The Clean Slate Maryland Proposal

The Maryland Clean Slate Act of 2025 (House Bill 545 and Senate Bill 398 ) sponsored by House Majority Leader David Moon (D - District 20, Montgomery County) and Senator Mike McKay (R - District 1, Allegany, Garrett & Washington Counties) will automate the sealing process and shield from public view eligible misdemeanor records after seven years have passed, and will shield non-conviction and arrest records after three years have passed.

After initially shielding from public view all eligible records by July 1, 2027, the judiciary will identify newly eligible cases each month, notify the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and the records will be automatically shielded from public view within 30 days of the notification.  

Complex Landscape

Maryland’s criminal-legal landscape is complex. Unlike many other states, there are no categories of criminal offenses apart from felonies and misdemeanors. For instance, there are no categorical “class A” and “class B” misdemeanors and the like. Moreover, the statutory schedule includes several “penitentiary” misdemeanors that carry up to 10 years of prison and cover a wide range of behaviors, while some minor felonies are limited to 3 or 5 years of maximum punishment.

The expungement statute is similarly complicated. Fortunately, legislators have taken a careful approach over a number of years to consider whether offenses should be eligible for expungement, reaching a consensus on what should eventually come off of a person’s record when they remain crime-free, permitting prosecutorial objection and judicial consideration of  more serious offenses.

Filing a Petition

Tragically, despite a robust expungement statute, very few Marylanders take advantage of a petition-based process to clear their records.  Whether it is due to this very same complexity, the need for an attorney’s assistance, or the time and effort it takes to file a petition, Maryland’s petition rate is abysmally low.  According to the Paper Prisons Project, only 2% of all eligible Marylanders who are eligible to receive their expungement have obtained one.

The Maryland Clean Slate Act of 2025

The Maryland Clean Slate Act of 2025 threads the needle on the complex statutory system of Maryland court procedure. If passed, Maryland Clean Slate would simply automate expungement of electronic records for all eligible misdemeanor offenses. Seven years after the disposition of a case (or three years in the case of non-convictions) the case would no longer appear on Maryland Judiciary Case Search, and would no longer be accessible by private background check companies. 

Certain exceptions would apply - domestically-related charges as well as cases of misdemeanor assault would remain, as they might deserve a closer look. However, those charges and others remain available for the individual petition process. Likewise, all the other expungement rules would apply, meaning an intervening conviction or a pending charge would prevent record clearance.

However, research shows that after a period of 5-7 years without further offense, a person with a record is no more likely to offend than any member of the general public. Having these low-level misdemeanor offenses come off through an automated process would save tremendous amounts of time and resources, eliminating costs to the petitioner and the court system. Additionally, the benefit to the economy is tremendous. When 407,000 Marylanders can fully participate again in society, by obtaining quality housing, employment and educational opportunity, their prospects are limitless.