S.E.A. 343, P.L. 185
Effective: §5 on May 4, 2023, otherwise July 1, 2023
- Makes it organized retail theft, a Level 6 felony, for a person to exercise unauthorized control over the property of a retail merchant with the intent to directly or indirectly distribute the property for resale, and increases the penalty to a Level 5 felony if certain circumstances exist.
- IC 35-38-9-1, or § 5 of the legislation permits a person to petition for expungement of an arrest if no charges have been filed within one year of the arrest, except an order of waiver. (Under current law, the arrest is expunged without a petition after 180 days.)
- Records expunged or sealed under this section must be removed sealed, but not sealed or destroyed. They are available to the court and criminal justice agencies for their official duties. Requires a court, in granting a petition for expungement, to include in the order statutory language specifying that the person’s civil rights are restored.
- Allows disclosure of expunged records to a school in connection with the employment of a person likely to have contact with a student.
- Repeals the requirement that certain acts taken by a prosecuting attorney are invalid without a seal.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/senate/343