H.B. No. 2386
AN ACT
relating to the sealing of juvenile records.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 58.003, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) and amending Subsections (d) and
(e) to read as follows:
(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (c) and subject
to Subsection (b), a juvenile court may order the sealing of records
concerning a child adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent
conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision that violated
a penal law of the grade of misdemeanor or felony if the child
successfully completed a drug court program under Chapter 469,
Health and Safety Code. The court may:
(1) order the sealing of the records immediately and
without a hearing; or
(2) hold a hearing to determine whether to seal the
records.
(c-2) If the court orders the sealing of a child's records
under Subsection (c-1), a prosecuting attorney or juvenile
probation department may maintain until the child's 17th birthday a
separate record of the child's name and date of birth and the date
the child successfully completed the drug court program. The
prosecuting attorney or juvenile probation department, as
applicable, shall send the record to the court as soon as
practicable after the child's 17th birthday to be added to the
child's other sealed records.
(d) The court may grant the relief authorized in Subsection
(a) or (c-1) at any time after final discharge of the person or
after the last official action in the case if there was no
adjudication, subject to Subsection (e). If the child is referred
to the juvenile court for conduct constituting any offense and at
the adjudication hearing the child is found to be not guilty of each
offense alleged, the court shall immediately and without any
additional hearing order the sealing of all files and records
relating to the case.
(e) The court shall hold a hearing before sealing a person's
records under Subsection (a) or (c) unless the applicant waives the
right to a hearing in writing and the court and the prosecuting
attorney for the juvenile court consent. Reasonable notice of the
hearing shall be given to:
(1) the person who made the application or who is the
subject of the records named in the motion;
(2) the prosecuting attorney for the juvenile court;
(3) the authority granting the discharge if the final
discharge was from an institution or from parole;
(4) the public or private agency or institution having
custody of records named in the application or motion; and
(5) the law enforcement agency having custody of files
or records named in the application or motion.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to the
sealing of records in the adjudication of a juvenile case on or
after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the
adjudication occurred before, on, or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2386 was passed by the House on May 4,
2009, by the following vote: Yeas 97, Nays 46, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2386 was passed by the Senate on May
14, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor