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Fresh Start Act of 2010

Introduced: June 9, 2010 Introduced by: Cohen, Steve Democratic · Tennessee See on congress.gov
This bill died when the 111th Congress ended
It never became law before the 111th Congress (2009–2010) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 26, 2010
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Jun 9, 2010
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jun 9, 2010
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Fresh Start Act of 2010 - Amends the federal criminal code to allow an individual convicted of a nonviolent criminal offense to file a petition for expungement of the record of such conviction. Allows expungement if such individual: (1) has never been convicted of any criminal offense other than the nonviolent offense for which expungement is sought; (2) has fulfilled all requirements of the sentence of the court, including payment of all fines, restitution, or assessments and completion of terms of imprisonment and probation; and (3) has remained free (if required by the court's sentence) from dependency on or abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance for at least one year.

Requires the Attorney General to maintain an unaltered nonpublic copy of expunged criminal records, to be disclosed for limited purposes to federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies.

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to increase by 5% grant funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to states that implement expungement procedures substantially similar to the procedures enacted by this Act. Decreases such grant funding by 5% for states that fail to adopt expungement procedures.

What's happening now July 26, 2010

Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5492: Fresh Start Act of 2010. 111th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5492/
MLA
"H.R. 5492: Fresh Start Act of 2010." 111th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5492/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5492, 111th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5492/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5492: Fresh Start Act of 2010](https://openamerica.io/bill/111-HR-5492/)
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