HF 13 (LSB 1324HH (4) 88)

HOUSE FILE 13

BY  WOLFE

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the expungement of simple misdemeanor offenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  901C.3  Simple misdemeanor —— expungement.
   1.  Upon application of a defendant convicted of a simple misdemeanor, the court shall enter an order expunging the record of such criminal case as a matter of law if the court finds the defendant has established either of the following:
   a.  More than five years have passed since the date of the conviction, the defendant has not been subsequently convicted of or granted a deferred judgment for any criminal offense, and the defendant is not currently charged with any criminal offense. 
   b.  More than ten years have passed since the date of the conviction, the defendant has not been subsequently convicted of or granted a deferred judgment for a felony offense, and the defendant is not currently charged with any criminal offense.
   2.  This section shall not apply to a conviction that is a simple misdemeanor conviction entered under section 123.46, section 123.47, subsection 3, chapter 321 or 321J, or section 708.2A.
   3.  Notwithstanding section 692.2, after receipt of notice from the clerk of the district court that a record of conviction has been expunged, the record of conviction shall be removed from the criminal history data files maintained by the department of public safety, if such a record is maintained in the criminal history data files.
   4.  Subsection 1 applies whether the simple misdemeanor conviction was expunged prior to, on, or after July 1, 2019.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the expungement of a simple misdemeanor offense.
   The term “expunged” means the court’s criminal record with reference to a deferred judgment or any other criminal record that has been segregated in a secure area or database which is exempt from public access.
   The bill provides that upon the application of a defendant convicted of a simple misdemeanor, the court shall enter an order expunging the record of such criminal case as a matter of law if the defendant has established that more than five years have passed since the date of the conviction; the defendant has not been subsequently convicted of or granted a deferred judgment for any criminal offense; and the defendant is not currently charged with any criminal offense or more than 10 years have passed since the date of the conviction; the defendant has not been subsequently convicted of or granted a deferred judgment for a felony offense; and the defendant is not currently charged with any criminal offense. 
   The bill does not apply to simple misdemeanor convictions under Code section 123.46 (consumption or intoxication in public place), Code section 123.47(3) (alcohol consumption by persons under legal age), Code chapters 321 (motor vehicles and laws of the road) and 321J (operating while intoxicated), or Code section 708.2A (domestic abuse assault). 
   The bill applies to a simple misdemeanor conviction that occurs prior to, on, or after July 1, 2019.
   The bill also provides that, notwithstanding Code section 692.2 (dissemination of criminal history data) after receipt of notice from the clerk of the district court that a record of conviction has been expunged, the record of conviction shall be removed from the criminal history data files maintained by the department of public safety if such a record was maintained in the criminal history data files.