82R3484 AJZ-F
By: Turner H.B. No. 961
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sealing of and restricting access to juvenile
records of adjudications of delinquent conduct or conduct
indicating a need for supervision.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 58.003(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Subject to Subsection (b), a court may order the sealing
of records concerning a person adjudicated as having engaged in
delinquent conduct that violated a penal law of the grade of felony
only if:
(1) the person is 19 [21] years of age or older;
(2) the person was not transferred by a juvenile court
under Section 54.02 to a criminal court for prosecution;
(3) the records have not been used as evidence in the
punishment phase of a criminal proceeding under Section 3(a),
Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(4) the person has not been convicted of a penal law of
the grade of felony after becoming age 17.
SECTION 2. Section 58.203(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The department shall certify to the juvenile probation
department to which a referral was made that resulted in
information being submitted to the juvenile justice information
system that the records relating to a person's juvenile case are
subject to automatic restriction of access if:
(1) the person is at least 17 [21] years of age;
(2) the juvenile case did not include violent or
habitual felony conduct resulting in proceedings in the juvenile
court under Section 53.045; and
(3) the juvenile case was not certified for trial in
criminal court under Section 54.02[; and
[(4) the department has not received a report in its
criminal history system that the person was granted deferred
adjudication for or convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor
punishable by confinement in jail for an offense committed after
the person became 17 years of age].
SECTION 3. Section 58.208, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 58.208. INFORMATION TO CHILD ON DISCHARGE. On the
final discharge of a child from the juvenile system or on the last
official action in the case, if there is no adjudication, the
appropriate juvenile justice official shall provide to the child:
(1) a written explanation of how automatic restricted
access under this subchapter works;
(2) a copy of this subchapter; and
(3) a statement that if the child wishes to receive
notification of an action restricting access to the child's records
under Section 58.207(a), the child must before the child's 17th
[21st] birthday provide the juvenile probation department with a
current address where the child can receive notification.
SECTION 4. Section 58.209(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) When a child is placed on probation for an offense that
may be eligible for automatic restricted access at age 17 [21] or
when a child is received by the Texas Youth Commission on an
indeterminate commitment, a probation officer or an official at the
Texas Youth Commission reception center, as soon as practicable,
shall explain the substance of the following information to the
child:
(1) if the child was adjudicated as having committed
delinquent conduct for a felony or jailable misdemeanor, that the
child probably has a juvenile record with the department and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(2) that the child's juvenile record is a permanent
record that is not destroyed or erased unless the record is eligible
for sealing and the child or the child's family hires a lawyer and
files a petition in court to have the record sealed;
(3) that the child's juvenile record, other than
treatment records made confidential by law, can be accessed by
police, sheriff's officers, prosecutors, probation officers,
correctional officers, and other criminal and juvenile justice
officials in this state and elsewhere;
(4) that the child's juvenile record, other than
treatment records made confidential by law, can be accessed by
employers, educational institutions, licensing agencies, and other
organizations when the child applies for employment or educational
programs;
(5) if the child's juvenile record is placed on
restricted access when the child becomes 17 [21] years of age, that
access will be denied to employers, educational institutions, and
others except for criminal justice agencies; and
(6) [that to have the child's juvenile record placed on
restricted access at age 21, the child must not:
[(A) commit a felony or jailable misdemeanor; and
[(B) receive deferred adjudication for or be
convicted in adult court of a felony or jailable misdemeanor; and
[(7)] that restricted access does not require any
action by the child or the child's family, including the filing of a
petition or hiring of a lawyer, but occurs automatically at age 17
[21 if the child does not commit a criminal offense in the future].
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies to the
sealing of and restricting access to 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 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.