DOVER — The Delaware State Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation to expand eligibility to the adult and juvenile expungement process for thousands of Delawareans who have been convicted of low-level criminal charges by making their opportunity for a second chance mandatory under state law.

Sponsored by Sen. Darius Brown, D-Wilmington, Senate Bill 112 builds on his Adult Expungement Reform Act of 2019 by removing some of the remaining impediments preventing Delawareans from receiving a second chance after paying their debt to society, according to news release.

“Two years ago, Gov. John Carney signed into law legislation I sponsored that successfully made our criminal justice system smarter and fairer for all Delawareans,” said Sen. Brown, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“By working with restorative justice advocates and our law enforcement community, we have identified ways to help more people to obtain an expungement and, in doing so, open avenues for more Delawareans to obtain the education, housing and jobs currently denied to them due to the pervasive repercussions of their worst mistake.

“Even with the passage of this legislation today, our work must continue until we’ve replaced barriers to opportunity with pathways to prosperity for all Delawareans.”

Under the Adult Expungement Reform Act of 2019, criminal records for certain isolated convictions must be expunged once a petition has been filed with the State Bureau of Identification. More complex cases can be expunged at the discretion of the courts.

SB 112 would expand the eligibility of mandatory expungements filed with SBI for certain additional convictions – regardless of a person’s prior or subsequent criminal record. These offenses include marijuana possession, drug paraphernalia possession, underage possession or consumption of alcohol, and cases involving multiple violation convictions. Currently, a person can obtain an expungement for those convictions only if they have no other criminal record.

SB 112 also allows for certain, low-level felony convictions to be eligible for mandatory expungement. Those convictions include drug possession convictions would be eligible after five years and specific non-violent felonies would be eligible after 10 years if a person has no prior or subsequent convictions.

SB 112 also would make all cases eligible for an adult expungement also eligible for a juvenile expungement.

SB 112 now heads to the House for final consideration