HB 499

Criminal Records - Expungement and Maryland Judiciary Case Search (Expungement Reform Act of 2025)

Sponsor: SpeakerCommittee: JudiciarySubject: Criminal Law - ProceduresStatus: Hearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m. (as of Dec 1, 2025)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Altering certain provisions of law relating to waiting periods for the filing of certain petitions for expungement to authorize the filing of a petition a certain amount of time after the completion of the sentence; adding to the list of misdemeanor convictions that a person may expunge under certain circumstances; prohibiting the Maryland Judiciary Case Search from in any way referring to the existence of a charge of possession of cannabis if the conviction was later pardoned by the Governor; etc.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (0)

MGA witness list

FAV 52FavorableFWA 2Favorable with amendmentsUNF 2Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Jones, Joseph	Center for Urban Families	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	O'Connor, Michael	City of Frederick	Oral
FAV	Antoine, Joannelobbyist	Common Cause Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Sarro, Lisa	Community Legal Services	Written (PDF)
FAV	Dews, Christopherlobbyist	Cornerstone Government Affairs	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Zwerver, Shea	Flagger Force	Written (PDF)
FAV	Moore, DaMarqus	Helping Ourselves To Transform	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bridges, Kam	Job Opportunities Task Force	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Agarin, Ufuoma	Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Caroom, Philip	Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform	Position only
FAV	Francis, Crystal	Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform	Written (PDF)
FAV	McDermott, Meaghan	Maryland Legal Aid	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Rothstein, Melissa	Maryland Office Of The Public Defender	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Sweeney, Christopher	Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Rosen-Cohen, Nancy	NCADD-Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Battle, Carlos	New Shiloh Baptist Church	Written (PDF)
FAV	Spangler, Adam	Office of Attorney General	Written (PDF)
FAV	Selden, Trina	Out for Justice	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Speaks, Terry	Out for Justice	Position only
FAV	Coleman, Harold	Private Citizen	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Haney, Erin	Reform Alliance	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Blaha, Katherine	SURJ	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hauck, Barbara	SURJ Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kleinman, Jan	SURJ Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Palmisano, Erica	SURJ Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Shillenn, Rebecca	SURJ Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Girard, Meredith	Shore Legal Access (formerly Mid-Shore Pro Bono)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Powell, Holly	Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hoffman, Theresa M.	Showing Up for Racial Justice Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Keipper, Lindsay	Showing Up for Racial Justice- Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Bates, Ivan	State's Attorney for Baltimore City	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Saleem, Kahlilah	The Center for Urban Families	Written (PDF)
FAV	Lee, Jason	The City of Frederick	Written (PDF)
FAV	Thorp, Regan	University of Baltimore Law School, Criminal Defense & Advocacy Clinic	Written (PDF)
FAV	Warnken, Heather	University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Criminal Justice Reform	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Kaplowitz, Richard KAP	Year	Written (PDF)
FAV	Dolamore, Stephanie	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Firestone, Lori	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ford, John	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hicks, Myleslobbyist	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Johnson, John	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Mitchell, Melody	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Morehouse, Zachary	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Muldrow, Adrian	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Nemphos, Christina	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Pereschuk, Alicia	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rosenberg, Adam	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Speaker, Speaker	Individual	Oral
FAV	Wiggins, Grasonlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Willett, Colin Andrew	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Yoder, Daryl	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Young, Bethany	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Jackson, Samiralobbyist	Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors of Maryland	Written (PDF)
UNF	Lang, Alan	Individual	Position only
FWA	Cox, John	Baltimore County States Attorneys Office, Maryland States Attorneys Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Mcdonald, Steven	Out for justice	Oral + Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

Baltimore County States Attorneys Office, Maryland States Attorneys AssociationFWA 1

Center for Urban FamiliesFAV 1

City of FrederickFAV 1

Common Cause MarylandFAV 1

Community Legal ServicesFAV 1

Cornerstone Government AffairsFAV 1

Flagger ForceFAV 1

Helping Ourselves To TransformFAV 1

Job Opportunities Task ForceFAV 1

Legislative Black Caucus of MarylandFAV 1

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors of MarylandUNF 1

Maryland Alliance for Justice ReformFAV 2

Maryland Legal AidFAV 1

Maryland Office Of The Public DefenderFAV 1

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers ServiceFAV 1

NCADD-MarylandFAV 1

New Shiloh Baptist ChurchFAV 1

Office of Attorney GeneralFAV 1

Out for justiceFWA 1

Out for JusticeFAV 2

Private CitizenFAV 1

Reform AllianceFAV 1

Shore Legal Access (formerly Mid-Shore Pro Bono)FAV 1

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)FAV 1

Showing Up for Racial Justice BaltimoreFAV 1

Showing Up for Racial Justice- BaltimoreFAV 1

State's Attorney for Baltimore CityFAV 1

SURJFAV 1

SURJ BaltimoreFAV 4

The Center for Urban FamiliesFAV 1

The City of FrederickFAV 1

University of Baltimore Law School, Criminal Defense & Advocacy ClinicFAV 1

University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Criminal Justice ReformFAV 1

YearFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVAntoine, JoanneCommon Cause MarylandRegistered for: Common Cause Maryland

FAVDews, ChristopherCornerstone Government AffairsRegistered for: Advance Maryland Education Fund; Beyond Impact; Center for Urban Families; Dews & Associates; Out for Justice, Inc.; REFORM Alliance…

FAVHicks, MylesRegistered for: Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence

FAVWiggins, GrasonRegistered for: Maryland Chamber of Commerce; United Way of Central Maryland, Inc.; Madison Marquette Property Investments LLC; Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund; Family Tree, The; OVG Facilities…

UNFJackson, SamiraLicensed Clinical Professional Counselors of MarylandRegistered for: Critical Response Group; Dell Technologies Inc.; Empower; Forward Financing; HDR Engineering, Inc.; Maryland Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs…