HB5341 Summary

• Courts cannot deny petitions to seal criminal records based on unpaid legal financial obligations, including fines, fees, costs, and assessments, though debt collection rights remain unaffected.

• A sentence is considered terminated for purposes of record sealing or expungement regardless of any outstanding financial legal obligations.

• Sealed court records may be accessed for the limited purpose of collecting legal financial obligations owed by the petitioner, with records re-impounded after collection is complete.

• Circuit court clerks may access sealed records to collect legal financial obligations established in the criminal proceedings without entering the record into the official court index.

• If a sealed record was previously expunged, the fee for filing an expungement petition for that same record shall be waived.