1-1 By: Shields (Senate Sponsor - Staples) H.B. No. 1323
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 11, 2001;
1-3 April 17, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Criminal Justice; May 10, 2001, reported adversely, with favorable
1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0;
1-6 May 10, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1323 By: West
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the expunction of arrest records and files when an
1-11 indictment or information is dismissed or quashed.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Article 55.01, Code of Criminal
1-14 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
1-15 (a) A person who has been arrested for commission of either
1-16 a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files
1-17 relating to the arrest expunged if:
1-18 (1) the person is tried for the offense for which the
1-19 person was arrested and is:
1-20 (A) acquitted by the trial court, except as
1-21 provided by Subsection (c) of this section; or
1-22 (B) convicted and subsequently pardoned; or
1-23 (2) each of the following conditions exist:
1-24 (A) an indictment or information charging the
1-25 person with commission of a felony has not been presented against
1-26 the person for an offense arising out of the transaction for which
1-27 the person was arrested or, if an indictment or information
1-28 charging the person with commission of a felony was presented, the
1-29 indictment or information [it] has been dismissed or quashed, and:
1-30 (i) the limitations period expired before
1-31 the date on which a petition for expunction was filed under Article
1-32 55.02; or
1-33 (ii) [and] the court finds that the
1-34 indictment or information [it] was dismissed or quashed because the
1-35 presentment had been made because of mistake, false information, or
1-36 other similar reason indicating absence of probable cause at the
1-37 time of the dismissal to believe the person committed the offense
1-38 or because it was void;
1-39 (B) the person has been released and the charge,
1-40 if any, has not resulted in a final conviction and is no longer
1-41 pending and there was no court ordered community supervision under
1-42 Article 42.12 [of this code]; and
1-43 (C) the person has not been convicted of a
1-44 felony in the five years preceding the date of the arrest.
1-45 SECTION 2. Section 3(c), Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
1-46 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
1-47 (c) When the order of expunction is final, the clerk of the
1-48 court shall send a certified copy of the order by certified mail,
1-49 return receipt requested, to the Crime Records Service of the
1-50 Department of Public Safety and by hand delivery or certified mail,
1-51 return receipt requested, to each official or agency or other
1-52 entity of this state or of any political subdivision of this state
1-53 designated by the person who is the subject of the order. The
1-54 clerk of the court must receive a receipt for each order delivered
1-55 by hand under this subsection. The Department of Public Safety
1-56 shall notify any central federal depository of criminal records by
1-57 any means, including electronic transmission, of the order with an
1-58 explanation of the effect of the order and a request that the
1-59 records in possession of the depository, including any information
1-60 with respect to the order, be destroyed or returned to the court.
1-61 SECTION 3. Article 55.03, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-62 amended to read as follows: [After entry of an expunction order:]
1-63 When the order of expunction is final:
1-64 (1) the release, dissemination, or
2-1 use of the expunged records and files for any purpose is
2-2 prohibited;
2-3 (2) except as provided in
2-4 Subdivision 3 of this article, the person arrested may deny the
2-5 occurrence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order;
2-6 and
2-7 (3) the person arrested or any other
2-8 person, when questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about
2-9 an arrest for which the records have been expunged, may state only
2-10 that the matter in question has been expunged.
2-11 SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies to
2-12 arrest records and files created before, on, or after the effective
2-13 date of this Act.
2-14 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-15 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-16 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
2-17 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-18 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-19 * * * * *