Bill Description: House Bill 126 would remove the requirement that all fines be fully paid 5 years before a criminal record can be shielded from disclosure.
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Does it violate the principle of equal protection under the law? Examples include laws that discriminate or differentiate based on age, gender, or religion or which apply laws, regulations, rules, or penalties differently based on such characteristics. conversely, does it restore or protect the principle of equal protection under the law?
Under Idaho law, some individuals convicted of minor crimes can seek to have their criminal records shielded from disclosure five years after they complete their sentence. The current wording of this statute says, "To be eligible to have records shielded from disclosure under this subsection, a petitioner must file a petition to shield records of the conviction no earlier than five (5) years after completing the petitioner's sentence, including all ordered probation, parole, fines, and restitution…"
This language means that the five-year countdown does not begin until after all fines and restitution have been paid.
House Bill 126 would amend Section 67-3004, Idaho Code, to remove the reference to fines and restitution from this subsection. It would add a new subsection that says the record-sealing process does not prevent "the court from releasing whatever portion of the petitioner's record that it deems necessary solely for the purpose of collection of any outstanding fees, fines, or restitution owed to the court or to any other party in connection with the underlying conviction and sentence."
The bill would not reduce any fees, fines, or restitution owed; it would simply remove them from the five-year countdown, potentially allowing an individual to petition for record sealing even if it took him or her longer to make all the required payments.
This change would help reduce the degree to which an individual's financial circumstances may unduly hinder his or her access to the record sealing process.
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