79R2862 KEL-D


By:  Turner                                                       H.B. No. 413



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the manner of providing notice of a petition or order 
for the expunction or nondisclosure of certain criminal records.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 2, Article 55.02, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding 
Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
	(c)  The court shall set a hearing on the matter no sooner 
than thirty days from the filing of the petition and shall give to 
each official or agency or other entity named in the petition
reasonable notice of the hearing [to each official or agency or 
other entity named in the petition] by:
		(1)  certified mail, return receipt requested; or               
		(2)  if requested in writing by the petitioner, secure 
electronic mail or facsimile transmission.
	(c-1)  An [, and such] entity described by Subsection (c) may 
be represented by the attorney responsible for providing the entity
[such agency] with legal representation in other matters.
	SECTION 2.  Sections 3(c) and (d), Article 55.02, Code of 
Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
	(c)  When the order of expunction is final, the clerk of the 
court shall send a certified copy of the order [by certified mail, 
return receipt requested,] to the Crime Records Service of the 
Department of Public Safety and [by hand delivery or certified 
mail, return receipt requested,] to each official or agency or 
other entity of this state or of any political subdivision of this 
state designated by the person who is the subject of the order.  The 
certified copy of the order must be sent by secure electronic mail 
or facsimile transmission, if requested in writing by the person 
who is the subject of the order, or otherwise by certified mail, 
return receipt requested.  In sending the order to an entity 
designated by the person, the clerk may elect to substitute hand 
delivery for certified mail under this subsection, but the [The] 
clerk [of the court] must receive a receipt for that hand-delivered
[each] order [delivered by hand under this subsection].  The 
Department of Public Safety shall notify any central federal 
depository of criminal records by any means, including secure
electronic mail or facsimile transmission, of the order with an 
explanation of the effect of the order and a request that the 
depository, as appropriate, either:
		(1)  destroy or return to the court the records in 
possession of the depository that are subject to the order, 
including any information with respect to the order; or
		(2)  comply with Section 5(f) of this article 
pertaining to information contained in records and files of a 
person entitled to expunction under Article 55.01(d).
	(d)  Any [All] returned receipts received by the clerk from 
notices of the hearing and copies of the order shall be maintained 
in the file on the proceedings under this chapter.
	SECTION 3.  Section 411.081, Government Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (g-1) to read as 
follows:
	(g)  When an order of nondisclosure is issued under this 
subsection, the clerk of the court shall send to the Crime Records 
Service of the Department of Public Safety a copy of the order by:
		(1)  certified mail, return receipt requested; or               
		(2)  if requested in writing by the petitioner, secure 
electronic mail or facsimile transmission [, to the Crime Records 
Service of the Department of Public Safety].
	(g-1)  The Department of Public Safety shall send a copy of 
the order by mail or secure electronic mail or facsimile 
transmission [means] to all law enforcement agencies, jails or 
other detention facilities, magistrates, courts, prosecuting 
attorneys, correctional facilities, central state depositories of 
criminal records, and other officials or agencies or other entities 
of this state or of any political subdivision of this state, and to 
all central federal depositories of criminal records that there is 
reason to believe have criminal history record information that is 
the subject of the order.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act to Chapter 
55, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies to a person seeking 
expunction of records and files relating to an arrest regardless of 
whether the arrest occurred before, on, or after the effective date 
of this Act.
	(b)  The change in law made by this Act to Section 411.081, 
Government Code, applies to information related to a deferred 
adjudication or similar procedure described by Subsection (f) of 
that section, regardless of whether the deferred adjudication or 
procedure is entered before, on, or after the effective date of this 
Act.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.