BILL NUMBER: SB 504 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 14, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lara
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Section 1203.45 of the Penal Code, and to amend
Sections 781 and 903.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating
to court records.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 504, as amended, Lara. Court records: sealing.
Existing law authorizes a person to petition the court for an
order sealing the record of conviction and other official records in
a case in which that person was under 18 years of age at the time of
commission of a misdemeanor and is eligible for, or has previously
received, specified relief. Existing law authorizes that person to be
required to reimburse the court, the county, or any city for the
actual cost of services rendered, as specified.
This bill would only make persons 26 years of age or older liable
to reimburse the court, the county, or any city for the cost of
services.
Existing law authorizes in a case in which a petition has been
filed with a juvenile court to commence proceedings to adjudge a
person a ward of the court, in a case in which a person is cited to
appear before a probation officer or is taken before a probation
officer pursuant to a specified provision of law, or in a case in
which a minor is taken before an officer of a law enforcement agency,
the person or the county probation officer to petition the court for
the sealing of arrest records and records relating to the person's
case in the custody of the juvenile court and the probation officer
and any other agencies, including law enforcement agencies and public
officials as the petitioner alleges to have custody of the records.
This bill would prohibit an unfulfilled order of restitution that
has been converted to a civil judgment from barring the sealing of a
record pursuant to the above provisions. The bill would also prohibit
outstanding restitution fines and court-ordered fees from being
considered when assessing whether a petitioner's rehabilitation has
been attained to the satisfaction of the court and from barring the
sealing of a record pursuant to the above provisions. The bill
would provide that a minor is not relieved of the obligation to pay
victim resti tution, restitution fines, and court-ordered
fines and fees because the minor's records are sealed. The bill would
provide that sealing a record does not prohibit a court from
enforcing a civil judgment for an unfulfilled order of restitution,
and that a victim or a local collection program may continue to
enforce victim restitution orders, restitution fines, and
court-ordered fines and fees after a record is sealed. By
increasing the number of records local agencies would be required to
seal, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law makes a father, mother, spouse, or other person
liable for the support of a minor person, the minor when he or she
becomes an adult, or the estates of those persons, liable for the
cost to the county and court for any investigation related to the
sealing and for the sealing of any juvenile court or arrest records
pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions. Existing law also
authorizes those persons to be required to reimburse the court,
county, or a city for the actual cost of services rendered, as
specified.
This bill would only require persons 26 years of age or older who
petition for an order sealing his or her record, pursuant to
specified provisions, to be liable for the investigative costs and to
reimburse the costs of services rendered.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1203.45 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
1203.45. (a) In a case in which a person was under 18 years of
age at the time of commission of a misdemeanor and is eligible for,
or has previously received, the relief provided by Section 1203.4 or
1203.4a, that person, in a proceeding under Section 1203.4 or
1203.4a, or a separate proceeding, may petition the court for an
order sealing the record of conviction and other official records in
the case, including records of arrests resulting in the criminal
proceeding and records relating to other offenses charged in the
accusatory pleading, whether the defendant was acquitted or charges
were dismissed. If the court finds that the person was under 18 years
of age at the time of the commission of the misdemeanor, and is
eligible for relief under Section 1203.4 or 1203.4a or has previously
received that relief, it may issue its order granting the relief
prayed for. Thereafter the conviction, arrest, or other proceeding
shall be deemed not to have occurred, and the petitioner may answer
accordingly any question relating to their occurrence.
(b) This section applies to convictions that occurred before, as
well as those that occur after, the effective date of this section.
(c) This section shall not apply to offenses for which
registration is required under Section 290, to violations of Division
10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code, or
to misdemeanor violations of the Vehicle Code relating to operation
of a vehicle or of a local ordinance relating to operation, standing,
stopping, or parking of a motor vehicle.
(d) This section does not apply to a person convicted of more than
one offense, whether the second or additional convictions occurred
in the same action in which the conviction as to which relief is
sought occurred or in another action, except in the following cases:
(1) One of the offenses includes the other or others.
(2) The other conviction or convictions were for the following:
(A) Misdemeanor violations of Chapters 1 (commencing with Section
21000) to 9 (commencing with Section 22500), inclusive, Chapter 12
(commencing with Section 23100), or Chapter 13 (commencing with
Section 23250) of Division 11 of the Vehicle Code, other than Section
23103, 23104, 23105, 23152, 23153, or 23220.
(B) Violation of a local ordinance relating to the operation,
stopping, standing, or parking of a motor vehicle.
(3) The other conviction or convictions consisted of any
combination of paragraphs (1) and (2).
(e) This section shall apply in a case in which a person was under
21 years of age at the time of the commission of an offense as to
which this section is made applicable if that offense was committed
prior to March 7, 1973.
(f) In an action or proceeding based upon defamation, a court,
upon a showing of good cause, may order the records sealed under this
section to be opened and admitted into evidence. The records shall
be confidential and shall be available for inspection only by the
court, jury, parties, counsel for the parties, and any other person
who is authorized by the court to inspect them. Upon the judgment in
the action or proceeding becoming final, the court shall order the
records sealed.
(g) A person who is 26 years of age of or
older and petitions for an order sealing a record under this
section may be required to reimburse the court for the actual cost of
services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted and the
records are sealed or expunged, at a rate to be determined by the
court, not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150), and to
reimburse the county for the actual cost of services rendered,
whether or not the petition is granted and the records are sealed or
expunged, at a rate to be determined by the county board of
supervisors, not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150), and to
reimburse any city for the actual cost of services rendered, whether
or not the petition is granted and the records are sealed or
expunged, at a rate to be determined by the city council, not to
exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150). Ability to make this
reimbursement shall be determined by the court using the standards
set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 987.8 and
shall not be a prerequisite to a person's eligibility under this
section. The court may order reimbursement in a case in which the
petitioner appears to have the ability to pay, without undue
hardship, all or any portion of the cost for services established
pursuant to this subdivision.
SEC. 2. Section 781 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
781. (a) (1) (A) In any case in which a petition has been filed
with a juvenile court to commence proceedings to adjudge a person a
ward of the court, in any case in which a person is cited to appear
before a probation officer or is taken before a probation officer
pursuant to Section 626, or in any case in which a minor is taken
before any officer of a law enforcement agency, the person or the
county probation officer may, five years or more after the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated as to the person,
or, in a case in which no petition is filed, five years or more after
the person was cited to appear before a probation officer or was
taken before a probation officer pursuant to Section 626 or was taken
before any officer of a law enforcement agency, or, in any case, at
any time after the person has reached 18 years of age, petition the
court for sealing of the records, including records of arrest,
relating to the person's case, in the custody of the juvenile court
and probation officer and any other agencies, including law
enforcement agencies, entities, and public officials as the
petitioner alleges, in his or her petition, to have custody of the
records. The court shall notify the district attorney of the county
and the county probation officer, if he or she is not the petitioner,
and the district attorney or probation officer or any of their
deputies or any other person having relevant evidence may testify at
the hearing on the petition. If, after hearing, the court finds that
since the termination of jurisdiction or action pursuant to Section
626, as the case may be, he or she has not been convicted of a felony
or of any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude and that
rehabilitation has been attained to the satisfaction of the court, it
shall order all records, papers, and exhibits in the person's case
in the custody of the juvenile court sealed, including the juvenile
court record, minute book entries, and entries on dockets, and any
other records relating to the case in the custody of the other
agencies, entities, and officials as are named in the order. Once the
court has ordered the person's records sealed, the proceedings in
the case shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the person may
properly reply accordingly to any inquiry about the events, the
records of which are ordered sealed.
(B) The court shall send a copy of the order to each agency,
entity, and official named in the order, directing the agency or
entity to seal its records. Each agency, entity, and official shall
seal the records in its custody as directed by the order, shall
advise the court of its compliance, and thereupon shall seal the copy
of the court's order for sealing of records that the agency, entity,
or official received.
(C) In any case in which a ward of the juvenile court is subject
to the registration requirements set forth in Section 290 of the
Penal Code, a court, in ordering the sealing of the juvenile records
of the person, shall also provide in the order that the person is
relieved from the registration requirement and for the destruction of
all registration information in the custody of the Department of
Justice and other agencies, entities, and officials.
(D) Notwithstanding any other law, the court shall not order the
person's records sealed in any case in which the person has been
found by the juvenile court to have committed an offense listed in
subdivision (b) of Section 707 when he or she had attained 14 years
of age or older.
(2) An unfulfilled order of restitution that has been converted to
a civil judgment pursuant to Section 730.6 shall not be a bar to
sealing a record pursuant to this subdivision.
(3) Outstanding restitution fines and court-ordered fees shall not
be considered when assessing whether a petitioner's rehabilitation
has been attained to the satisfaction of the court and shall not be a
bar to sealing a record pursuant to this subdivision.
(4) The person who is the subject of records sealed pursuant to
this section may petition the superior court to permit inspection of
the records by persons named in the petition, and the superior court
may order the inspection of the records. Except as provided in
subdivision (b), the records shall not be open to inspection.
(b) In any action or proceeding based upon defamation, a court,
upon a showing of good cause, may order any records sealed under this
section to be opened and admitted into evidence. The records shall
be confidential and shall be available for inspection only by the
court, jury, parties, counsel for the parties, and any other person
who is authorized by the court to inspect them. Upon the judgment in
the action or proceeding becoming final, the court shall order the
records sealed.
(c) (1) Subdivision (a) does not apply to Department of Motor
Vehicle Vehicles records of any
convictions for offenses under the Vehicle Code or any local
ordinance relating to the operation, stopping and standing, or
parking of a vehicle where the record of any such conviction would be
a public record under Section 1808 of the Vehicle Code. However, if
a court orders a case record containing any such conviction to be
sealed under this section, and if the Department of Motor Vehicles
maintains a public record of such a conviction, the court shall
notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of the sealing and the
department shall advise the court of its receipt of the notice.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, subsequent to the notification,
the Department of Motor Vehicles shall allow access to its record of
convictions only to the subject of the record and to insurers which
have been granted requestor code numbers by the department. Any
insurer to which a record of conviction is disclosed, when the
conviction record has otherwise been sealed under this section, shall
be given notice of the sealing when the record is disclosed to the
insurer. The insurer may use the information contained in the record
for purposes of determining eligibility for insurance and insurance
rates for the subject of the record, and the information shall not be
used for any other purpose nor shall it be disclosed by an insurer
to any person or party not having access to the record.
(3) This subdivision does not prevent the sealing of any record
which is maintained by any agency or party other than the Department
of Motor Vehicles.
(4) This subdivision does not affect the procedures or authority
of the Department of Motor Vehicles for purging department records.
(d) Unless for good cause the court determines that the juvenile
court record shall be retained, the court shall order the destruction
of a person's juvenile court records that are sealed pursuant to
this section as follows: five years after the record was ordered
sealed, if the person who is the subject of the record was alleged or
adjudged to be a person described by Section 601; or when the person
who is the subject of the record reaches the age of
38 years of age if the person was alleged or
adjudged to be a person described by Section 602, except that if the
subject of the record was found to be a person described in Section
602 because of the commission of an offense listed in subdivision (b)
of Section 707 when he or she was 14 years of age or older, the
record shall not be destroyed. Any other agency in possession of
sealed records may destroy its records five years after the record
was ordered sealed.
(e) The court may access a file that has been sealed pursuant to
this section for the limited purpose of verifying the prior
jurisdictional status of a ward who is petitioning the court to
resume its jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 388.
This access shall not be deemed an unsealing of the record and shall
not require notice to any other entity.
(f) This section shall not permit the sealing of a person's
juvenile court records for an offense where the person is convicted
of that offense in a criminal court pursuant to the provisions of
Section 707.1. This subdivision is declaratory of existing law.
(g) (1) This section does not prohibit a court from enforcing a
civil judgment for an unfulfilled order of restitution obtained
pursuant to Section 730.6. A minor is not relieved from the
obligation to pay victim restitution, restitution fines, and
court-ordered fines and fees because the minor's records are sealed.
(2) A victim or a local collection program may continue to enforce
victim restitution orders, restitution fines, and court-ordered
fines and fees after a record is sealed. The juvenile court shall
have access to any records sealed pursuant to this section for the
limited purposes of enforcing a civil judgment or restitution order.
(g)
(h) (1) On and after January 1, 2015, each court and
probation department shall ensure that information regarding the
eligibility for and the procedures to request the sealing and
destruction of records pursuant to this section shall be provided to
each person who is either of the following:
(A) A person for whom a petition has been filed on or after
January 1, 2015, to adjudge the person a ward of the juvenile court.
(B) A person who is brought before a probation officer pursuant to
Section 626.
(2) The Judicial Council shall, on or before January 1, 2015,
develop informational materials for purposes of paragraph (1) and
shall develop a form to petition the court for the sealing and
destruction of records pursuant to this section. The informational
materials and the form shall be provided to each person described in
paragraph (1) when jurisdiction is terminated or when the case is
dismissed.
SEC. 3. Section 903.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
903.3. (a) A person who is 26 years of age or older shall,
unless indigent, be liable for the cost to the county and court for
any investigation related to the sealing and for the sealing of any
juvenile court or arrest records pursuant to Section 781 pertaining
to that person.
(b) In the event a petition is filed for an order sealing a
record, a person who is 26 years of age or older may be required to
reimburse the county and court for the actual cost of services
rendered, whether or not the petition is granted and the records are
sealed or expunged, at a rate to be determined by the county board of
supervisors for the county and by the court for the court, not to
exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150). Ability to make this
reimbursement shall be determined by the court using the standards
set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 987.8 of the
Penal Code and shall not be a prerequisite to a person's eligibility
under this section. The court may order reimbursement in any case in
which the petitioner appears to have the ability to pay, without
undue hardship, all or any portion of the cost for services.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person shall not be liable
for the costs described in this section if a petition to declare the
minor a dependent child of the court pursuant to Section 300 is
dismissed at or before the jurisdictional hearing.
(d) Any determination of amount made by a court under this section
shall be valid only if either (1) made under procedures adopted by
the Judicial Council or (2) approved by the Judicial Council.
SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.