A scale and gavel
A bill that would make misdemeanor expungement a possibility is currently making its way through the Arizona legislature.
Donna Hamm is the Executive Director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, a nonprofit based in Tempe that signed an open letter in support of passing both bill versions. Other co-signers included the Arizona NAACP and Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro.
“These bills ensure that individuals who have paid their debt to society or were wrongfully convicted but remain burdened by a record can apply for expungement. This is not about erasing accountability- it’s about correcting injustices, restoring dignity, and ensuring that people have the opportunity to build a future without unnecessary barriers,” the letter reads.
Hamm called the misdemeanor expungement effort “well-intentioned,” but said the bill was far from a catch-all, as moving on from a criminal record is much more complicated in the internet age.
“The presence of the Internet creates an enormous problem that does not resolve just because an expungement or a set aside takes place, the record is still out there for the world to see when it's on the Internet, and it's in perpetuity,” she said. “If people know how to access information, or they pay certain websites that professionally search and keep these records and post them, then you can easily obtain information.”
Arizona expanded eligibility for record sealing in 2023, but expungement goes a step further. Sealing only hides records from public view, while an expungement effectively destroys records of a prior conviction.
If the bill is signed into law, hose with misdemeanor convictions would need to petition no sooner than three years after the qualifications of their sentence were met.
Bill backers said even minor misdemeanors can prevent people from getting jobs, housing, or occupational licenses.
The latest version most recently passed the House Judiciary Committee, and it is expected to move to the Arizona House floor in the next week.
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