YourVoice.Now Summary
Criminal Justice & Due ProcessTransparency & AccountabilityStates could use federal grant money to clear criminal records automatically — no application, no hold-up over unpaid fees.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
States could spend an existing federal records grant on laws that seal or erase records without the person applying. A qualifying law cannot delay clearing a record over unpaid fees or fines.
Transparency & Accountability
States using the grant would report each year how many people qualify, how many were cleared, and how many are waiting. The Attorney General would post these numbers for the public every year.
More about this bill
If you have a criminal record, your state could get federal help to clear it automatically. States could use an existing federal grant to carry out laws that seal or erase records. People would not have to apply. To count, a state law could not hold up a record because the person still owes a fee or fine. States could still let courts and police see sealed records. Today this grant helps states improve criminal history records and the national gun background check system. The bill adds no new money. Each year, states that use it would report how many people qualify, how many records were cleared, and how many are still waiting. Those numbers would be broken down by race, ethnicity, and gender. The Attorney General would publish them in a yearly public report.
Congressional Summary
Fresh Start Act of 2025 This bill allows grants under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) to be used to implement a state law that provides for the automatic expungement or sealing of certain criminal records. NCHIP grants support efforts by state and tribal governments to enhance the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history record information and ensure the implementation of effective background check systems.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-04-30
- Date Added
- 2026-10-02
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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