By: West S.B. No. 1071
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a person's eligibility for an order of nondisclosure
with respect to certain criminal history records and to certain law
enforcement duties that result from the issuance of an order.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.081, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (d), (g), and (h) and by adding Subsections
(g-1), (g-2), (i), and (j) to read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
if a person is placed on deferred adjudication community
supervision under Section 5, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, subsequently receives a discharge and dismissal under
Section 5(c), Article 42.12, and satisfies the requirements of
Subsection (e), the person may petition the court that placed the
defendant on deferred adjudication for an order of nondisclosure
under this subsection. Except as provided by Subsection (e), a
person may petition the court under this subsection regardless of
whether the person has been previously placed on deferred
adjudication community supervision for another offense. After
notice to the state and a hearing on whether the person is entitled
to file the petition and issuance of the order is in the best
interest of justice, the court shall issue an order prohibiting
criminal justice agencies from disclosing to the public criminal
history record information related to the offense giving rise to
the deferred adjudication. A criminal justice agency may disclose
criminal history record information that is the subject of the
order only to other criminal justice agencies, for criminal justice
or regulatory licensing purposes, an agency or entity listed in
Subsection (i), or the person who is the subject of the order [an
individual or agency described by Section 411.083(b)(1), (2), or
(3)]. A person may petition the court that placed the person on
deferred adjudication for an order of nondisclosure on payment of a
$28 fee to the clerk of the court in addition to any other fee that
generally applies to the filing of a civil petition. The payment
may be made only on or after:
(1) the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for
which the person was placed on deferred adjudication was a
misdemeanor other than a misdemeanor described by Subdivision (2);
(2) the second [fifth] anniversary of the discharge
and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on
deferred adjudication was a misdemeanor under Chapter 20, 21, 22,
25, 42, or 46, Penal Code; or
(3) the fifth [10th] anniversary of the discharge and
dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on
deferred adjudication was a felony.
(g) When an order of nondisclosure is issued under this
section [subsection], the clerk of the court shall send a copy of
the order by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Crime
Records Service of the Department of Public Safety. Not later than
10 business days after receipt of the order, the [The] Department of
Public Safety shall seal any criminal history record information
maintained by the department that is the subject of the order. The
department shall also send a copy of the order by mail or electronic
means to all:
(1) 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;
(2) [, 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; and
(3) private entities that purchase criminal history
record information from the department.
(g-1) Not later than 30 business days after receipt of an
order from the Department of Public Safety under Subsection (g), an
individual or entity described by Subsection (g)(1) shall seal any
criminal history record information maintained by the individual or
entity that is the subject of the order.
(g-2) A person whose criminal history record information
has been sealed under this section is not required in any
application for employment, information, or licensing to state that
the person has been the subject of any criminal proceeding related
to the information that is the subject of an order issued under this
section.
(h) The clerk of a court that collects a fee under
Subsection (d) shall remit the fee to the comptroller not later than
the last day of the month following the end of the calendar quarter
in which the fee is collected, and the comptroller shall deposit the
fee in the general revenue fund. The Department of Public Safety
shall submit a report to the legislature not later than December 1
of each even-numbered year that includes information on:
(1) the number of petitions for nondisclosure and
orders of nondisclosure received by the department in each of the
previous two years;
(2) the actions taken by the department with respect
to the petitions and orders received; [and]
(3) the costs incurred by the department in taking
those actions; and
(4) the number of persons who are the subject of an
order of nondisclosure and who became the subject of criminal
charges for an offense committed after the order was issued.
(i) A criminal justice agency may disclose criminal history
record information that is the subject of an order of nondisclosure
to the following noncriminal justice agencies or entities only:
(1) the State Board for Educator Certification;
(2) a school district, charter school, private school,
regional education service center, commercial transportation
company, or education shared service arrangement;
(3) the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners;
(4) the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired;
(5) the Board of Law Examiners;
(6) the State Bar of Texas;
(7) a district court regarding a petition for name
change under Subchapter B, Chapter 45, Family Code;
(8) the Texas School for the Deaf;
(9) the Department of Family and Protective Services;
(10) the Texas Youth Commission;
(11) the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative
Services;
(12) the Department of State Health Services, a local
mental health service, a local mental retardation authority, or a
community center providing services to persons with mental illness
or retardation;
(13) the Texas Private Security Board;
(14) a municipal or volunteer fire department;
(15) the Board of Nurse Examiners;
(16) a safe house providing shelter to children in
harmful situations;
(17) a public or nonprofit hospital or hospital
district;
(18) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission;
(19) the securities commissioner, the banking
commissioner, the savings and loan commissioner, or the credit
union commissioner;
(20) the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy; and
(21) the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
(j) If the Department of Public Safety receives information
indicating that a private entity that purchases criminal history
record information from the department has been found by a court to
have committed five or more violations of Section 552.1425 by
compiling or disseminating information with respect to which an
order of nondisclosure has been issued, the department may not
release any criminal history record information to that entity
until the first anniversary of the date of the most recent
violation.
SECTION 2. Article 35.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 35.12. MODE OF TESTING. (a) In testing the
qualification of a prospective juror after the juror [he] has been
sworn, the juror [he] shall be asked by the court, or under its
direction:
1. Except for failure to register, are you a qualified
voter in this county and state under the Constitution and laws of
this state?
2. Have you ever been convicted of theft or any felony?
3. Are you under indictment or legal accusation for
theft or any felony?
(b) In testing the qualifications of a prospective juror,
with respect to whether the juror has been the subject of an order
of nondisclosure or has a criminal history that includes
information subject to that order, the juror may state only that the
matter in question has been sealed.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act relating to a
person's eligibility for an order of nondisclosure apply to
criminal history record information related to a deferred
adjudication or similar procedure described by Subsection (f),
Section 411.081, Government Code, regardless of whether the
deferred adjudication or procedure is entered before, on, or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
Amend S.B. No. 1071 (engrossed version), in SECTION 1 of the
bill, in amended Subsection (d), Section 411.081, Government Code,
as follows:
(1) Strike the language between "the person may" and "for an
order of nondisclosure" on page 1, lines 14-15, and substitute
"file an ex parte petition with the district court [that placed the
defendant on deferred adjudication]".
(2) Strike the language between "A person may" and "for an
order of nondisclosure" on page 2, lines 7-8, and substitute "file
an ex parte petition with the district court".
79R17755 PEP-F Hegar