Election Law - Registered Voter List and Petitions (Ballot Petition Modernization Act)
HB0499, titled the Expungement Reform Act of 2025, makes several changes to Maryland’s criminal record expungement laws. It shortens and clarifies waiting periods for filing expungement petitions by tying eligibility to the “completion of the sentence,” defined to include the end of probation, parole, or mandatory supervision. The bill also expands the list of misdemeanor and certain felony convictions that may be expunged, including some drug, property, public safety, and other offenses already enumerated in the Criminal Procedure Article.
The bill further adds a new condition for expungement hearings: a court must find that the person has paid any restitution ordered in the original case, or does not have the ability to pay it. In addition, HB0499 limits what appears in Maryland Judiciary Case Search by prohibiting references to certain charges that ended in acquittal, dismissal, nolle prosequi, or a charge marked stet at least three years earlier, and by barring references to cannabis possession charges that were later pardoned by the Governor.
HB0499 would amend multiple provisions of the Criminal Procedure Article governing expungement eligibility, timing, and court findings, and it would expand the circumstances under which records are removed from public inspection. It would also change the operation of Maryland Judiciary Case Search by restricting public access to information about certain resolved charges and pardoned cannabis possession convictions. The bill affects people seeking expungement, victims and prosecutors who may object to petitions, and courts that must apply the revised eligibility and restitution standards.
The available context shows the bill was introduced by the Speaker at the request of the Administration and a large bipartisan-looking group of delegates, which suggests institutional support for the policy direction. No committee transcript or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of floor debate or formal opposition in the supplied materials. Based on the bill’s structure, the overall tone appears reform-oriented and favorable to record-clearing and reintegration for eligible individuals.
The main points of potential contention are the breadth of expanded expungement eligibility, the shortened or clarified waiting periods, and the new restitution requirement. Supporters are likely to view the bill as improving second chances and reducing collateral consequences, while critics may focus on public-safety concerns, the treatment of restitution as a prerequisite, and the extent to which the bill limits public visibility of criminal case information in Judiciary Case Search. The addition of pardoned cannabis possession records and older stet charges to the case-search restrictions may also draw attention from transparency advocates.