89R10685 MZM-D
By: Campos H.B. No. 2417
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of certain wrongfully imprisoned
persons for compensation and for the expunction of arrest records
and files in the case.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 103.001(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person is entitled to compensation if:
(1) the person has served in whole or in part a
sentence in prison under the laws of this state; and
(2) the person:
(A) has received a full pardon on the basis of
innocence for the crime for which the person was sentenced;
(B) has been granted relief in accordance with a
writ of habeas corpus that is based on a court finding or
determination that the person is actually innocent of the crime for
which the person was sentenced; [or]
(C) has been granted relief in accordance with a
writ of habeas corpus and:
(i) the state district court in which the
charge against the person was pending has entered an order
dismissing the charge; and
(ii) the district court's dismissal order
is based on a motion to dismiss in which the state's attorney states
that no credible evidence exists that inculpates the defendant and,
either in the motion or in an affidavit, the state's attorney states
that the state's attorney believes that the defendant is actually
innocent of the crime for which the person was sentenced; or
(D) has had all records and files relating to the
person's arrest for a crime expunged under Article 55A.101(c), Code
of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 2. Article 55A.101, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) Except as provided by Article 55A.151, a district court
may expunge all records and files relating to the arrest of a person
if:
(1) the person is:
(A) tried for the offense for which the person
was arrested; and
(B) convicted of the offense;
(2) the conviction is reversed on any grounds by the
court of criminal appeals or, if the period for granting a petition
for discretionary review has expired, by a court of appeals; and
(3) the office of the attorney representing the state
that prosecuted the offense for which the person was arrested
recommends the expunction to the court.
SECTION 3. (a) A person who meets the criteria of Section
103.001(a)(2)(D), Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by
this Act, and who has not received compensation under Chapter 103,
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, before the effective date of this
Act, may file an application for compensation under Subchapter B,
Chapter 103, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, not later than the
third anniversary of the effective date of this Act.
(b) The change in law made by this Act in adding Article
55A.101(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.