78R6110 PEP-F

By:  Gallegos                                                     S.B. No. 1290


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the consequences of a prosecution or conviction of an offense in justice or municipal court and to the disposition of certain records relating to those prosecutions and convictions. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 12.03, Penal Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: (d)(1) Notwithstanding any other law, after the fifth anniversary of the date of final disposition of the matter, a person is released from any legal disability or disadvantage resulting from the prosecution or conviction of an offense in a justice or municipal court. This subdivision does not apply to an offense that involves an act of theft or moral turpitude. (2) A justice or municipal court maintaining a record relating to the prosecution and final disposition of a matter with respect to which a person is released from any legal disability or disadvantage under Subdivision (1) may not release information contained in the record and shall take action as necessary to destroy the record, regardless of whether the record is maintained electronically or otherwise. (3) For purposes of this subsection, "final disposition" means a judgment of acquittal, a judgment of conviction that has been satisfied, or an order of dismissal. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and applies to the release from a legal disability or disadvantage arising from the commission of an offense, regardless of whether the offense is committed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.