St. Mary's County - Gaming by Qualified Organization - Permit Required
HB 610 expands Maryland’s expungement law to allow a person to petition for expungement when a charge was not resolved by an unequivocal conviction but instead was marked by the court as “no finding” or was part of a case terminated without finding. The bill adds these dispositions to Criminal Procedure § 10-110, making them eligible for expungement for the same categories of offenses already covered by the statute, including a broad list of misdemeanors, certain felonies, and attempts, conspiracies, and solicitations related to those offenses.
The measure is aimed at closing a gap in expungement eligibility for cases that end without a formal conviction but may still remain on a person’s record. It takes effect October 1, 2025, and would affect police records, court records, and other records maintained by the State or local governments. In practical terms, it gives more people a path to clear records tied to non-conviction outcomes, which can affect employment, housing, licensing, and other collateral consequences of criminal records.
The bill amends Maryland Criminal Procedure § 10-110 by adding a new subsection that expressly authorizes expungement for charges disposed of with a no finding designation or in cases terminated without finding, so long as the charge was not disposed of by an unequivocal conviction. It does not create a new expungement process, but broadens the set of eligible case outcomes under existing law. The change affects individuals with qualifying criminal charges and the courts and agencies that maintain records subject to expungement.
The available legislative history suggests the bill moved forward without recorded opposition: it was assigned to the Judiciary Committee, received a favorable committee report, and was adopted by the House. No committee transcript or vote breakdown is provided, so there is no evidence in the record supplied here of significant controversy. Overall, the bill appears to have been treated as a targeted criminal justice reform measure with broad procedural support.
The main policy issue is the scope of expungement eligibility for cases that end without a conviction. Supporters likely view the bill as correcting an unfair gap by allowing people with no-finding or terminated-without-finding dispositions to clear records that can still cause harm. Any potential concern would center on whether expanding expungement could limit access to criminal history information for law enforcement, employers, or the public, but no specific objections are included in the provided materials.