By: Watson S.B. No. 1106

(In the Senate - Filed March 2, 2007; March 14, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental Relations; March 29, 2007, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 3, Nays 0; March 29, 2007, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to county accounting procedures regarding certain audits, debts, and records.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 5, Article 55.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (f) and (g), on receipt of the order, each official or agency or other entity named in the order shall:

(1) return all records and files that are subject to the expunction order to the court or, if removal is impracticable, obliterate all portions of the record or file that identify the person who is the subject of the order and notify the court of its action; and

(2) delete from its public records all index references to the records and files that are subject to the expunction order.

(c) Except in the case of a person who is the subject of an expunction order based on an entitlement under Article 55.01(d) and except as provided by Subsection (g), if an order of expunction is issued under this article, the court records concerning expunction proceedings are not open for inspection by anyone except the person who is the subject of the order unless the order permits retention of a record under Section 4 of this article and the person is again arrested for or charged with an offense arising out of the transaction for which the person was arrested or unless the court provides for the retention of records and files under Section 4(a) of this article. The clerk of the court issuing the order shall obliterate all public references to the proceeding and maintain the files or other records in an area not open to inspection.

(d) Except in the case of a person who is the subject of an expunction order on the basis of an acquittal or an expunction order based on an entitlement under Article 55.01(d) and except as provided by Subsection (g), the clerk of the court shall destroy all the files or other records maintained under Subsection (c) not earlier than the 60th day after the date the order of expunction is issued or later than the first anniversary of that date unless the records or files were released under Subsection (b).

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, an official, agency, court, or other entity may retain receipts, invoices, vouchers, or similar records of financial transactions that arose from the expunction proceeding or prosecution of the underlying criminal cause in accordance with internal financial control procedures. An official, agency, court, or other entity that retains records under this subsection shall obliterate all portions of the record or the file that identify the person who is the subject of the expunction order.

SECTION 2. Subsection (g), Article 59.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(g)(1) All law enforcement agencies and attorneys representing the state who receive proceeds or property under this chapter shall account for the seizure, forfeiture, receipt, and specific expenditure of all such proceeds and property in an audit, which is to be performed annually by the commissioners court or governing body of a municipality, as appropriate. The annual period of the audit for a law enforcement agency is the fiscal year of the appropriate county or municipality and the annual period for an attorney representing the state is the state fiscal year. The audit shall be completed on a form provided by the attorney general. Certified copies of the audit shall be delivered by the law enforcement agency or attorney representing the state to the comptroller's office and the attorney general not later than the 60th [30th] day after the date on which the annual period that is the subject of the audit ends.

(2) If a copy of the audit is not delivered to the attorney general within the period required by Subdivision (1), within five days after the end of the period the attorney general shall notify the law enforcement agency or the attorney representing the state of that fact. On a showing of good cause, the attorney general may grant an extension permitting the agency or attorney to deliver a copy of the audit after the period required by Subdivision (1) and before the 76th [46th] day after the date on which the annual period that is the subject of the audit ends. If the law enforcement agency or the attorney representing the state fails to establish good cause for not delivering the copy of the audit within the period required by Subdivision (1) or fails to deliver a copy of an audit within the extension period, the attorney general shall notify the comptroller of that fact. On notice under this subdivision, the comptroller shall perform the audit otherwise required by Subdivision (1). At the conclusion of the audit, the comptroller shall forward a copy of the audit to the attorney general. The law enforcement agency or attorney representing the state is liable to the comptroller for the costs of the comptroller in performing the audit.

SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 511.016, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Each county auditor shall provide the commission with a copy of each [the auditor's quarterly] audit of the county jail's commissary operations the auditor performs under Section 351.0415, Local Government Code, and a copy of the annual financial audit of general operations of the county jail. The county auditor shall provide a copy of an audit not later than the 10th day after completing the audit.

SECTION 4. Section 154.025, Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 154.025. DISBURSEMENTS TO PERSONS WITH OUTSTANDING DEBT PROHIBITED. (a) In this section, "debt" includes delinquent taxes, fines, fees, and indebtedness arising from written agreements with the county.

(b) If notice of indebtedness has been filed with the county auditor and county treasurer evidencing the indebtedness of a person to the state, the county, or a salary fund, a warrant may not be drawn on a county fund in favor of a person, or an agent or assignee of a person, until:

(1) the county treasurer, or the county auditor in a county without a county treasurer, notifies in writing the person owing the debt [is notified] that the debt is outstanding; and

(2) the debt is paid.

(c) A county may apply any funds the county owes a person to the outstanding balance of debt for which notice is made under Subsection (b)(1), if the notice includes a statement that the amount owed by the county to the person may be applied to reduce the outstanding debt.

(d) A county may include a notice in its forms, bonds, or other agreements stating that the county may offset payments to a person in accordance with this section.

SECTION 5. Section 154.045, Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 154.045. DISBURSEMENTS TO PERSON WITH OUTSTANDING DEBT PROHIBITED. (a) In this section, "debt" includes delinquent taxes, fines, fees, and indebtedness arising from written agreements with the county.

(b) If a notice of indebtedness has been filed with the county auditor or county treasurer evidencing the indebtedness of a person to the state, the county, or a salary fund, a warrant may not be drawn on a county fund in favor of the person, or an agent or assignee of the person, until:

(1) the county treasurer, or the county auditor in a county without a county treasurer, notifies in writing the person owing the debt [is notified] that the debt is outstanding; and

(2) the debt is paid.

(c) A county may apply any funds the county owes a person to the outstanding balance of debt for which notice is made under Subsection (b)(1), if the notice includes a statement that the amount owed by the county to the person may be applied to reduce the outstanding debt.

(d) A county may include a notice in its forms, bonds, or other agreements stating that the county may offset payments to a person in accordance with this section.

SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 55, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to an expunction order received on or after the effective date of this Act.

(b) Subsection (g), Article 59.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, applies only to an audit performed on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.

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