Senate Bill 2451 - Expungement Consolidation Summary

• Consolidates all expungement statutes into one unified law (Section 1) covering misdemeanor convictions, felony convictions, DUI convictions, and non-convictions.

• Establishes eligibility criteria: first-time misdemeanor offenders may petition immediately; felony offenders must wait 5 years after completing sentence; first-time DUI offenders must wait 5 years and meet specific conditions including blood alcohol concentration below .16%.

• Prohibits expungement of certain serious felonies including crimes of violence, arson, drug trafficking, felon in possession of firearm, sex offender registration violations, and embezzlement.

• Creates automatic expungement for cases where arrest was made but charges were dismissed, dropped, or defendant found not guilty; requires courts to issue expungement orders automatically upon dismissal or nolle prosequi on or after July 1, 2020.

• Sets filing fee of $150.00 for felony expungement petitions in circuit/county court ($140.00 to state, $10.00 to clerk); no fee for cases dismissed without conviction; requires Interstate Identification Index background checks and maintains confidential records at Mississippi Criminal Information Center.