H.B. No. 3069
AN ACT
relating to the administration of and eligibility for participation
in a veterans treatment court program and the issuance of orders of
nondisclosure for certain participants who successfully complete
that program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 124.001(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) If a defendant who was arrested for or charged with, but
not convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community
supervision for, an offense successfully completes a veterans
treatment court program, after notice to the attorney representing
the state and a hearing in the veterans treatment court at which
that court determines that a dismissal is in the best interest of
justice, the court in which the criminal case is pending shall
dismiss the case against the defendant.
SECTION 2. Sections 124.002(a) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioners court of a county may establish a
veterans treatment court program for persons arrested for, [or]
charged with, convicted of, or placed on deferred adjudication
community supervision for any misdemeanor or felony offense. A
defendant is eligible to participate in a veterans treatment court
program established under this chapter only if the attorney
representing the state consents to the defendant's participation in
the program and if the court in which the criminal case is pending
or in which the defendant was convicted or placed on deferred
adjudication community supervision, as applicable, finds that the
defendant is a veteran or current member of the United States armed
forces, including a member of the reserves, national guard, or
state guard, who:
(1) suffers from a brain injury, mental illness, or
mental disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder, or was a
victim of military sexual trauma if the injury, illness, disorder,
or trauma [that]:
(A) occurred during or resulted from the
defendant's military service; and
(B) affected the defendant's criminal conduct at
issue in the case; or
(2) is a defendant whose participation in a veterans
treatment court program, considering the circumstances of the
defendant's conduct, personal and social background, and criminal
history, is likely to achieve the objective of ensuring public
safety through rehabilitation of the veteran in the manner provided
by Section 1.02(1), Penal Code.
(c) Proof of matters described by Subsection (a) may be
submitted to the applicable criminal court [in which the criminal
case is pending] in any form the court determines to be appropriate,
including military service and medical records, previous
determinations of a disability by a veteran's organization or by
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, testimony or
affidavits of other veterans or service members, and prior
determinations of eligibility for benefits by any state or county
veterans office. The court's findings must accompany any docketed
case.
SECTION 3. Section 124.003(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A veterans treatment court program established under
this chapter must:
(1) if there has not yet been a disposition in the
criminal case, ensure that a defendant eligible for participation
in the program is provided legal counsel before volunteering to
proceed through the program and while participating in the program;
(2) allow a participant arrested for or charged with
an offense to withdraw from the program at any time before a trial
on the merits has been initiated;
(3) provide a participant with a court-ordered
individualized treatment plan indicating the services that will be
provided to the participant; and
(4) ensure that the jurisdiction of the veterans
treatment court continues for a period of not less than six months
but does not continue beyond the period of community supervision
for the offense charged.
SECTION 4. Subchapter E-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.0727 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.0727. PROCEDURE FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
OF VETERANS TREATMENT COURT PROGRAM. (a) This section applies only
to a person who successfully completes a veterans treatment court
program under Chapter 124 or former law.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter
or Subchapter F, a person described by Subsection (a) is entitled to
file with the court that placed the person in the veterans treatment
court program a petition for an order of nondisclosure of criminal
history record information under this section if the person:
(1) satisfies the requirements of this section and
Section 411.074;
(2) has never been previously convicted of an offense
listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, or a
sexually violent offense, as defined by Article 62.001, Code of
Criminal Procedure; and
(3) is not convicted of any felony offense between the
date on which the person successfully completed the program and the
second anniversary of that date.
(c) Regardless of whether the person was convicted of or
placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for the
offense for which the person entered the veterans treatment court
program or whether the case against the person was dismissed under
Section 124.001(b), after notice to the state, an opportunity for a
hearing, and a determination that 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 for which the person
entered the veterans treatment court program.
(d) A person may file with the court that placed the person
in the veterans treatment court program a petition for an order of
nondisclosure of criminal history record information under this
section only on or after the second anniversary of the date the
person successfully completed the program.
(e) A person is not entitled to petition the court for an
order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information under
this section if the person's entry into the veterans treatment
court program arose as the result of a conviction of an offense
involving the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
SECTION 5. (a) The change in law made by this Act by
amending Sections 124.002 and 124.003, Government Code, applies to
a person who, on or after the effective date of this Act, enters a
veterans treatment court program created under Chapter 124,
Government Code, regardless of whether the person entering the
program committed the offense for which the person enters the
program before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) The change in law made by this Act by adding Section
411.0727, Government Code, applies to a person who, on or after the
effective date of this Act, enters a veterans treatment court
program created under Chapter 124, Government Code, or former law,
regardless of whether the person entering the program committed the
offense for which the person enters the program before, on, or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3069 was passed by the House on May 4,
2017, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 3069 on May 26, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3069 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 23, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor