Arizona Senate Passes Bill to Allow Expungement of Certain Misdemeanors in 27 to 1 Vote

The Arizona Senate has passed Senate Bill 1140, a proposal that would create a new path for people to have certain misdemeanors expunged. The measure, filed in January by State Senator Shawna Bolick (R), was approved by the full Senate in a 27 to 1 vote, with two senators absent. The bill now advances to the House for consideration.

Under the legislation, someone arrested for a misdemeanor but never charged, someone whose misdemeanor charge was later dismissed or ended in a not guilty verdict, or someone convicted of a misdemeanor could petition a court to expunge the record. In general, the waiting period would be at least three years from the date of arrest if no charges were filed, dismissal or acquittal, or completion of probation or sentence and discharge by the court. For some cases, the waiting period would be five years.

The bill sets several conditions for eligibility. A person would need to have fully completed the terms of their sentence or probation, have no additional arrests or convictions, have no outstanding monetary obligations, and have no prior expungement under the section. The measure also says the petitioner could not have pending unresolved matters in any court or jurisdiction and could not have past-due restitution or other court-ordered monetary obligations.

SB 1140 also lays out where petitions must be filed, depending on how the case began and whether charges were filed in justice, municipal or superior court. Courts would be allowed to grant or deny a petition without a hearing. However, if a prosecutor or victim requests one, the court could hold a hearing before deciding whether expungement is in the best interests of the petitioner and public safety.

If a court grants the petition, the bill says it would seal the record, vacate the judgment of adjudication or conviction, and state that the petitioner’s arrest, charge, conviction, adjudication and sentence are expunged. It would also require notification to the Department of Public Safety, prosecutors and arresting law enforcement agencies so records can be updated and access limited.

The legislation further says that an expunged arrest, charge, adjudication, conviction or sentence could not be used in a later prosecution by a prosecuting agency or court for any purpose. In most situations, a person whose record was expunged could respond to questions as though the conviction did not exist. One exception in the bill applies to people seeking employment as peace officers, where law enforcement agencies could still request sealed court records.

The proposal would not apply in every case. The bill excludes certain offenses already listed elsewhere in Arizona law, including violent crimes and certain related offenses charged alongside the misdemeanor at issue.

In addition to creating the new expungement process, SB 1140 would amend Arizona’s judicial productivity statute to give justice courts workload credit for handling petitions filed under the new misdemeanor expungement section, as well as existing marijuana expungement petitions.

If approved by the House, the bill will be sent to Governor Katie Hobbs.