82R3561 E
By: Farrar H.B. No. 605
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the consequences of community supervision and to
petitions and procedures for the expunction of criminal records and
files and to orders of nondisclosure.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Community
Supervision and Expunction Reform Act of 2011.
SECTION 2. Article 55.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsections (a-2), (a-3), (a-4), (a-5), and (a-6)
to read as follows:
(a-2) A person who has had an order of deferred adjudication
community supervision granted under Section 5, Article 42.12, may
petition the court under Article 55.02:
(1) if the offense for which the person was placed on
deferred adjudication community supervision was a misdemeanor
described by Subdivision (2) or (3), or a state jail felony
described by Subdivision (4), and is not an offense described by
Subsection (a-3)(1) or (2);
(2) on or after the second anniversary of the
discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was
placed on community supervision was a Class B misdemeanor;
(3) on or after the fifth anniversary of the discharge
and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on
community supervision was a Class A misdemeanor; or
(4) on or after the seventh anniversary of the
discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was
placed on community supervision was a state jail felony.
(a-3) A defendant is not eligible to petition the court for
expunction under this subsection if:
(1) the offense committed was an offense under Chapter
21, 22, 36, 39, or 49, Penal Code;
(2) for any crime that has been enhanced by a previous
offense; or
(3) the person has had an offense previously expunged,
other than an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by
fine only.
(a-4) A person is entitled to petition the court under
Article 55.02 only if during the applicable period described by
Subsection (a-2)(2) or (3), the person is not convicted of or placed
on deferred adjudication community supervision, or charged with any
offense other than an offense under the Transportation Code
punishable by fine only.
(a-5) A person is entitled to petition the court under
Article 55.02 only if during the applicable period described by
Subsection (a-2)(4), the person is not convicted of or placed on
deferred adjudication community supervision, or charged with any
offense other than an offense under the Transportation Code
punishable by fine only, and the judge has the discretion, but is
not required, to grant an order of expunction filed under
Subsection (a-2)(4).
(a-6) A person not otherwise entitled to petition for
expunction under Subsection (a-2) is entitled to have all records
and files relating to the custodial or noncustodial arrest of the
person for the commission of an offense under the Transportation
Code punishable by fine only expunged if the person:
(1) committed the offense not less than five years
before filing a petition for expunction with respect to the
offense; and
(2) has not been convicted of or placed on deferred
adjudication community supervision, or charged with any other
offense in the five years preceding the time of filing the petition.
SECTION 3. Section 2(a), Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person who is entitled to expunction of records and
files under Article 55.01(a) or (a-6) or a person who is eligible
for expunction of records and files under Article 55.01(b) may file
an ex parte petition for expunction in a district court for the
county in which:
(1) the petitioner was arrested; or
(2) the offense was alleged to have occurred.
SECTION 4. Section 411.081(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
if a person is placed on deferred adjudication community
supervision under Section 5, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, subsequently receives a discharge and dismissal under
Section 5(c), Article 42.12, and satisfies the requirements of
Subsection (e), the person may petition the court that placed the
defendant on deferred adjudication for an order of nondisclosure
under this subsection. Except as provided by Subsection (e), a
person may petition the court under this subsection regardless of
whether the person has been previously placed on deferred
adjudication community supervision for another offense. After
notice to the state and a hearing on whether the person is entitled
to file the petition and issuance of the order is in the best
interest of justice, the court shall issue an order prohibiting
criminal justice agencies from disclosing to the public criminal
history record information related to the offense giving rise to
the deferred adjudication. A criminal justice agency may disclose
criminal history record information that is the subject of the
order only to other criminal justice agencies[, for criminal
justice or regulatory licensing purposes, an agency or entity
listed in Subsection (i),] or the person who is the subject of the
order. A person may petition the court that placed the person on
deferred adjudication for an order of nondisclosure on payment of a
$28 fee to the clerk of the court in addition to any other fee that
generally applies to the filing of a civil petition. The payment
may be made only on or after:
(1) the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for
which the person was placed on deferred adjudication was a
misdemeanor other than a misdemeanor described by Subdivision (2);
(2) the second anniversary of the discharge and
dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on
deferred adjudication was a misdemeanor under Chapter 20, 21, 22,
25, 42, or 46, Penal Code; or
(3) the fifth anniversary of the discharge and
dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on
deferred adjudication was a felony.
SECTION 5. The following provision of the Government Code
is repealed:
(1) Section 411.081(i).
SECTION 6. Section 552.1425(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The [A district court may issue a warning to a private
entity for a first violation of Subsection (a). After receiving a
warning for the first violation, the] private entity is liable to
the state for a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each
subsequent violation.
SECTION 7. Section 469.001(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) If a defendant successfully completes a drug court
program, regardless of whether the defendant was convicted of the
offense for which the defendant entered the program or whether the
court deferred further proceedings without entering an
adjudication of guilt, after notice to the state and a hearing on
whether the defendant is otherwise entitled to the petition and
whether issuance of the order is in the best interest of justice,
the court shall enter an order of nondisclosure under Section
411.081, Government Code, as if the defendant had received a
discharge and dismissal under Section 5(c), Article 42.12, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or an expunction under Article 55.01, Code of
Criminal Procedure, with respect to all records and files related
to the defendant's arrest for the offense for which the defendant
entered the program if the defendant:
(1) has not been previously convicted of a felony
offense; and
(2) is not convicted for any other felony offense
before the second anniversary of the defendant's successful
completion of the program.
SECTION 8. The change in law made by this Act to Chapter 55,
Code of Criminal Procedure, applies to a person seeking expunction
of records and files relating to an arrest on or after the effective
date of this Act, regardless of whether the arrest occurred before,
on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.