Legislation to automatically expunge certain crimes from a person’s criminal record passed the Virginia House on Wednesday.
House Bill 5146 creates a list of offenses eligible for automatic expungement. The bill would seal the records of those who commit certain misdemeanors and felonies but would not destroy the records.
It would cost the state about $20.5 million to implement the changes.
The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, passed with a substitute that removed some of the more serious crimes from the list. It passed the chamber, 59-37, with one abstention. Although it received some bipartisan support, it had some opposition from Republicans.
