BILL ANALYSIS AB 2582 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2582 (Adams) As Amended May 5, 2010 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Ammiano, Hagman, Beall, | | | | |Gilmore, Hill, Skinner | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Authorizes the court to expunge a former conviction for a non-vehicular infraction. Specifically, this bill : 1)Provides that a court can determine that a defendant convicted of a non-vehicular infraction should be granted expungement relief after the lapse of one year from the date of pronouncement of the judgment. 2)Requires that a petition for dismissal of an infraction be by written declaration, except upon a showing of compelling need, and that the prosecuting attorney be given 15-days' notice of the petition. It will be presumed that the prosecuting attorney has received notice if proof of service is filed with the court. EXISTING LAW : 1)States that every defendant convicted of a misdemeanor and not granted probation shall, at any time after the lapse of one year from the date of pronouncement of judgment, if he or she has fully complied with and performed the sentence of the court, is not then serving a sentence for any offense and is not under charge of commission of any crime and has, since the pronouncement of judgment, lived an honest and upright life and has conformed to and obeyed the laws of the land, be permitted by the court to withdraw his or her plea of guilty or nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty; or, if he or she has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, the court shall set aside the verdict of guilty; and, in either case the court shall thereupon dismiss the accusatory pleading against the defendant, who shall thereafter be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense of AB 2582 Page 2 which he or she has been convicted. 2)States that an order of dismissal does not relieve him or her of the obligation to disclose the conviction in response to any questions contained in any questionnaire or application for public office, or for licensure for any state or local agency. 3)Provides that, despite the accusatory pleading having been dismissed, in any other subsequent prosecution of the defendant for any other offense, the prior conviction may be pleaded and proved and shall have the same effect as if probation had not been granted or the accusation or information dismissed. FISCAL EFFECT : None COMMENTS : According to the author, "A criminal record can be a huge impediment to anyone seeking a job. Existing law partially addresses this issue by permitting a person convicted of a non-vehicular misdemeanor, and who has maintained a perfectly clean record for at least a year, to petition the court to have the conviction removed from his or her record. However, existing law does not permit a person convicted of a non-vehicular infraction to clear his or her record in the same way, even though such a conviction will show up in a criminal history background check and some infractions- such as disturbing the peace, fighting in public, attempt to purchase alcohol by a minor, and driving without a license - can appear serious enough to keep the individual from getting the job. "AB 2582 will permit persons convicted on non-vehicular infractions to petition the court to have the convictions removed from their record, under exactly the same conditions and in exactly the same manner as misdemeanor convictions, thereby removing this impediment from their efforts to obtain gainful employment." Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Meghan Masera / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 AB 2582 Page 3 FN: 0004364