republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20172018/sb-1281.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Juvenile records."
description: "Existing law generally subjects any person under 18 years of age who commits a crime to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge that person to be a ward of the court. Under existing law, juvenile court proceedings to declare a minor a ward of the court are commenced by the filing of a petition by the probation officer, the district attorney after consultation with the probation officer, or the prosecuting attorney, as specified. Existing law requires the juvenile court to order the petition of a minor who is subject to the jurisdiction of the court dismissed if the minor satisfactorily completes a term of probation or an informal program of supervision, as specified, and requires the court to seal all records pertaining to that dismissed petition in the custody of the juvenile court and in the custody of law enforcement agencies, the probation department, or the Department of Justice. Existing law requires the court to send a copy of the order to each agency and official named in the order, direct the agency or official to seal its records, and specify a date by which the sealed records are to be destroyed. Existing law prohibits a minor who has committed certain serious, violent, drug-related, or firearm-related offenses, as enumerated, from owning, or having in his or her possession, custody, or control, any firearm until he or she turns 30 years of age."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20172018"
identifier: "SB 1281"
citation: "California SB 1281 (20172018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Juvenile records."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Stern"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 27
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2018-02-16"
last_action: "2018-09-26"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/01d54d1c-0a9d-47b9-9959-496f6117ba75"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1281"
source_hash: "e9e37d2ad005b40cd19a2aecc670ef81ee407fd3247e5f2bd73f8da01e8f3118"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California SB 1281 (20172018) — Juvenile records.

Existing law generally subjects any person under 18 years of age who commits a crime to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge that person to be a ward of the court. Under existing law, juvenile court proceedings to declare a minor a ward of the court are commenced by the filing of a petition by the probation officer, the district attorney after consultation with the probation officer, or the prosecuting attorney, as specified. Existing law requires the juvenile court to order the petition of a minor who is subject to the jurisdiction of the court dismissed if the minor satisfactorily completes a term of probation or an informal program of supervision, as specified, and requires the court to seal all records pertaining to that dismissed petition in the custody of the juvenile court and in the custody of law enforcement agencies, the probation department, or the Department of Justice. Existing law requires the court to send a copy of the order to each agency and official named in the order, direct the agency or official to seal its records, and specify a date by which the sealed records are to be destroyed. Existing law prohibits a minor who has committed certain serious, violent, drug-related, or firearm-related offenses, as enumerated, from owning, or having in his or her possession, custody, or control, any firearm until he or she turns 30 years of age.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/16/18 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1281&version=20170SB128199INT)
2. **08/23/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1281&version=20170SB128198AMD)
3. **09/26/18 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1281&version=20170SB128196CHP)
4. **SB1281** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1281)
5. **08/31/18 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB1281&version=20170SB128197ENR)

## Votes

- Placed on suspense file — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- Special Consent SB1281 — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **6–0** (pass) · lower
- Unfinished Business SB1281 Stern Concurrence — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- SB 1281 Stern Senate Third Reading By CARRILLO — **78–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **6–0** (pass) · upper
- Do pass — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- Do pass. To Consent Calendar. — **17–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Stern — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2018-02-16** Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. `introduction, reading-1`
- **2018-02-20** From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
- **2018-03-01** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-14** Set for hearing April 3.
- **2018-04-03** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 4516.) (April 3). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-04-09** Set for hearing April 16.
- **2018-04-16** April 16 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
- **2018-05-18** Set for hearing May 25.
- **2018-05-25** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4307.) (May 25). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2018-05-25** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-05-29** Ordered to special consent calendar.
- **2018-05-31** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 4455.) Ordered to the Assembly. `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2018-05-31** In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. `reading-1`
- **2018-06-11** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2018-06-26** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 26). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-08-08** From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (August 8). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2018-08-09** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-08-13** From consent calendar.
- **2018-08-13** Ordered to third reading.
- **2018-08-23** Read third time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-3, reading-1`
- **2018-08-23** Ordered to third reading.
- **2018-08-27** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6581.) Ordered to the Senate. `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2018-08-28** In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
- **2018-08-28** Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 5868.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2018-09-06** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
- **2018-09-26** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2018-09-26** Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 793, Statutes of 2018.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/01d54d1c-0a9d-47b9-9959-496f6117ba75`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).