Sarah Anderson, associate director of criminal justice and civil liberties policy at the R Street Institute, delivered testimony to the Maryland House Judiciary Committee on March 3, 2026, expressing support for House Bill 360, known as the “Clean Slate Act of 2026.”
The proposed legislation would establish a process for automatically expunging certain criminal records after a set period if all case requirements are met. Anderson explained that the bill does not call for physical destruction of records but shields them from public view while allowing government entities access when necessary.
According to Anderson’s testimony, “Under this proposed legislation, certain criminal records would be automatically expunged after a designated amount of time has passed, depending on the offense, and provided the individual has satisfied all of the requirements of their case. It is important to note that the bill does not require the physical destruction of the records, rather it shields them from public view. Expunged records remain available to certain government entities when necessary.”
The Clean Slate Act would direct Maryland’s judiciary to shield non-conviction or arrest records after three years and eligible misdemeanor records after seven years. Each month, new qualifying cases would be identified and processed within thirty days. This system is designed as an ongoing automatic expungement process.
Anderson cited research showing individuals who have been crime-free for five to seven years are no more likely to reoffend than those with no record (https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/226872.pdf;https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3474&context=articles). She stated: “Research proves that individuals who remain crime-free for five to seven years without further offenses are no more likely to reoffend than those without a criminal record, making this legislation a sensible, evidence-based policy.” She added that innocent individuals should not face long-term consequences from arrests or charges that did not result in convictions.
Anderson also discussed barriers faced by people with criminal histories in areas such as employment and housing. Nearly 22 percent of adults in Maryland have a criminal record (https://www.cleanslateinitiative.org/maryland#factsheet), affecting their ability to find jobs and secure housing due to over 40,000 legal restrictions nationwide (https://nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/multimedia/re-introduction-national-inventory-collateral-consequences-conviction-niccc-and-clean). Background checks are used by most employers (https://www.nclc.org/resources/report-broken-records-redux/), which can reduce job opportunities by almost half for those with arrest or conviction records (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23459367/).
Currently in Maryland, petition-based record sealing exists but is rarely used—although about 40 percent are eligible for sealing under current law (https://www.cleanslateinitiative.org/maryland#factsheet), fewer than two percent obtain it because of procedural burdens or lack of awareness (https://paperprisons.org/states/MD.html). The Clean Slate Act seeks to address this gap through automation.
Similar laws have been adopted in thirteen other states since 2018 (https://www.wboc.com/news/maryland-clean-slate-act-proposed-to-streamline-record-expungement-process/article_9590afea-d10a-11ee-b523-d3ed4fb4d74e.html). Data shows improvements among people whose records were sealed: increased employment and financial stability (42 percent), better housing outcomes (24 percent), educational gains (22 percent), stronger family relationships (35 percent), and improved health or self-esteem (34 percent) according to survey results from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Utah residents impacted by comparable policies (https://www.cleanslateinitiative.org/research-data-publications/yougov-survey-report).
“HB 360 offers a chance to bring the benefits of clean slate legislation to the state of Maryland,” Anderson said. “For these reasons we strongly support HB 360 and urge the committee to issue a favorable report.”
For further information about HB 360 see https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0360.
