87R17561 MEW-D
By: Landgraf H.B. No. 2702
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the protective order registry maintained by the Office
of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System and the
removal of certain vacated protective orders from the registry.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 72.151(3), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(3) "Protective order" means:
(A) an order issued by a court in this state under
Chapter 83 or 85, Family Code, to prevent family violence, as
defined by Section 71.004, Family Code;
(B) an order issued by a court in this state under
Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure, to prevent
sexual assault or abuse, stalking, trafficking, or other harm to
the applicant; or
(C) [. The term includes] a magistrate's order
for emergency protection issued under Article 17.292, Code of
Criminal Procedure, with respect to a person who is arrested for an
offense involving family violence.
SECTION 2. Section 72.152, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 72.152. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to:
(1) an application for a protective order filed under:
(A) Chapter 82, Family Code;
(B) Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal
Procedure; or
(C) [(B)] Article 17.292, Code of Criminal
Procedure, with respect to a person who is arrested for an offense
involving family violence; and
(2) a protective order issued under:
(A) Chapter 83 or 85, Family Code;
(B) Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal
Procedure; or
(C) [(B)] Article 17.292, Code of Criminal
Procedure, with respect to a person who is arrested for an offense
involving family violence.
SECTION 3. Sections 72.154(b) and (d), Government Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) Publicly accessible information regarding each
protective order must consist of the following:
(1) the court that issued the protective order;
(2) the case number;
(3) the full name, county of residence, birth year,
and race or ethnicity of the person who is the subject of the
protective order;
(4) the dates the protective order was issued and
served; and
(5) [the date the protective order was vacated, if
applicable; and
[(6)] the date the protective order expired or will
expire, as applicable.
(d) The office may not allow a member of the public to access
through the registry any information related to:
(1) a protective order issued under Article 7B.002 or
17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, or Chapter 83, Family Code; or
(2) a protective order that was vacated.
SECTION 4. Section 72.155(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The registry must include a copy of each application for
a protective order filed in this state and a copy of each protective
order issued in this state, including an [a vacated or] expired
order, or a vacated order other than an order that was vacated as
the result of an appeal or bill of review from a district or county
court. Only an authorized user, the attorney general, a district
attorney, a criminal district attorney, a county attorney, a
municipal attorney, or a peace officer may access that information
under the registry.
SECTION 5. Section 72.157, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), for [For] a
protective order that is vacated or that has expired, the clerk of
the applicable court shall modify the record of the order in the
registry to reflect the order's status as vacated or expired. The
clerk shall ensure that a record of a vacated order is not
accessible by the public.
(b-1) For a protective order that is vacated as the result
of an appeal or bill of review from a district or county court, the
clerk of the applicable court shall notify the office not later than
the end of the next business day after the date the protective order
was vacated. The office shall remove the record of the order from
the registry not later than the third business day after the date
the notice from the clerk was received.
SECTION 6. Section 72.158(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The office shall ensure that the public may access
information about protective orders, other than information about
vacated orders or orders under Article 7B.002 or 17.292, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or Chapter 83, Family Code, through the
registry, only if:
(1) a protected person requests that the office grant
the public the ability to access the information described by
Section 72.154(b) for the order protecting the person; and
(2) the office approves the request.
SECTION 7. Section 72.152, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an application for a protective order
filed or a protective order issued on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 8. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System shall:
(1) remove the record of any protective orders that
have been vacated as the result of an appeal or bill of review from a
district or county court from the protective order registry
established under Subchapter F, Chapter 72, Government Code, as
amended by this Act; and
(2) ensure that the records of vacated orders, other
than orders described by Subdivision (1) of this section that are
removed from the registry, are not accessible by the public.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.