88R9577 JRR-D
By: Herrero H.B. No. 3260
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the expunction of arrest records and files by a
statutory county court.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 55.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-2) to
read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) and subject to
Subsections [Subsection] (b-1) and (b-2), a district court, a
statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court of
record may expunge all records and files relating to the arrest of a
person under the procedure established under Article 55.02 if:
(1) the person is:
(A) tried for the offense for which the person
was arrested;
(B) convicted of the offense; and
(C) acquitted by the court of criminal appeals
or, if the period for granting a petition for discretionary review
has expired, by a court of appeals; or
(2) an office of the attorney representing the state
authorized by law to prosecute the offense for which the person was
arrested recommends the expunction to the court before the person
is tried for the offense, regardless of whether an indictment or
information has been presented against the person in relation to
the offense.
(b-2) A statutory county court may only expunge records and
files under Subsection (b) that relate to the arrest of a person for
an offense that is subject to the jurisdiction of a statutory county
court.
SECTION 2. Section 1, Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1. At the request of the acquitted person and after
notice to the state, or at the request of the attorney for the state
with the consent of the acquitted person, the trial court presiding
over the case in which the person was acquitted, if the trial court
is a district court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a
municipal court of record, or a district court in the county in
which the trial court is located shall enter an order of expunction
for a person entitled to expunction under Article 55.01(a)(1)(A)
not later than the 30th day after the date of the acquittal. On
acquittal, the trial court shall advise the acquitted person of the
right to expunction. The party requesting the order of expunction
shall provide to the court all of the information required in a
petition for expunction under Section 2(b). The attorney for the
acquitted person in the case in which the person was acquitted, if
the person was represented by counsel, or the attorney for the
state, if the person was not represented by counsel or if the
attorney for the state requested the order of expunction, shall
prepare the order for the court's signature.
SECTION 3. Section 1a(a), Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The trial court presiding over a case in which a person
is convicted and subsequently granted relief or pardoned on the
basis of actual innocence of the offense of which the person was
convicted, if the trial court is a district court, a statutory
county court, a justice court, or a municipal court of record, or a
district court in the county in which the trial court is located
shall enter an order of expunction for a person entitled to
expunction under Article 55.01(a)(1)(B)(ii) not later than the 30th
day after the date the court receives notice of the pardon or other
grant of relief. The person shall provide to the court all of the
information required in a petition for expunction under Section
2(b).
SECTION 4. Section 2, Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (a-2) and amending
Subsection (b) to read as follows:
(a-2) If the arrest for which expunction is sought is for an
offense that is subject to the jurisdiction of a statutory county
court, a person who is entitled to expunction of records and files
under Article 55.01(a)(1)(A) 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 statutory county court in the
county in which:
(1) the petitioner was arrested; or
(2) the offense was alleged to have occurred.
(b) A petition filed under Subsection (a), [or] (a-1), or
(a-2) must be verified and must include the following or an
explanation for why one or more of the following is not included:
(1) the petitioner's:
(A) full name;
(B) sex;
(C) race;
(D) date of birth;
(E) driver's license number;
(F) social security number; and
(G) address at the time of the arrest;
(2) the offense charged against the petitioner;
(3) the date the offense charged against the
petitioner was alleged to have been committed;
(4) the date the petitioner was arrested;
(5) the name of the county where the petitioner was
arrested and if the arrest occurred in a municipality, the name of
the municipality;
(6) the name of the agency that arrested the
petitioner;
(7) the case number and court of offense; and
(8) together with the applicable physical or e-mail
addresses, a list of all:
(A) law enforcement agencies, jails or other
detention facilities, magistrates, courts, prosecuting attorneys,
correctional facilities, central state depositories of criminal
records, and other officials or agencies or other entities of this
state or of any political subdivision of this state;
(B) central federal depositories of criminal
records that the petitioner has reason to believe have records or
files that are subject to expunction; and
(C) private entities that compile and
disseminate for compensation criminal history record information
that the petitioner has reason to believe have information related
to records or files that are subject to expunction.
SECTION 5. Article 102.006(a-1), Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a-1) In addition to any other fees required by other law
and except as provided by Subsection (b), a petitioner seeking
expunction of a criminal record in a statutory county court, a
justice court, or a municipal court of record under Chapter 55 shall
pay a fee of $100 for filing an ex parte petition for expunction to
defray the cost of notifying state agencies of orders of expunction
under that chapter.
SECTION 6. Section 25.0003, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) A statutory county court has concurrent jurisdiction
with a district court over expunction proceedings relating to the
arrest of a person for an offense that is subject to the
jurisdiction of a statutory county court.
SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act applies to the
expunction of arrest records and files for any criminal offense
that occurred before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.