House Bill 1010

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 99-19-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE A COURT UPON PETITION TO EXPUNGE CERTAIN NONVIOLENT FELONY CONVICTIONS; TO BAN CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS AS PART OF THE PRELIMINARY JOB APPLICATION PROCESS EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY LAW; TO AUTHORIZE AN INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR TAXPAYERS EMPLOYING PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN CONVICTED OF A FELONY AND HAVE BEEN UNEMPLOYED FOR SIX CONSECUTIVE MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO BEING EMPLOYED BY SUCH TAXPAYERS; TO PROVIDE THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX CREDIT; TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX CREDIT THAT MAY BE CLAIMED IN A TAXABLE YEAR; TO AUTHORIZE ANY TAX CREDIT CLAIMED BUT NOT USED IN ANY TAXABLE YEAR TO BE CARRIED FORWARD FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 99-19-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

99-19-71. (1) Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor that is not a traffic violation, and who is a first offender, may petition the justice, county, circuit or municipal court in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge any such conviction from all public records.

(2) (a) Any person who has been convicted of * * *~~one (1) of the following felonies~~ a felony, other than embezzlement, that is not classified as a crime of violence as defined in Section 97-3-2 may petition the court in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge one (1) conviction from all public records five (5) years after the successful completion of all terms and conditions of the sentence for the conviction * * *. A person is eligible for only one (1) felony expunction under this paragraph during the person's lifetime.

(b) Any person who was under the age of twenty-one (21) years when he committed a felony may petition the court in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge one (1) conviction from all public records five (5) years after the successful completion of all terms and conditions of the sentence for the conviction; however, eligibility for expunction shall not apply to a felony classified as a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2 and any felony that, in the determination of the circuit court, is related to the distribution of a controlled substance and in the court's discretion it should not be expunged. A person is eligible for only one (1) felony expunction under this paragraph.

(c) The petitioner shall give ten (10) days' written notice to the district attorney before any hearing on the petition. In all cases, the court wherein the petition is filed may grant the petition if the court determines, on the record or in writing, that the applicant is rehabilitated from the offense which is the subject of the petition. In those cases where the court denies the petition, the findings of the court in this respect shall be identified specifically and not generally.

(3) Upon entering an order of expunction under this section, a nonpublic record thereof shall be retained by the Mississippi Criminal Information Center solely for the purpose of determining whether, in subsequent proceedings, the person is a first offender. The order of expunction shall not preclude a district attorney's office from retaining a nonpublic record thereof for law enforcement purposes only. The existence of an order of expunction shall not preclude an employer from asking a prospective employee if the employee has had an order of expunction entered on his behalf. The effect of the expunction order shall be to restore the person, in the contemplation of the law, to the status he occupied before any arrest or indictment for which convicted. No person as to whom an expunction order has been entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of law to be guilty of perjury or to have otherwise given a false statement by reason of his failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest, indictment or conviction in response to any inquiry made of him for any purpose other than the purpose of determining, in any subsequent proceedings under this section, whether the person is a first offender. A person as to whom an order has been entered, upon request, shall be required to advise the court, in camera, of the previous conviction and expunction in any legal proceeding wherein the person has been called as a prospective juror. The court shall thereafter and before the selection of the jury advise the attorneys representing the parties of the previous conviction and expunction.

(4) Upon petition therefor, a justice, county, circuit or municipal court shall expunge the record of any case in which an arrest was made, the person arrested was released and the case was dismissed or the charges were dropped or there was no disposition of such case.

(5) * * *~~No public official~~ A person is not eligible for expunction under this section for any conviction related to * * *~~his~~ the person's official duties as a public official.

SECTION 2. (1) A public or private employer may not inquire into or consider or require disclosure of the criminal record or criminal history of an applicant for employment until the applicant has been selected for an interview by the employer or, if there is not an interview, before a conditional offer of employment is made to the applicant.

(2) This section does not apply to the Department of Corrections or to employers who have a statutory duty to conduct a criminal history background check or otherwise take into consideration a potential employee's criminal history during the hiring process.

(3) This section does not prohibit an employer from notifying applicants that law or the employer's policy will disqualify an individual with a particular criminal history background from employment in particular positions.

SECTION 3. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a taxpayer that employs a person after January 1, 2019, who is a convicted felon, who has been unemployed for six (6) consecutive months immediately before being employed by the taxpayer, including any time spent incarcerated, shall be allowed an annual credit against the taxes imposed under this chapter. The credit shall be for an annual amount of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) for five (5) years for each person so employed and may be claimed by the taxpayer once for each person hired. The tax credit may not be claimed for hiring a person whose employment was previously utilized to claim the tax credit. The tax credit shall not exceed the amount of tax imposed upon the taxpayer for the taxable year reduced by the sum of all other credits allowable to the taxpayer under this chapter, except credit for tax payments made by or on behalf of the taxpayer. Any tax credit claimed under this section but not used in any taxable year may be carried forward for five (5) consecutive years from the close of the tax year in which the credits were earned. In order to be eligible to claim a tax credit for an employee, the taxpayer must employ the employee for at least six (6) consecutive months during the year for which the credit is claimed and the employee must work an average of at least thirty (30) hours per week for the taxpayer during that time.

(2) The tax credits provided for in this section shall be in addition to any other credit authorized under law.

(3) Any taxpayer who is eligible for the credit authorized in this section before January 1, 2023, shall be approved for the credit authorized in this section, and shall be allowed to carry forward the credit after January 1, 2023, as provided for in subsection (1) of this section, notwithstanding the repeal of this section as provided in subsection (4) of this section.

(4) This section shall be repealed from and after January 1, 2023.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.