1-1 By: Bernsen S.B. No. 610
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 8, 2001; February 12, 2001,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
1-4 April 10, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6,
1-5 Nays 0; April 10, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the restoration of the civil rights of certain
1-9 individuals convicted of offenses allegedly committed in other
1-10 countries.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Subsections (a) through (d) and (k), Article
1-13 48.05, Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
1-14 (a)(1) An individual convicted of an [a federal] offense
1-15 described by Subdivision (2) of this subsection [other than an
1-16 offense involving violence or the threat of violence or involving
1-17 drugs or firearms] may, except as provided by Subsection (b) of
1-18 this article, submit an application for restoration of any civil
1-19 rights forfeited under the laws of this state as a result of the
1-20 conviction.
1-21 (2) This article applies to:
1-22 (A) a federal offense, other than an offense
1-23 involving:
1-24 (i) violence or the threat of violence;
1-25 (ii) drugs; or
1-26 (iii) firearms; and
1-27 (B) an offense under the laws of another
1-28 country, other than an offense involving:
1-29 (i) violence or the threat of violence;
1-30 (ii) drugs; or
1-31 (iii) firearms, if the elements of the
1-32 offense are substantially similar to elements of an offense under
1-33 the laws of this state punishable as a felony.
1-34 (b) An individual may not apply for restoration of civil
1-35 rights under this article unless:
1-36 (1) the individual has completed the sentence for the
1-37 [federal] offense;
1-38 (2) the conviction occurred:
1-39 (A) three or more years before the date of
1-40 application, if the offense is a federal offense; or
1-41 (B) two or more years before the date of
1-42 application, if the offense is an offense under the laws of another
1-43 country; and
1-44 (3) the individual has not been convicted at any other
1-45 time of an offense under the laws of this state, another state, or
1-46 the United States.
1-47 (c) An application for restoration of civil rights must
1-48 contain:
1-49 (1) a completed application on a form adopted by the
1-50 Board of Pardons and Paroles;
1-51 (2) three or more affidavits attesting to the good
1-52 character of the applicant; and
1-53 (3) proof that the applicant has completed the
1-54 sentence for the [federal] offense.
1-55 (d) The applicant must submit the application to:
1-56 (1) the sheriff of the county in which the applicant
1-57 resides at the time of application or resided at the time of
1-58 conviction of the [federal] offense, if the individual resided in
1-59 this state at that time; or
1-60 (2) the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
1-61 (k) A restoration of civil rights under this article is a
1-62 form of pardon that restores all civil rights under the laws of
1-63 this state that an individual forfeits as a result of the
1-64 individual's conviction of an [a federal] offense, except as
2-1 specifically provided in the certificate of restoration.
2-2 SECTION 2. Article 48.05, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
2-3 amended by this Act, applies to an individual convicted of an
2-4 offense under the laws of another country committed before, on, or
2-5 after the effective date of this Act.
2-6 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-7 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-8 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
2-9 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-10 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-11 * * * * *