New York Senate Bill S06492

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/14/25
• Refer: 3/14/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Makes technical corrections to the clean slate law to correct issues relating to multicategory conviction dockets and the conviction-specific supervision prohibitor.

Summary

This bill makes technical amendments to New York’s Clean Slate law, which governs when certain criminal convictions are automatically sealed. It clarifies how sealing time is calculated when a person has multiple convictions arising from the same docket or accusatory instrument, including situations where some charges are criminal and others are infractions or noncriminal violations. The bill also adjusts the eligibility rules so that sealing can proceed only when all criminal convictions from the same docket are otherwise eligible for sealing, and it updates the treatment of later charges or convictions in New York and other jurisdictions. The bill also revises the supervision-related disqualifier in the sealing statute. Under the amended language, a person is ineligible for sealing if they are currently under probation or parole supervision, but the bill removes the prior limitation tying that disqualifier specifically to the conviction eligible for sealing. It preserves existing exclusions for sex offenses, sexually violent offenses, and class A felonies, while maintaining special carveouts for certain out-of-state or federal matters involving reproductive care, gender-affirming care, and cannabis offenses that would not be felonies in New York. The bill takes effect immediately.

Impact

The bill amends section 160.57 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the core Clean Slate sealing provision, by refining eligibility and timing rules for automatic sealing. Its practical effect is to reduce ambiguity for courts and administrators handling mixed-charge dockets and to ensure that sealing determinations are made consistently when a single case includes both criminal and noncriminal matters. It also updates the supervision prohibitor and related cross-jurisdiction checks, affecting people with pending charges, recent convictions, or active probation/parole supervision.

Sentiment

The available context suggests the bill is largely technical and corrective rather than controversial in purpose. Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials, there is no direct evidence of opposition or support from floor debate. The bill’s caption and text indicate an intent to fix implementation issues in the recently enacted Clean Slate framework, which generally suggests a pragmatic, administrative approach.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are the scope of automatic sealing and the treatment of people with multiple charges or convictions from the same docket. Some stakeholders may view the clarification as necessary to make the law work as intended, while others may be concerned that the revised rules could broaden sealing eligibility or complicate supervision-based exclusions. The special treatment for reproductive care, gender-affirming care, and cannabis-related out-of-state matters could also draw attention, since those carveouts reflect policy judgments about which foreign convictions should not block sealing in New York.