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H.R. 61 · 115th CongressIn committee

Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2017

Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. · January 12, 2017

Live record from Congress.gov, updated as the official record changes.
What this bill would do
Official summary · Congressional Research Service

Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2017

This bill amends the federal criminal code to establish a process to expunge and seal certain youth criminal records. A youth is an individual who was arrested, prosecuted, or sentenced for a criminal offense committed at age 21 or younger.

A youth may petition to expunge records related to: (1) a misdemeanor conviction, (2) a nonviolent felony drug conviction, (3) a conviction for any nonviolent offense committed prior to attaining age 18, or (4) an arrest or prosecution for a nonviolent offense that is disposed of.

A youth may petition to seal records related to: (1) a nonviolent conviction, (2) a conviction for any offense committed prior to attaining age 18, and (3) an arrest or prosecution for a nonviolent offense that is disposed of.

Each federal district court must establish a Youth Offense Expungement and Sealing Review Board to review, evaluate on the merits, and make recommendations to grant or deny expungement and sealing petitions. The Court must consider and decide each petition for which it receives a Review Board recommendation.

The Department of Justice must report on the number of: (1) expungement and sealing petitions granted and denied, and (2) times a U.S. attorney supported or opposed an expungement or sealing petition.

This bill's provisions apply to youth regardless of whether such youth became involved in the federal criminal justice system before, on, or after enactment.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 3, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

Status
Introduced
January 3, 2017
In committee
January 12, 2017
Passed a chamber
Cleared Congress
Enacted
Where this sits in the process
Common questions
Composed from the official record
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?

4 steps remain before this bill could become law.

The record's latest action, on January 12, 2017: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

  1. Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
  2. Passage by the House
  3. Passage by the Senate
  4. The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?

Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.

In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.

This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.

Has anyone actually voted on it?

No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.

A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.

Who is behind it?

SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX) introduced it on January 3, 2017, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.

They are 1 Democrat.

Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.

How long has it been in play?

It was introduced on January 3, 2017, 3537 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3528 days ago, on January 12, 2017.

Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.

Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.

Vote history

  1. House
    In committee, no floor vote yet
  2. Senate
    Awaits House passage
  3. President
    Awaits both chambers
No recorded votes yet
No roll call in this Congress cites this bill. Most bills die in committee without ever reaching a recorded floor vote.