.

• Increases administrative filing fee for expungement petitions from $300 to $500, distributed to state and local agencies including the State Judicial Administrative Fund, district attorney offices, and law enforcement entities.

• Establishes limits on the number of expungements: unlimited for most dismissals and acquittals, one expungement for violent felony acquittals, and two expungements for drug/mental health court completions and certain trafficking-related offenses.

• Allows expunged records to be disclosed to criminal justice agencies, district attorneys, Department of Human Resources, and financial institutions for specific authorized purposes; requires archived records be maintained indefinitely by the State Law Enforcement Agency.

• Makes expungement records admissible in criminal trials subject to Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence, with courts conducting in-camera hearings to determine admissibility; becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage.