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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the jurisdiction of a juvenile court over certain |
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persons and to the sealing and nondisclosure of certain juvenile |
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and criminal records. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 51.0412, Family Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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Sec. 51.0412. JURISDICTION OVER INCOMPLETE PROCEEDINGS. |
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The court retains jurisdiction over a person, without regard to the |
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age of the person, who is a respondent in an adjudication |
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proceeding, a disposition proceeding, a proceeding to modify |
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disposition, a proceeding for waiver of jurisdiction and transfer |
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to criminal court under Section 54.02(a), or a motion for transfer |
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of determinate sentence probation to an appropriate district court |
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if: |
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(1) the petition or motion was filed while the |
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respondent was younger than 18 or 19 years of age, as applicable; |
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(2) the proceeding is not complete before the |
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respondent becomes 18 or 19 years of age, as applicable; and |
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(3) the court enters a finding in the proceeding that: |
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(A) the prosecuting attorney exercised due |
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diligence in an attempt to complete the proceeding before the |
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respondent became 18 or 19 years of age, as applicable; or |
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(B) the proceeding has been delayed through no |
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fault of the state. |
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SECTION 2. Section 58.008(c), Family Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(c) Except as prohibited by a court order issued under |
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Section 411.0739, Government Code, the [The] law enforcement |
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records of a person with a determinate sentence who is transferred |
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to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice may be transferred to a |
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central state or federal depository for adult records after the |
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date of transfer and may be shared in accordance with the laws |
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governing the adult records in the depository. |
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SECTION 3. Section 58.256, Family Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read |
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as follows: |
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(d) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a [A] court may |
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not order the sealing of the records of a person who: |
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(1) [received a determinate sentence for engaging in: |
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[(A) delinquent conduct that violated a penal law |
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listed under Section 53.045; or |
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[(B) habitual felony conduct as described by |
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Section 51.031; |
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[(2)] is currently required to register as a sex |
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offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure; or |
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(2) [(3)] was committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice |
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Department or to a post-adjudication secure correctional facility |
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under former Section 54.04011, unless the person: |
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(A) was not transferred to district court under |
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Section 54.11; and |
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(B) has been discharged from the agency to which |
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the person was committed. |
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(e) On receipt of an application under this section from a |
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person other than a person who received a determinate sentence and |
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was transferred to district court under Section 54.051 or 54.11, |
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the court may: |
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(1) order the sealing of the person's records |
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immediately, without a hearing; or |
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(2) hold a hearing under Section 58.257 at the court's |
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discretion to determine whether to order the sealing of the |
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person's records. |
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(f) On receipt of an application under this section from a |
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person who received a determinate sentence and was transferred to a |
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district court under Section 54.051 or 54.11, the court may hold a |
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hearing under Section 58.257 to determine whether it is in the best |
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interest of the person and of justice to order the sealing of the |
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person's records and may order the records to be sealed. The court |
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may not order the sealing of the records of the person unless the |
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person has completed the person's term of community supervision or |
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is released from prison, as applicable. |
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SECTION 4. Section 58.258(b), Family Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(b) Not later than the 60th day after the date of the entry |
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of the order, the court shall provide a copy of the order to: |
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(1) the Department of Public Safety; |
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(2) the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, if the |
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person was committed to the department; |
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(3) the clerk of court; |
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(4) the juvenile probation department serving the |
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court; |
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(5) the prosecutor's office; |
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(6) each law enforcement agency that had contact with |
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the person in relation to the conduct that is the subject of the |
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sealing order; |
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(7) each public or private agency that had custody of |
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or that provided supervision or services to the person in relation |
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to the conduct that is the subject of the sealing order; |
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(8) if the person was transferred to a district court |
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under Section 54.051 or 54.11, the district court to which the |
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person was transferred; and |
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(9) [(8)] each official, agency, or other entity that |
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the court has reason to believe has any record containing |
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information that is related to the conduct that is the subject of |
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the sealing order. |
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SECTION 5. Subchapter E-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 411.0739 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 411.0739. PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN PERSONS TRANSFERRED |
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FROM JUVENILE COURT. (a) This section applies only to a person: |
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(1) who was transferred to a district court under |
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Section 54.051 or 54.11, Family Code; and |
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(2) whose juvenile records were ordered sealed under |
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Section 58.256(f), Family Code. |
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(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter |
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or Subchapter F, a district court that receives a copy of an order |
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sealing juvenile records of a person described by Subsection (a) |
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from a juvenile court under Section 58.258(b)(8), Family Code, |
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shall issue an order of nondisclosure of criminal history record |
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information under this subchapter prohibiting criminal justice |
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agencies from disclosing to the public criminal history record |
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information related to the conduct for which the person was |
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transferred to the district court by the juvenile court. |
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SECTION 6. Section 411.074, Government Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
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(c) This section does not apply to an order of nondisclosure |
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of criminal history record information under Section 411.0739. |
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SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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conduct violating a penal law of this state that occurs on or after |
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the effective date of this Act. Conduct violating a penal law of |
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this state that occurs before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and |
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the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, conduct occurred before the effective |
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date of this Act if any element of the conduct occurred before that |
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date. |
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SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |