Juneau, AK: Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has allowed legislation (HB 239) to become law that includes provisions providing a pathway for those with low-level marijuana possession offenses to have their criminal records sealed from public view. The measure became law absent the Governor’s signature.
The provisions, which were initially introduced as a stand-alone bill before being included in the broader legislation, state that upon request, no agency may release information of a criminal case in which the defendant was convicted for the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and no other crimes.
The record sealing process is not automatic, and eligible parties will need to file a request with the requisite state agencies to have their records sealed.
Proponents of the bill said that Alaskans should not be denied opportunities simply because of a past conviction for activities that have since been legalized.
According to publicly available data compiled by NORML, elected officials and courts nationwide have issued over 350,000 marijuana-related pardons and more than two million marijuana-related expungements since 2018.
The full text of the law is available from LegiScan.