| 1 | 1 | | 87R9432 JSC-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Crockett H.B. No. 1944 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to automatic expunction of arrest records and files for |
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| 8 | 8 | | certain persons who are tried for an offense and subsequently |
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| 9 | 9 | | acquitted. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 1, Article 55.02, Code of Criminal |
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| 12 | 12 | | Procedure, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 1. The [At the request of the acquitted person and |
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| 14 | 14 | | after notice to the state, or at the request of the attorney for the |
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| 15 | 15 | | state with the consent of the acquitted person, the] trial court |
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| 16 | 16 | | presiding over the case in which the person was acquitted, if the |
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| 17 | 17 | | trial court is a district court, a justice court, or a municipal |
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| 18 | 18 | | court of record, or a district court in the county in which the |
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| 19 | 19 | | trial court is located shall enter an order of expunction for a |
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| 20 | 20 | | person entitled to expunction under Article 55.01(a)(1)(A) not |
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| 21 | 21 | | later than the 30th day after the date of the acquittal. [On |
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| 22 | 22 | | acquittal, the trial court shall advise the acquitted person of the |
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| 23 | 23 | | right to expunction. The party requesting the order of expunction |
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| 24 | 24 | | shall provide to the court all of the information required in a |
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| 25 | 25 | | petition for expunction under Section 2(b).] The attorney for the |
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| 26 | 26 | | acquitted person in the case in which the person was acquitted, if |
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| 27 | 27 | | the person was represented by counsel, or the attorney for the |
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| 28 | 28 | | state, if the person was not represented by counsel or if the |
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| 29 | 29 | | attorney for the state requested the order of expunction, shall |
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| 30 | 30 | | prepare the order for the court's signature. If the trial court is |
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| 31 | 31 | | not a district court, a justice court, or a municipal court of |
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| 32 | 32 | | record, the trial court shall forward the proposed order, and all |
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| 33 | 33 | | information required in a petition for expunction under Section |
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| 34 | 34 | | 2(b), to a district court in the county to proceed in the manner |
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| 35 | 35 | | provided by this section. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 2. (a) This Act applies to the expunction of arrest |
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| 37 | 37 | | records and files for a person entitled to that expunction under |
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| 38 | 38 | | Article 55.01(a)(1)(A), Code of Criminal Procedure, before, on, or |
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| 39 | 39 | | after the effective date of this Act, regardless of when the |
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| 40 | 40 | | underlying arrest occurred. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (b) For a person who is entitled to expunction under Article |
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| 42 | 42 | | 55.01(a)(1)(A), Code of Criminal Procedure, based on an acquittal |
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| 43 | 43 | | that occurred before the effective date of this Act, |
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| 44 | 44 | | notwithstanding the 30-day time limit provided for the court to |
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| 45 | 45 | | enter an automatic order of expunction under Section 1, Article |
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| 46 | 46 | | 55.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, the court |
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| 47 | 47 | | shall enter an order of expunction for the person as soon as |
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| 48 | 48 | | practicable after the court receives written notice from any party |
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| 49 | 49 | | to the case about the person's entitlement to the expunction. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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