Provides relative to expungement of arrest information (RE SEE FISC NOTE LF EX)

House Bill 151 creates a new article in the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure that establishes documentation requirements for individuals seeking to expunge arrest information. The bill adds Article 978.1, which mandates that persons filing motions to expunge arrest records must simultaneously submit specified supporting documents to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information. The legislation divides required submissions into two categories: documents that must be included if they exist in the record, such as bills of information, court minutes showing final disposition, charge disposition reports, pardons, and orders for set aside or dismissal under Articles 893 or 894; and documents that must be submitted when applicable to the applicant's particular circumstances, including recent criminal background checks, district attorney certification letters regarding fee waivers, absence of convictions within requisite periods, refusal of charges, and non-participation in pretrial diversion programs, along with orders waiving sex offender registration requirements or determinations of factual innocence with wrongful conviction compensation orders.

The practical effect of this legislation falls on individuals seeking to expunge their arrest records, who now face additional procedural obligations and must gather and compile multiple supporting documents before the Bureau can process their expungement motions. District attorneys are affected as well, since they must provide various certification letters when applicants request them, including verifications of eligibility and fee waivers. The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information will receive expanded documentation with each expungement motion, potentially allowing more thorough review of eligibility before taking action on expungement requests. Local law enforcement agencies, particularly sheriff's offices, may experience increased requests for criminal background checks dated within sixty days as applicants compile required documentation. The requirement essentially places greater evidentiary burdens on expungement petitioners to demonstrate their eligibility for relief.

This legislation operates within the existing framework of Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 893 and 894, which address dismissal and set aside of charges, and interacts with Article 978, which provides the general expungement mechanism that this new article supplements rather than replaces. The bill also incorporates references to R.S. 15:572.8, the statutory provision governing wrongful conviction compensation orders, indicating that expungement relief may be available to those who have received such determinations. The documentation requirements reflect substantive expungement eligibility criteria already embedded in Louisiana law regarding pardon eligibility, conviction-free periods, and sex offender registration status. By requiring submission of these documents with the motion itself rather than allowing piecemeal submission, the legislation streamlines the verification process at the Bureau level while simultaneously increasing the initial burden on applicants to ensure compliance with filing requirements.