AN ACT relating to criminal history.

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AN ACT relating to criminal history. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 431 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) As used in this section: 5
(a) "Criminal history provider": 6
1. Means a person or an organization that: 7
a. Compiles a criminal history report and uses, publishes, or 8
provides the report to a person or an organization other than a 9
law enforcement agency or another criminal history provider; or 10
b. Regularly publishes criminal history information on the internet 11
or in any public forum, or regularly makes criminal history 12
information available through the internet; and 13
2. Does not include a law enforcement agency, any governmental entity, 14
or any person who gathers, records, compiles, or disseminates 15
criminal history information solely for journalistic, academic, 16
governmental, or legal research purposes; 17
(b) "Eligible conviction" means a conviction of: 18
1. A Class D felony under KRS 17.175, 186.990, 194A.505, 194B.505, 19
217.181, 217.207, 217.208, 218A.140, 218A.1415, 21 8A.1416, 20
218A.1417, 218A.1418, 218A.1423, 218A.1439, 218A.282, 218A.284, 21
218A.286, 218A.320, 218A.322, 218A.324, 218A.500, 244.165, 286.11 -22
057, 304.47 -025, 324.990, 365.241, 434.155, 434.675, 434.850, 23
434.872, 511.040, 512.020, 514.030, 514.040, 514.050, 5 14.060, 24
514.065, 514.070, 514.080, 514.090, 514.100, 514.110, 514.120, 25
514.140, 514.150, 514.160, 516.030, 516.060, 516.090, 516.108, 26
517.120, 518.040, 522.040, 524.100, 525.113, 526.020, 526.030, 27
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528.020, 528.040, 528.050, 530.010, or 530.050; or 1
2. A misdemeanor or violation that is not: 2
a. A conviction of an offense under KRS Chapter 510 or of 3
criminal attempt, solicitation, conspiracy, facilitation, or 4
complicity to commit an offense under KRS Chapter 510; or 5
b. A conviction under KRS 154A.440(1), 403.763, 456.180, 508.030, 6
508.050, 508.070, 508.080, 508.120, 508.150, 508.152, 511.085, 7
514.030, 514.040, 514.050, 514.060, 514.065, 514.070, 514.080, 8
514.090, 514.100, 514.110, 514.120, 516.040, 516.070, 516.110, 9
516.130, 517.020, 517.030, 517.040, 517.050, 517.060, 517.070, 10
517.080, 517.090, 517.110, 528.030, 528.060, 528.070, 528.080, 11
528.110, 528.120, or 529.080; 12
(c) "Expungable conviction" means an eligible conviction if: 13
1. a. Five (5) years have passed since the completion of the person's 14
term of incar ceration, probation, or parole for the eligible 15
conviction, whichever occurs later; or 16
b. Seven (7) years have passed since final judgment was entered for 17
the eligible conviction if the completion date for the term of 18
incarceration, probation, or parole is unavailable; 19
2. An eligible conviction is subject to enhancement for a second or 20
subsequent offense and: 21
a. The law specifies a period of enhancement, the enhancement 22
period for the offense has expired; or 23
b. The law does not specify a period of enhanceme nt, ten (10) years 24
have passed since final judgment was entered for the eligible 25
conviction; 26
3. The person has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in the 27
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preceding five (5) years; 1
4. A proceeding concerning a felony or misdemeanor is not pending or 2
being instituted against the person; and 3
5. The offense that resulted in the eligible conviction was committed on 4
or after January 1, 2027. 5
(2) Beginning August 2, 2032, and on the first business day of each month 6
thereafter, the clerk of the court shall: 7
(a) Generate a list of all expungable convictions in his or her county that have 8
not already been expunged or have been excluded from expungement under 9
this section as the result of an objection filed under subsection (4)(c) of this 10
section; 11
(b) No late r than the fifth business day of the month, notify the office of the 12
Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the case of 13
any expungable convictions; and 14
(c) Provide a copy of the list of expungable convictions to the courts of original 15
jurisdiction over the expungable convictions. 16
(3) Within ninety (90) days of notice of the list of expungable convictions under 17
subsection (2) of this section, the Commonwealth's attorney or the county 18
attorney shall: 19
(a) Notify the victim, if any identified victim exists, of the pending expungement 20
of any eligible conviction, the right to file an objection, and the deadline for 21
filing an objection; 22
(b) Be authorized to obtain from the Transportation Cabinet without the 23
payment of any fee, the address of any identified victim of an expungable 24
conviction from any vehicle operator's license issued to that identified 25
victim; and 26
(c) Have the discretion to, or at the request of a victim, file with the court of 27
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original jurisdiction any objection to the expungable conviction. 1
(4) Within thirty (30) days after the deadline for filing an objection under subsection 2
(3) of this section, the court of original jurisdiction shall: 3
(a) Review the court record of the expungable conviction; 4
(b) If no objection to the expungement has been filed: 5
1. Enter an order vacating the judgment and dismissing with prejudice 6
any eligible conviction meeting the requirement for an expungable 7
conviction under this section; and 8
2. Order expunged all records of the expungable conviction in the 9
custody of the court and any records in the custody of any other 10
agency or official or criminal history provider; or 11
(c) 1. If an objection to the expungement has been filed, the 12
Commonwealth's attorney or the county attorney shall send a notice of 13
each objection to the Administrative Office of the Courts and the 14
eligible conviction shall be excluded from expungement under this 15
section. 16
2. Any eligible conviction excluded from expungement under this 17
paragraph shall remain eligible for expungement under Section 3 or 5 18
of this Act, as applicable. 19
(5) Upon entry of the order expunging a conviction, the clerk of the court shall: 20
(a) Expunge the records in his or her possession; and 21
(b) Send notice of entry of the order of expungement to: 22
1. The person previously convicted in t he expunged conviction and the 23
person's counsel of record, if any, if notice was requested by the 24
person and an address provided in the record for this purpose; 25
2. The Administrative Office of the Courts; 26
3. The Department of Kentucky State Police; 27
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4. The office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that 1
prosecuted the case; and 2
5. Any other agency, criminal history provider, or person as directed by 3
the court in the order of expungement. 4
(6) Within thirty (30) days of either notice of entry by the clerk of the court or written 5
notice by the person previously convicted in the expunged conviction, the agency, 6
criminal history provider, or any other person or organization shall comply with 7
the orders of the court as required by law. 8
(7) Following entry of an order vacating and expunging, the court and other 9
agencies shall cause records to be deleted or removed so that the matter shall not 10
appear on official state performed background checks. The court and other 11
agencies shall reply to any inquiry that no record exists on the matter. The person 12
whose record is expunged shall not have to disclose the fact of the record or any 13
matter relating thereto on an application for employment, credit, or other type of 14
application. If the person is not prohibited from voting for any other reason, the 15
person's ability to vote shall be restored and the person may register to vote. 16
(8) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish form notices and orders to 17
be used to facilitate uniformity in the process an d accurate data collection for 18
automated expungement under this section 19
(9) This section shall not preclude any person from filing an application for 20
expungement pursuant to KRS 431.073 or a petition for expungement pursuant 21
to KRS 431.078. 22
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 431 IS CREATED TO 23
READ AS FOLLOWS: 24
By January 1 and June 15 of each year beginning in 2027, the Administrative Office of 25
the Courts and the Department of Kentucky State Police shall submit a join t report to 26
the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committee on 27
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Judiciary or the Senate and House Standing Committees on Judiciary, as appropriate, 1
that contains the following: 2
(1) The status of the implementation of the proc esses established in Section 1 of this 3
Act, including internal milestones that have been reached; 4
(2) The progress of collaboration with relevant implementing stakeholders; 5
(3) Identification of challenges encountered with implementation and the plan for 6
resolution of the challenges in a timely manner; 7
(4) Beginning January 1, 2033, the number of expungement orders entered pursuant 8
to Section 1 of this Act; 9
(5) The number of expungement orders entered pursuant to Section 3 or 5 of this Act 10
or KRS 431.076, including the total number of times the filing fee and 11
expungement fee were waived pursuant to subsection (12) of Section 3 of this Act 12
and the filing fee was w aived pursuant to subsection (8) of Section 5 of this Act; 13
and 14
(6) Nonidentifying demographic information of the persons previously convicted in 15
the expunged convictions and the characteristics of the expunged convictions for 16
all records identified under subsections (4) and (5) of this section. 17
Section 3. KRS 431.073 is amended to read as follows: 18
(1) Any person who has been: 19
(a) Convicted of a Class D felony violation of KRS 17.175, 186.990, 194A.505, 20
194B.505, 217.181, 217.207, 217.208, 218A.140, 218A.1415, 218A.1416, 21
218A.1417, 218A.1418, 218A.1423, 218A.1439, 218A.282, 218A.284, 22
218A.286, 218A.320, 218A.322, 218A.324, 218A.500, 244.165, 286.11 -057, 23
304.47-025, 324.990, 365.241, 434.155, 434.675, 434.850, 434.872, 511. 040, 24
512.020, 514.030, 514.040, 514.050, 514.060, 514.065, 514.070, 514.080, 25
514.090, 514.100, 514.110, 514.120, 514.140, 514.150, 514.160, 516.030, 26
516.060, 516.090, 516.108, 517.120, 518.040, 522.040, 524.100, 525.113, 27
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526.020, 526.030, 528.020, 528.040, 528.050, 530.010, or 530.050; 1
(b) Convicted of a series of Class D felony violations of one (1) or more statutes 2
enumerated in paragraph (a) of this subsection arising from a single incident; 3
(c) Granted a full pardon; or 4
(d) Convicted of a Class D felony , or an offense prior to January 1, 1975 which 5
was punishable by not more than five (5) years' incarceration, which was not a 6
violation of KRS 189A.010, 508.032, or 519.055, abuse of public office, a sex 7
offense, or an offense committed against a child, an d did not result in serious 8
bodily injury or death; or of multiple felony offenses eligible under this 9
paragraph; 10
may file with the court in which he or she was convicted an application to have the 11
judgment vacated. The application shall be filed as a motion in the original criminal 12
case. The person shall be informed of the right at the time of adjudication. 13
(2) (a) A verified application to have the judgment vacated under this section shall be 14
filed no sooner than five (5) years after the completion of th e person's 15
sentence, or five (5) years after the successful completion of the person's 16
probation or parole, whichever occurs later. 17
(b) Except as provided in subsection (12) of this section, upon the payment of 18
the filing fee and the filing of the applicat ion, the Circuit Court clerk shall 19
serve a notice of filing upon the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or 20
county attorney that prosecuted the case and the county attorney of the county 21
where the judgment was entered. The office of the Commonwealth's at torney 22
or county attorney that prosecuted the case shall file a response within sixty 23
(60) days after being served with the notice of filing. That time period may be 24
extended for good cause, but the hearing on the application to vacate the 25
judgment shall o ccur no later than one hundred twenty (120) days following 26
the filing of the application. The inability to determine the location of the 27
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crime victim shall constitute good cause for an extension of time. No hearing 1
upon the merits of the application shall be scheduled until the 2
Commonwealth's response has been filed, or if no response is received, no 3
later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the filing of the application. 4
(c) In any case in which the Commonwealth objects that the application is grossly 5
incomplete, the court shall order the person or agency originating the 6
application to supplement the application. 7
(3) Upon the filing of the Commonwealth's response to an application, or if no 8
response is received, no later than one hundred twenty (120) d ays after the filing of 9
the application, the court shall set a date for a hearing and the Circuit Court clerk 10
shall notify the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that 11
prosecuted the case. The office of the Commonwealth's attorney or c ounty attorney 12
that prosecuted the case shall notify the victim of the crime, if there was an 13
identified victim. The Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney shall be 14
authorized to obtain without payment of any fee information from the 15
Transportation Cabinet regarding the crime victim's address on file regarding any 16
vehicle operator's license issued to that person. 17
(4) (a) In an application pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section, upon the filing 18
of the Commonwealth's response objecting to the vacat ing of a judgment and 19
expungement of a record, the court shall schedule a hearing within one 20
hundred twenty (120) days of the Commonwealth's response. The prosecutor 21
shall specify in the objection the reasons for believing a denial of the 22
application is ju stified. At the hearing at which the applicant or his or her 23
attorney must be present, the applicant must prove by clear and convincing 24
evidence that: 25
1. Vacating the judgment and expunging the record is consistent with the 26
welfare and safety of the public; 27
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2. The action is supported by his or her behavior since the conviction or 1
convictions, as evidenced that he or she has been active in rehabilitative 2
activities in prison and is living a law-abiding life since release; 3
3. The vacation and expungement is w arranted by the interests of justice; 4
and 5
4. Any other matter deemed appropriate or necessary by the court to make 6
a determination regarding the petition for expungement is met. 7
(b) At the hearing, the applicant may testify as to the specific adverse 8
consequences he or she may be subject to if the application is denied. The 9
court may hear testimony of witnesses and any other matter the court deems 10
proper and relevant to its determination regarding the application. The 11
Commonwealth may present proof of any e xtraordinary circumstances that 12
exist to deny the application. A victim of any offense listed in the application 13
shall have an opportunity to be heard at any hearing held under this section. 14
(c) If the court determines that circumstances warrant vacation a nd expungement 15
and that the harm otherwise resulting to the applicant clearly outweighs the 16
public interest in the criminal history record information being publicly 17
available, then the original conviction or convictions shall be vacated and the 18
records sh all be expunged. The order of expungement shall not preclude a 19
prosecutor's office from retaining a nonpublic record for law enforcement 20
purposes only. 21
(5) The court may order the judgment vacated, and if the judgment is vacated the court 22
shall dismiss with prejudice any charges which are eligible for expungement under 23
subsection (1) of this section or KRS 431.076 or 431.078, and, upon full payment of 24
the fee in subsection (11) of this section, except as provided in subsection (12) of 25
this section, order expunged all records in the custody of the court and any records 26
in the custody of any other agency or official, including law enforcement records, if 27
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the court finds that: 1
(a) The person had not in the five (5) years prior to the filing of the application t o 2
have the judgment vacated been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor; 3
(b) No proceeding concerning a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being 4
instituted against the person; and 5
(c) For an application pursuant to subsection (1)(d) of this section, the p erson has 6
been rehabilitated and poses no significant threat of recidivism. 7
(6) If the court has received a response from the office of the Commonwealth's attorney 8
or county attorney that prosecuted the case stating no objection to the application to 9
have the judgment vacated, or if one hundred twenty (120) days have elapsed since 10
the filing of the application and no response has been received from the victim or 11
the office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the 12
case, the court may, without a hearing, vacate the judgment in the manner 13
established in subsection (5) of this section. 14
(7) Upon entry of an order vacating and expunging a conviction, the original conviction 15
shall be vacated and, upon full payment of the fee in subsection (11) of this section , 16
except as provided in subsection (12) of this section , the record shall be expunged. 17
The court and other agencies shall cause records to be deleted or removed from 18
their computer systems so that the matter shall not appear on official state -19
performed background checks. The court and other agencies shall reply to any 20
inquiry that no record exists on the matter. The person whose record is expunged 21
shall not have to disclose the fact of the record or any matter relating thereto on an 22
application for employment, credit, or other type of application. If the person is not 23
prohibited from voting f or any other reason, the person's ability to vote shall be 24
restored and the person may register to vote. 25
(8) An order vacating a conviction under this section shall not extend or revive an 26
expired statute of limitations, shall not constitute a finding of l egal error regarding 27
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the proceedings leading to or resulting in the conviction, shall not nullify any 1
findings of fact or conclusions of law made by the trial court or any appellate court 2
regarding the conviction, and shall not constitute a finding of inno cence regarding 3
the conviction. 4
(9) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall establish a form application to be 5
used in filing an application to have judgment vacated and records expunged. 6
(10) Except as provided in subsection (12) of this section, the filing fee for an 7
application to have judgment vacated and records expunged shall be fifty dollars 8
($50), which shall be deposited into a trust and agency account for deputy clerks 9
and shall not be refundable. 10
(11) (a) Except as provided in subsection (12) of this section, upon the issuance of an 11
order vacating and expunging a conviction pursuant to this section, the 12
applicant shall be charged an expungement fee of two hundred fifty dollars 13
($250), which may be payable by an installment plan in accordance with KRS 14
534.020. 15
(b) When the order is issued, the court shall set a date, no sooner than eighteen 16
(18) months after the date of the order, by which the defendant must comply 17
with the installment payment plan. The applicant shall be given notice of the 18
total amount due, the payment frequency, and the date by which all payments 19
must be made. The notice shall state that the expungement cannot be 20
completed until full payment is received, and that if the applicant has not 21
completed the installment payment plan by the scheduled date, he or she shall 22
appear on that date to show good cause as to why he or she is unable to satisfy 23
the obligations. Notwithstanding provisions of KRS 534.020 to the contrary, 24
no applicant shall be ordered to jail for failure to comple te an installment plan 25
ordered pursuant to this section. 26
(c) The revenues and interest from the expungement fee shall be deposited in the 27
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expungement fund created in KRS 431.0795. 1
(12) An applicant seeking to expunge a conviction that is an eligible convic tion as 2
defined in Section 1 of this Act shall not be required to pay the filing fee and 3
expungement fee. 4
(13)[(12)] This section shall be retroactive. 5
Section 4. KRS 431.074 is amended to read as follows: 6
(1) The Admini strative Office of the Courts shall retain an index of expungement 7
orders entered under KRS 431.073 ,[or ] 431.076, 431.078, and Section 1 of this 8
Act. 9
(2) The index shall only be accessible to persons preparing a certification of eligibility 10
for expungemen t pursuant to KRS 431.079 or the Kentucky Law Enforcement 11
Council for the purpose of verifying qualifications under KRS 15.382. 12
(3) If the index indicates that the person applying for expungement has had a prior 13
felony expunged under KRS 431.073, the perso n preparing the report may, 14
notwithstanding the provisions of KRS 431.073, access the expunged record and 15
include information from the expunged record in the certification. 16
(4) No later than December 1, 2032, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall 17
create a process that allows a person to confidentially determine whether his or 18
her conviction records have been expunged pursuant to Section 1, 3, or 5 of this 19
Act or KRS 431.076. 20
Section 5. KRS 431.078 is amended to read as follows: 21
(1) Any person who has been convicted of: 22
(a) A misdemeanor, a violation, or a traffic infraction not otherwise classified as a 23
misdemeanor or violation, or a series of misdemeanors, violations, or traffic 24
infractions arising from a single incident; or 25
(b) A series of misdemeanors, violations, or traffic infractions not arising from a 26
single incident; 27
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may petition the court in which he was convicted for expungement of his 1
misdemeanor or violation record within that judicial district, includi ng a record of 2
any charges for misdemeanors, violations, or traffic infractions that were dismissed 3
or amended in the criminal action. The person shall be informed of the right at the 4
time of adjudication. 5
(2) Except as provided in KRS 218A.275(8) and 218A .276(8), the petition shall be 6
filed no sooner than five (5) years after the completion of the person's sentence or 7
five (5) years after the successful completion of the person's probation, whichever 8
occurs later. 9
(3) Upon the filing of a petition, the cou rt shall set a date for a hearing, no sooner than 10
thirty (30) days after the filing of the petition, and shall notify the county attorney; 11
the victim of the crime, if there was an identified victim; and any other person 12
whom the person filing the petition has reason to believe may have relevant 13
information related to the expungement of the record. Inability to locate the victim 14
shall not delay the proceedings in the case or preclude the holding of a hearing or 15
the issuance of an order of expungement. 16
(4) For a petition brought under subsection (1)(a) of this section, the court shall order 17
expunged all records in the custody of the court and any records in the custody of 18
any other agency or official, including law enforcement records, if at the hearing 19
the court finds that: 20
(a) The offense was not a sex offense or an offense committed against a child; 21
(b) The person had not in the five (5) years prior to the filing of the petition for 22
expungement been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor; 23
(c) No proceeding c oncerning a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being 24
instituted against the person; and 25
(d) The offense is not one subject to enhancement for a second or subsequent 26
offense or the time for such an enhancement has expired. 27
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(5) For a petition brought under subsection (1)(b) of this section, the court may order 1
expunged all records in the custody of the court and any records in the custody of 2
any other agency or official, including law enforcement records, if at the hearing 3
the court finds that: 4
(a) The offense was not a sex offense or an offense committed against a child; 5
(b) The person had not in the five (5) years prior to the filing of the petition for 6
expungement been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor; 7
(c) No proceeding c oncerning a felony or misdemeanor is pending or being 8
instituted against the person; and 9
(d) The offense is not one subject to enhancement for a second or subsequent 10
offense or the time for such an enhancement has expired. 11
(6) Upon the entry of an order to expunge the records, the proceedings in the case shall 12
be deemed never to have occurred; the court and other agencies shall cause records 13
to be deleted or removed from their computer systems so that the matter shall not 14
appear on official state -performed background checks; the persons and the court 15
may properly reply that no record exists with respect to the persons upon any 16
inquiry in the matter; and the person whose record is expunged shall not have to 17
disclose the fact of the record or any matter relati ng thereto on an application for 18
employment, credit, or other type of application. 19
(7) Except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, the filing fee for a petition 20
under this section shall be one hundred dollars ($100). The first fifty dollars ($50) 21
of each fee collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into a trust and 22
agency account for deputy clerks and shall not be refundable. 23
(8) A person filing a petition under this section for a conviction that is an eligible 24
conviction as defined under Section 1 of this Act shall not be required to pay the 25
filing fee under subsection (7) of this Act. 26
(9) Copies of the order shall be sent to each agency or official named therein. 27
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[(9) Inspection of the records included in the order may thereafter be permitted by the 1
court only upon petition by the person who is the subject of the records and only to 2
those persons named in the petition.] 3
(10) This section shall be deemed to be retroactive, and any person who has been 4
convicted of a misdemeanor prior to July 14, 1992, may petition the court in which 5
he was convicted, or if he was convicted prior to the inception of the District Court 6
to the District Court in the county where he now resides, for expungement of the 7
record of one (1) misdemeanor offense or violation or a series of misdemeanor 8
offenses or violations arising from a single incident, provided that the offense was 9
not one specified in subsection (4) and that the offense was not the precursor 10
offense of a felony offense for which he was subsequ ently convicted. This section 11
shall apply only to offenses against the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 12
(11) As used in this section, "violation" has the same meaning as in KRS 500.080. 13
(12) Any person denied an expungement prior to June 25, 2013, due to the pres ence of a 14
traffic infraction on his or her record may file a new petition for expungement of 15
the previously petitioned offenses, which the court shall hear and decide under the 16
terms of this section. [No ]Court costs or other fees, from the court or any ot her 17
agency, shall not be required of a person filing a new petition under this subsection. 18
Section 6. KRS 431.079 is amended to read as follows: 19
(1) Every petition or application filed seeking expungement of a conviction shall 20
include a certification of eligibility for expungement. The Department of Kentucky 21
State Police and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall certify that the 22
agencies have c onducted a criminal background check on the petitioner and 23
whether or not the petitioner is eligible to have the requested record expunged. The 24
Department of Kentucky State Police shall promulgate administrative regulations to 25
implement this section, in co nsultation with the Administrative Office of the 26
Courts. 27
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(2) [Nothing in ] This section shall not be construed to prohibit the expungement of a 1
case ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. 2
(3) For the purposes of this section, KRS 431.073, 431.076, an d 431.078, and Section 3
1 of this Act, "expunge" or "expungement" means the removal or deletion of 4
records by the court and other agencies which prevents the matter from appearing 5
on official state-performed background checks. 6
(4) (a) A clerk or deputy clerk acting in good faith in the performance of his or her 7
ministerial duties under Section 1, 3, or 5 of this Act or KRS 431.076 shall 8
be immune from any civil liability. 9
(b) The immunity provided under this subsection shall not be construed to 10
abrogate or limit any privilege, immunity, or matter of defense otherwise 11
available and shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege, immunity, or 12
matter of defense, including sovereign immunity, qualified immunity, or 13
quasi-judicial immunity. 14
Section 7. KRS 17.151 is amended to read as follows: 15
(1) The Department of Kentucky State Police shall, in cooperation with the 16
Administrative Office of the Courts, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Cabinet 17
for Health and Family Service s, and the Department of Corrections, be responsible 18
for the recording of those data elements that are needed for development of the 19
centralized criminal history record information system. 20
(2) The database shall at a minimum contain the information require d in KRS 27A.310 21
to 27A.440. 22
(3) The Department of Kentucky State Police shall provide access to the 23
Administrative Office of the Courts, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Cabinet 24
for Health and Family Services, and the Department of Corrections to its database. 25
(4) The Department of Kentucky State Police, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the 26
Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the Department of Corrections shall 27
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assign the same identification number or other variable to each person whose n ame 1
appears in the database. 2
(5) The Department of Kentucky State Police shall provide to the Administrative 3
Office of the Courts any data necessary to assist with the generation of the list 4
described in subsection (2) of Section 1 of this Act, including b ut not limited to 5
the person's personally identifying information and offense date. 6
Section 8. KRS 196.093 is amended to read as follows: 7
(1) The department [ of Corrections] shall, in cooperation with the Department of 8
Kentucky State Police, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Cabinet for Health 9
and Family Services, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, be responsible 10
for the recording of those data elements that a re needed for the development of the 11
centralized criminal history record information system. 12
(2) The database shall at a minimum contain the information required in KRS 27A.310 13
to 27A.440. 14
(3) The department [ of Corrections] shall provide access to the Dep artment of 15
Kentucky State Police, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Cabinet for Health 16
and Family Services, and the Administrative Office of the Courts to its database. 17
(4) The department [ of Corrections] shall assign the same identification number o r 18
other variable to each person whose name appears in the database. 19
(5) The department shall provide to the Administrative Office of the Courts any data 20
necessary to assist with the generation of the list described in subsection (2) of 21
Section 1 of this Ac t, including but not limited to the person's personally 22
identifying information and the completion date of his or her term of 23
incarceration, probation, conditional discharge, or parole. 24
Section 9. KRS 367.310 is amended to read as follows: 25
(1) A[No] consumer reporting agency shall not maintain any information in its files 26
relating to any charge in a criminal case, in any court of this Commonwealth, unless 27
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the charge has resulted in a conviction. 1
(2) A conviction that has been overruled, vacated, set aside, or expunged shall not be 2
included on any background check or consumer report. 3
Section 10. The Legislative Research Commission shall establish the Automatic 4
Expungement Task Force. The task force shall review, study, and make recommendations 5
regarding the: 6
(1) Feasibility of expanding automatic expungements for offenses occurring prior 7
to January 1, 2027, and explore alternatives to expungement to reduce the records of 8
convictions for violations, misdemeanors, and certain low-level felonies; 9
(2) Estimated workload, accounting for personnel and time, for counties of 10
varying populations to complete the automatic expungement process identified or 11
recommended by the task force for expungable convictions having an offense date prior 12
to January 1, 2027; 13
(3) Data required to be provided to the Administrative Office of the Courts to 14
perform an automatic expungement for an expungable conviction having an offense date 15
prior to January 1, 2027; 16
(4) Estimated volume of eligible convictions that would be immediately 17
expungable pursuant to Section 1 of this Act if the automatic expungement process was 18
enacted to include eligible convictions with an offense date occurring on or after January 19
1, 2020, and for every subsequent year through 2026. 20
(5) Total cost estimate to the Court of Justice and any other agencies impacted, 21
including requisite additional funding needed to implement an automatic expungement 22
process for expungable convictions having an offen se date prior to January 1, 2027, and 23
to execute the process for all 120 counties on a monthly basis; 24
(6) Timeframe needed for the Administrative Office of the Courts to procure 25
resources and implement an automatic expungement process for expungable convic tions 26
having an offense date prior to January, 1, 2027; 27
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(7) Design and implementation of the process to support automatic expungement 1
of expungable convictions for offenses occurring prior to January 1, 2027; 2
(8) Barriers to the timely destruction of court records under the record retention 3
schedules of the Court of Justice and Department of Kentucky State Police involving 4
violations, misdemeanors, and low-level felonies; and 5
(9) Barriers to the timely destruction of court and law enforcement records 6
involving violations, misdemeanors, and low-level felonies. 7
Section 11. The Automatic Expungement Task Force shall be composed of the 8
following members with final membership of the task force being subject to the 9
consideration and approval of the Legislative Research Commission: 10
(1) The Speaker of the House of Representatives, or his or her designee, who 11
shall serve as co-chair of the task force; 12
(2) The President of the Senate, or his or her designee, who shall serve as co-chair 13
of the task force; 14
(3) A representative from the Administrative Office of the Courts appointed by 15
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; 16
(4) The president of the Kentucky Circuit Judges' Association, or his or her 17
designee; 18
(5) The president of the Ken tucky District Judges' Association, or his or her 19
designee; 20
(6) The president of the Kentucky Association of Circuit Clerks, or his or her 21
designee; 22
(7) The president of the Kentucky Sheriffs' Association, or his or her designee; 23
(8) The president of the K entucky Association of Chiefs of Police, or his or her 24
designee; 25
(9) Two representatives from the Department of Kentucky State Police appointed 26
by the secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet; 27
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(10) The president of the Kentucky Commonwealth's Attorneys' Association, or 1
his or her designee; 2
(11) The president of the County Attorneys Association, or his or her designee; 3
(12) The public advocate, or his or her designee; and 4
(13) Three representatives fr om the Clean Slate Kentucky coalition, including at 5
least one impacted individual. 6
Section 12. Provisions of Sections 10 to 14 of this Act to the contrary 7
notwithstanding, the Legislative Research Commission shall have the authority to 8
alternatively assign the issues identified herein to an interim joint committee or 9
subcommittee thereof, and to designate a study completion date. 10
Section 13. The Automatic Expungement Task Force shall meet at least 11
monthly during the 2026 Interim of the General Assembly unless otherwise directed by 12
the Legislative Research Commi ssion, and shall be staffed by the Legislative Research 13
Commission. 14
Section 14. The Automatic Expungement Task Force shall submit a report of its 15
findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission no lat er than 16
November 1, 2026, for referral to the General Assembly and consideration in the 2027 17
Regular Session. The report may include a legislative proposal. 18
Section 15. Sections 10 to 14 of this Act shall have the same l egal status as a 19
Senate Concurrent Resolution. 20
Section 16. This Act may be cited as the Automatic Expungement Act. 21