Criminal procedure: vacatur relief.

Assembly Member Tangipa's proposal to modify California's vacatur relief process adds new requirements for licensed professionals seeking to clear nonviolent offenses committed while experiencing intimate partner or sexual violence. The legislation maintains the existing framework requiring petitioners to prove their offense resulted directly from their status as victims, while introducing additional oversight when professional licenses are involved.

Courts must now evaluate potential impacts on public health, safety, and welfare before vacating convictions of licensed professionals whose offenses relate to their professional duties. The bill establishes a 45-day window for licensing boards to respond to these petitions, which petitioners must serve to both prosecutorial agencies and relevant licensing entities. This creates a parallel review process specifically for cases involving professional licensure.

The legislation also modifies record-handling procedures, requiring law enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice to seal arrest records within three years of the arrest or one year after a court order, whichever occurs later. Public records of these proceedings must protect petitioner privacy by withholding full names. While petitioners maintain their obligation to pay victim restitution, those granted relief may legally deny the existence of vacated arrests, convictions, or adjudications in most contexts.