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House Bill 3579 |
House Author: Alonzo et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Rodríguez |
House Bill 3579 amends the Business & Commerce Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Government Code, and Occupations Code to establish a procedure for petitioning a court for an order of nondisclosure for certain fine-only misdemeanors, to expand the criminal record information that a person is entitled to have expunged, and to provide for a judge's modification of a conviction record to reflect a lesser offense under certain circumstances.
Reason Given for Veto: "I previously signed Senate Bill 1902, which increases the ability of those who have been convicted of misdemeanors to have their criminal records sealed from public disclosure. The purpose of that legislation is to expand the employment prospects of individuals whose minor criminal records may be unduly limiting their ability to pursue an honest living.
"House Bill 3579 has a similar goal, but it goes too far by allowing courts to expunge dismissed criminal charges—including serious felony charges—even when the defendant was convicted of other, related charges. This would be problematic for two reasons. First, dismissal of a criminal charge is not necessarily an indicator of the defendant's innocence of that crime, particularly when a multi-charge arrest results in a plea agreement. Second, unlike orders of non-disclosure, which seal records from public view, expunction seals the records even from law enforcement. Under House Bill 3579, even those convicted of serious felonies could have parts of their criminal record expunged. This would deprive law enforcement of information about the offense history of habitual criminals, which may be useful in the investigation of future crimes."