85R23873 LHC-D
 
  By: White H.B. No. 3069
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the administration of and eligibility for participation
  in a veterans treatment court program and the issuance of orders of
  nondisclosure for certain participants who successfully complete
  that program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 124.001(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  If a defendant who was arrested for or charged with, but
  not convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community
  supervision for, an offense successfully completes a veterans
  treatment court program, after notice to the attorney representing
  the state and a hearing in the veterans treatment court at which
  that court determines that a dismissal is in the best interest of
  justice, the court in which the criminal case is pending shall
  dismiss the case against the defendant.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 124.002(a) and (c), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commissioners court of a county may establish a
  veterans treatment court program for persons arrested for, [or]
  charged with, convicted of, or placed on deferred adjudication
  community supervision for any misdemeanor or felony offense.  A
  defendant is eligible to participate in a veterans treatment court
  program established under this chapter only if the attorney
  representing the state consents to the defendant's participation in
  the program and if the court in which the criminal case is pending
  or in which the defendant was convicted or placed on deferred
  adjudication community supervision, as applicable, finds that the
  defendant is a veteran or current member of the United States armed
  forces, including a member of the reserves, national guard, or
  state guard, who:
               (1)  suffers from a brain injury, mental illness, or
  mental disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder, or was a
  victim of military sexual trauma if the injury, illness, disorder,
  or trauma [that]:
                     (A)  occurred during or resulted from the
  defendant's military service; and
                     (B)  affected the defendant's criminal conduct at
  issue in the case; or
               (2)  is a defendant whose participation in a veterans
  treatment court program, considering the circumstances of the
  defendant's conduct, personal and social background, and criminal
  history, is likely to achieve the objective of ensuring public
  safety through rehabilitation of the veteran in the manner provided
  by Section 1.02(1), Penal Code.
         (c)  Proof of matters described by Subsection (a) may be
  submitted to the applicable criminal court [in which the criminal
  case is pending] in any form the court determines to be appropriate,
  including military service and medical records, previous
  determinations of a disability by a veteran's organization or by
  the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, testimony or
  affidavits of other veterans or service members, and prior
  determinations of eligibility for benefits by any state or county
  veterans office.  The court's findings must accompany any docketed
  case.
         SECTION 3.  Section 124.003(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A veterans treatment court program established under
  this chapter must:
               (1)  if there has not yet been a disposition in the
  criminal case, ensure that a defendant eligible for participation
  in the program is provided legal counsel before volunteering to
  proceed through the program and while participating in the program;
               (2)  allow a participant arrested for or charged with
  an offense to withdraw from the program at any time before a trial
  on the merits has been initiated;
               (3)  provide a participant with a court-ordered
  individualized treatment plan indicating the services that will be
  provided to the participant; and
               (4)  ensure that the jurisdiction of the veterans
  treatment court continues for a period of not less than six months
  but does not continue beyond the period of community supervision
  for the offense charged.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter E-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 411.0727 to read as follows:
         Sec. 411.0727.  PROCEDURE FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
  OF VETERANS TREATMENT COURT PROGRAM. (a) This section applies only
  to a person who successfully completes a veterans treatment court
  program under Chapter 124 or former law.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter
  or Subchapter F, a person described by Subsection (a) is entitled to
  file with the court that placed the person in the veterans treatment
  court program a petition for an order of nondisclosure of criminal
  history record information under this section if the person:
               (1)  satisfies the requirements of this section;
               (2)  has never been previously convicted of an offense
  listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, or a
  sexually violent offense, as defined by Article 62.001, Code of
  Criminal Procedure; and
               (3)  is not convicted of any felony offense between the
  date on which the person successfully completed the program and the
  second anniversary of that date.
         (c)  Regardless of whether the person was convicted of or
  placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for the
  offense for which the person entered the veterans treatment court
  program or whether the case against the person was dismissed under
  Section 124.001(b), after notice to the state, an opportunity for a
  hearing, and a determination that 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 for which the person
  entered the veterans treatment court program. 
         (d)  A person may file with the court that placed the person
  in the veterans treatment court program a petition for an order of
  nondisclosure of criminal history record information under this
  section only on or after the second anniversary of the date the
  person successfully completed the program.
         (e)  A person is not entitled to petition the court for an
  order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information under
  this section if the person's entry into the veterans treatment
  court program arose as the result of a conviction of an offense
  involving the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
         SECTION 5.  Section 411.074, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  This section does not apply to an order of nondisclosure
  of criminal history record information under Section 411.0727.
         SECTION 6.  (a) The change in law made by this Act by
  amending Sections 124.002 and 124.003, Government Code, applies to
  a person who, on or after the effective date of this Act, enters a
  veterans treatment court program created under Chapter 124,
  Government Code, regardless of whether the person entering the
  program committed the offense for which the person enters the
  program before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  The change in law made by this Act by adding Section
  411.0727, Government Code, applies to a person who, on or after the
  effective date of this Act, enters a veterans treatment court
  program created under Chapter 124, Government Code, or former law,
  regardless of whether the person entering the program committed the
  offense for which the person enters the program before, on, or after
  the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.