82R3561 E

By: Farrar H.B. No. 605

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the consequences of community supervision and to petitions and procedures for the expunction of criminal records and files and to orders of nondisclosure.

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

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Community Supervision and Expunction Reform Act of 2011.

SECTION 2. Article 55.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subsections (a-2), (a-3), (a-4), (a-5), and (a-6) to read as follows:

(a-2) A person who has had an order of deferred adjudication community supervision granted under Section 5, Article 42.12, may petition the court under Article 55.02:

(1) if the offense for which the person was placed on deferred adjudication community supervision was a misdemeanor described by Subdivision (2) or (3), or a state jail felony described by Subdivision (4), and is not an offense described by Subsection (a-3)(1) or (2);

(2) on or after the second anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on community supervision was a Class B misdemeanor;

(3) on or after the fifth anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on community supervision was a Class A misdemeanor; or

(4) on or after the seventh anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on community supervision was a state jail felony.

(a-3) A defendant is not eligible to petition the court for expunction under this subsection if:

(1) the offense committed was an offense under Chapter 21, 22, 36, 39, or 49, Penal Code;

(2) for any crime that has been enhanced by a previous offense; or

(3) the person has had an offense previously expunged, other than an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only.

(a-4) A person is entitled to petition the court under Article 55.02 only if during the applicable period described by Subsection (a-2)(2) or (3), the person is not convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision, or charged with any offense other than an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only.

(a-5) A person is entitled to petition the court under Article 55.02 only if during the applicable period described by Subsection (a-2)(4), the person is not convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision, or charged with any offense other than an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only, and the judge has the discretion, but is not required, to grant an order of expunction filed under Subsection (a-2)(4).

(a-6) A person not otherwise entitled to petition for expunction under Subsection (a-2) is entitled to have all records and files relating to the custodial or noncustodial arrest of the person for the commission of an offense under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only expunged if the person:

(1) committed the offense not less than five years before filing a petition for expunction with respect to the offense; and

(2) has not been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision, or charged with any other offense in the five years preceding the time of filing the petition.

SECTION 3. Section 2(a), Article 55.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A person who is entitled to expunction of records and files under Article 55.01(a) or (a-6) or a person who is eligible for expunction of records and files under Article 55.01(b) may file an ex parte petition for expunction in a district court for the county in which:

(1) the petitioner was arrested; or

(2) the offense was alleged to have occurred.

SECTION 4. Section 411.081(d), Government Code, is amended 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. 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 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 anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was placed on deferred adjudication was a felony.

SECTION 5. The following provision of the Government Code is repealed:

(1) Section 411.081(i).

SECTION 6. Section 552.1425(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The [A district court may issue a warning to a private entity for a first violation of Subsection (a). After receiving a warning for the first violation, the] private entity is liable to the state for a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

SECTION 7. Section 469.001(b), Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) If a defendant successfully completes a drug court program, regardless of whether the defendant was convicted of the offense for which the defendant entered the program or whether the court deferred further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt, after notice to the state and a hearing on whether the defendant is otherwise entitled to the petition and whether issuance of the order is in the best interest of justice, the court shall enter an order of nondisclosure under Section 411.081, Government Code, as if the defendant had received a discharge and dismissal under Section 5(c), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an expunction under Article 55.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, with respect to all records and files related to the defendant's arrest for the offense for which the defendant entered the program if the defendant:

(1) has not been previously convicted of a felony offense; and

(2) is not convicted for any other felony offense before the second anniversary of the defendant's successful completion of the program.

SECTION 8. 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 on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the arrest occurred before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.