Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4476 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R12030 MCF-D
2	2	By: McLaughlin H.B. No. 4476
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the waiver of jurisdiction by a juvenile court for
10	10	certain children who are accused of committing certain offenses
11	11	involving the use or exhibition of a firearm, the mandatory
12	12	transfer of jurisdiction for those children to a criminal court,
13	13	and an order of expunction issued with respect to those offenses.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 54.02, Family Code, is amended by adding
16	16	Subsection (m-1) and amending Subsection (n) to read as follows:
17	17	(m-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
18	18	the juvenile court shall waive its exclusive original jurisdiction
19	19	and transfer a child to the appropriate district court or criminal
20	20	district court for criminal proceedings if:
21	21	(1) the child is alleged to have violated a penal law
22	22	punishable as a felony of the first degree;
23	23	(2) the child was 14 years of age or older at the time
24	24	the child is alleged to have committed the offense; and
25	25	(3) the child used or exhibited a firearm during the
26	26	commission of the alleged offense.
27	27	(n) A mandatory transfer under Subsection (m) or (m-1) may
28	28	be made without conducting the study required in discretionary
29	29	transfer proceedings by Subsection (d). The requirements of
30	30	Subsection (b) that the summons state that the purpose of the
31	31	hearing is to consider discretionary transfer to criminal court
32	32	does not apply to a transfer proceeding under Subsection (m) or
33	33	(m-1). In a proceeding under Subsection (m) or (m-1), it is
34	34	sufficient that the summons provide fair notice that the purpose of
35	35	the hearing is to consider mandatory transfer to criminal court.
36	36	SECTION 2. Chapter 55A, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
37	37	amended by adding Subchapter E-1 to read as follows:
38	38	SUBCHAPTER E-1. EXPUNCTION FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES COMMITTED BY CHILD
39	39	Art. 55A.221. PETITION FOR EXPUNCTION. (a) A person who
40	40	has been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community
41	41	supervision for an offense for which the person was transferred
42	42	from a juvenile court to a district court or criminal district court
43	43	for criminal proceedings under Section 54.02(m-1), Family Code, may
44	44	file an ex parte petition in the court in which the person was
45	45	convicted or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision
46	46	to have all records and files related to the conviction or deferred
47	47	adjudication community supervision expunged if:
48	48	(1) the person is 25 years of age or older; and
49	49	(2) the person has not been convicted of or placed on
50	50	deferred adjudication community supervision for any subsequent
51	51	offense the commission of which involved the person's use or
52	52	exhibition of a firearm.
53	53	(b) The petition for the expunction of records and files
54	54	under Subsection (a) must:
55	55	(1) be in writing; and
56	56	(2) be verified and include all the information
57	57	described by Article 55A.253 or an explanation for why any of the
58	58	information was omitted.
59	59	(c) On the filing of the petition under this article, the
60	60	clerk of the court shall promptly serve a copy of the petition and
61	61	any supporting documentation on the appropriate office of the
62	62	attorney representing the state. Any response to the petition by
63	63	the attorney representing the state must be filed not later than the
64	64	30th business day after the date of service under this subsection.
65	65	Art. 55A.222. HEARING FOR EXPUNCTION. (a) In the manner
66	66	described by Article 55A.254, the court shall hold a hearing to
67	67	consider an ex parte petition filed under Article 55A.221.
68	68	(b) A person is entitled to have all records and files
69	69	related to the conviction or deferred adjudication community
70	70	supervision expunged under this subchapter if after the hearing the
71	71	court determines that:
72	72	(1) the offense for which the person is seeking the
73	73	expunction of records and files is an offense for which the person
74	74	was transferred from a juvenile court to a district court or
75	75	criminal district court for criminal proceedings under Section
76	76	54.02(m-1), Family Code;
77	77	(2) the person is 25 years of age or older;
78	78	(3) the person has not been subsequently convicted of
79	79	or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for an
80	80	offense the commission of which involved the person's use or
81	81	exhibition of a firearm; and
82	82	(4) the person is rehabilitated and has demonstrated a
83	83	commitment to being a responsible citizen.
84	84	SECTION 3. Article 55A.255, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
85	85	amended to read as follows:
86	86	Art. 55A.255. ENTRY OF EXPUNCTION ORDER. If the court finds
87	87	that the person who is the subject of an ex parte petition filed
88	88	under Subchapter E-1 or Article 55A.251, 55A.252, or 55A.257 is
89	89	entitled to expunction of any records and files that are the subject
90	90	of the petition, the court shall enter an order directing
91	91	expunction.
92	92	SECTION 4. Article 55A.301, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
93	93	amended to read as follows:
94	94	Art. 55A.301. REQUIRED CONTENT. (a) An expunction order
95	95	entered by a court under Subchapter E or F must have attached and
96	96	incorporate by reference a copy of the judgment of acquittal, if
97	97	any, and must include:
98	98	(1) the following information on the person who is the
99	99	subject of the expunction order:
100	100	(A) full name;
101	101	(B) sex;
102	102	(C) race;
103	103	(D) date of birth;
104	104	(E) driver's license number; and
105	105	(F) social security number;
106	106	(2) the offense charged against the person who is the
107	107	subject of the expunction order or the offense of which the person
108	108	was convicted, if applicable [any];
109	109	(3) the date of the applicable arrest or conviction;
110	110	(4) the case number and court of offense, if any; and
111	111	(5) the incident number assigned to the individual
112	112	incident of arrest under Article 66.251(b)(1) by the Department of
113	113	Public Safety.
114	114	(b) An expunction order issued by a court under Subchapter E
115	115	or F must require any state agency that sent information concerning
116	116	the arrest or conviction to a central federal depository to request
117	117	the depository to return all records and files subject to the order.
118	118	SECTION 5. Article 55A.401, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
119	119	amended to read as follows:
120	120	Art. 55A.401. EFFECT OF FINAL EXPUNCTION ORDER. When an
121	121	expunction order issued under Subchapter E or F is final:
122	122	(1) the release, maintenance, dissemination, or use of
123	123	the expunged records and files for any purpose is prohibited;
124	124	(2) except as provided by Subdivision (3), the person
125	125	arrested or convicted, as applicable, may deny the occurrence of
126	126	the arrest or conviction and the existence of the expunction order;
127	127	and
128	128	(3) the person arrested or convicted, as applicable,
129	129	or any other person, when questioned under oath in a criminal
130	130	proceeding about an arrest or conviction for which the records have
131	131	been expunged, may state only that the matter in question has been
132	132	expunged.
133	133	SECTION 6. Article 55A.402(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
134	134	is amended to read as follows:
135	135	(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
136	136	(1) learns of an arrest or conviction while an officer
137	137	or employee of the state or of any agency or other entity of the
138	138	state or any political subdivision of the state;
139	139	(2) knows of an order expunging the records and files
140	140	relating to that arrest or conviction; and
141	141	(3) knowingly releases, disseminates, or otherwise
142	142	uses the records or files.
143	143	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
144	144	54.02, Family Code, apply only to an offense committed or conduct
145	145	that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense
146	146	committed or conduct that occurred before the effective date of
147	147	this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
148	148	committed or the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued
149	149	in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an
150	150	offense was committed or conduct occurred before the effective date
151	151	of this Act if any element of the offense or conduct occurred before
152	152	that date.
153	153	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.