# 114-hr-3156: Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2015

114-hr-3156, Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2015, is a 114th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] (D-TX); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3156
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 114-hr-3156
- Congress: 114
- Title: Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2015
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Introduced: 2015-07-22
- Sponsor: Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] (D-TX)
- Cosponsors: 43
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to establish a process to expunge and seal certain youth criminal records. A youth is an individual who was arrested, prosecuted, or sentenced for a criminal offense committed at age 21 or younger. A youth may petition to expunge records related to: (1) a misdemeanor conviction, (2) a nonviolent felony drug conviction, (3) a conviction for any nonviolent offense committed prior to attaining age 18, or (4) an arrest or prosecution for a nonviolent offense that is disposed of. A youth may petition to seal records related to: (1) a nonviolent conviction, (2) a conviction for any offense committed prior to attaining age 18, and (3) an arrest or prosecution for a nonviolent offense that is disposed of. Each federal district court must establish a Youth Offense Expungement and Sealing Review Board to review, evaluate on the merits, and make recommendations to grant or deny expungement and sealing petitions. The Court must consider and decide each petition for which it receives a Review Board recommendation. The Department of Justice must report on the number of: (1) expungement and sealing petitions granted and denied, and (2) times a U.S. attorney supported or opposed an expungement or sealing petition. This bill's provisions apply to youth regardless of whether such youth became involved in the federal criminal justice system before, on, or after enactment.

## Cosponsors (43)

- JOHN CONYERS (D-MI), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bass, Karen [D-CA-37] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- CORRINE BROWN (D-FL), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] (D-RI), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- WM. CLAY (D-MO), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] (D-IL), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-22] (D-FL), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Edwards, Donna F. [D-MD-4] (D-MD), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hahn, Janice [D-CA-44] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jeffries, Hakeem S. [D-NY-8] (D-NY), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12] (D-NY), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Payne, Donald M., Jr. [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Resident Commissioner Pierluisi, Pedro R. [D-PR-At Large] (D-PR), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- CHARLES RANGEL (D-NY), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Richmond, Cedric L. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- JOSE SERRANO (D-NY), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] (D-FL), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Butterfield, G. K. [D-NC-1] (D-NC), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33] (D-TX), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5] (D-MN), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-50] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- RUBEN HINOJOSA (D-TX), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52] (D-CA), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] (D-TX), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20] (D-TX), 2015-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Polis, Jared [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2015-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2015-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2015-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Love, Mia B. [R-UT-4] (R-UT), 2015-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-31] (D-CA), 2015-09-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA), 2015-09-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Labrador, Raul R. [R-ID-1] (R-ID), 2015-12-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika virus.
- 114-hr-3158: RAISE Act of 2015
- 114-hr-2737: Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015
- 114-hr-1786: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act
- 114-hr-1619: Paycheck Fairness Act
- 114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act

## Sources
- [114-hr-3156 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3156)

## Related
- [114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika viru…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5044)
- [114-hr-3158: RAISE Act of 2015](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3158)
- [114-hr-2737: Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-2737)
- [114-hr-1786: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-1786)
- [114-hr-1619: Paycheck Fairness Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-1619)
- [114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4592)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3156 (as of 2025-11-18).