BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1573

By: Gallego

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, the clerk of a court that does not provide online access to the court's criminal case records must post notice of an upcoming criminal court docket setting at least 48 hours before the docket setting. However, this is often not enough time to provide the public and the defendant with adequate notice to prepare for the docket.  An additional pretrial issue arises when the public becomes aware of an indictment before it has been appropriately entered into court records.  Currently, the entry in the court record of an indictment against a defendant is delayed until that defendant is either in custody or under bond.  Another procedural issue is the lack of a specific requirement for an ex parte petition for the expunction of a criminal record to include certain contact information for certain entities that are believed to have records or files subject to the expunction petition. The inclusion of the physical or e-mail address of these entities would facilitate the bureaucratic process of expunction by allowing staff to more efficiently process the petition.

H.B. 1573 attempts to remedy each situation to improve the efficiency of court procedures and processes for the benefit of the public, the courts, and court personnel. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1573 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to change the deadline by which the clerk of a court that does not provide online Internet access to that court's criminal case records is required to post in a designated public place in the courthouse notice of a criminal court docket setting from not less than 48 hours before the docket setting to as soon as the court notifies the clerk of the setting and specifies that the required notice  applies to a prospective criminal court docket setting. 

H.B. 1573 prohibits a grand jury indictment from being made public if a defendant is not in custody or under bond at the time of the presentment of the indictment.

H.B. 1573 adds to the information required to be included or, if not included, an explanation for why it was not included, in an ex parte petition for an expunction of records filed in district court by a person entitled to the expunction or by the public safety director of the Department of Public Safety or the director's authorized representative on behalf of such person, the applicable physical or e-mail addresses of specified local and state entities and officials and of specified federal and private entities and officials that the petitioner has reason to believe have, or that are reasonably likely to have, information related to the person's criminal history records that are subject to expunction.

H.B. 1573 adds the applicable physical or e-mail addresses of those specified entities and officials to the information the attorney representing the state in the prosecution of felonies in the county in which a petitioner resides is required to attach to the copy of the petitioner's application for expunction that is forwarded to the appropriate district court.  The bill makes nonsubstantive changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2011.