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Read. Follow. Verify.New York bill vacates past loitering-for-prostitution convictions and mandates record expungement
Last action · April 7, 2026: REFERRED TO CODESSponsors: Julia Salazar and 2 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Legislation requires the state to automatically vacate, dismiss, and expunge past convictions for the former crime of loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense. Within one year of the law taking effect, all corresponding criminal records must be marked as or destroyed upon request, and criminal history background reports must exclude these convictions.
People previously convicted of loitering for prostitution will have their legal records cleared and removed from background check reports, eliminating past criminal history barriers for employment and housing.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Individuals with past loitering convictions
Past convictions under former loitering laws will be automatically vacated, dismissed, and expunged from their criminal history records.
Chief Administrator of the Courts
Must notify law enforcement agencies of vacated convictions, promulgate rules to exclude records from background reports, and process record expungements and destructions.
Division of Criminal Justice Services
Must exclude references to former loitering convictions from all criminal history record reports and assist in running a public information campaign.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to my past conviction for loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense?
Will these expunged convictions show up on standard criminal background checks?
Can I have my physical court records destroyed?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Apr 7, 2026SenateCommitteeREFERRED TO CODES
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Retroactive Relief for Repealed Offense
The state is moving beyond merely repealing an offense by actively reversing past convictions and scrubbing related databases within a strict one-year window.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.nysenate.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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