Hawaii Clean Slate Summary

Currently, no legislation in Hawaii mandates Clean Slate policies.

Legislation. Two bills passed during the legislative session and one in 2023 that relate to expungements and exploring automated records relief policies. They consider expungement for specific arrests, create a Clean Slate Working Taskforce, and require the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center to supply the judiciary with expungement information.

• ACT 062 (2024)/HB 1595 requires the Attorney General to establish and administer a pilot project with a deadline of October 1, 2025, for a state-initiated project to expunge arrest records relating to the offense of possession of marijuana, 712-1249 HRS that occurred in Hawaii County. The pilot project began August 1, 2024; as of September, 23 arrests/charges have been expunged; 12 did not qualify. Relying on the police department and court for information has been the biggest hurdle. Dispositions are incomplete or lack specific information to determine whether an arrest/charge qualifies for an expungement.

• ACT 241 (2024) established a Clean Slate Expungement Task Force to develop a state-initiated record-clearing program. The task force is attached to the judiciary for administrative purposes only and will dissolve on June 1, 2027. One purpose of the task force is to streamline the procedures involved in the record clearance process to reduce the time and resources required by various state agencies responsible for implementing record clearance. Its first meeting was held on October 4, 2024.

• ACT 159 (2023) requires the court to seal or remove from the judiciary’s publicly accessible electronic database any information relevant to the arrest or case of a person for whom an expungement order has been entered and transmitted to the court. Discussions with the judiciary have begun regarding the development of an interface to transmit expungement information. Statutory modification is required to authorize the transmission of this information.