BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1725

By: Hughes

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, state law regarding the expunction of conviction or arrest records of a minor under the Alcohol and Beverage Code is interpreted by some prosecutors to mean that only one offense involved in an alcohol citation may be expunged. What commonly occurs is the "stacking" of charges on one contact with law enforcement. For example, if a college student gets a public intoxication violation, minor in possession of alcohol violation, and an open container violation all on one incident report, the current interpretation is that only one of the three violations could be expunged. However, in reality all violations are part of one incident. S.B. 1725 seeks to address this issue by allowing first-time minor offenders who have multiple violations linked to one incident to have the entire incident expunged from their record.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

S.B. 1725 amends the Alcoholic Beverage Code to do the following with respect to the expunction eligibility of a person placed under a custodial or noncustodial arrest for but not convicted of not more than one violation of the Alcoholic Beverage Code while a minor:

· establishes that if the event leading to the violation of the code included multiple violations during the event all violations from the event are eligible for expungement;

· clarifies that the arrest is for not more than one incident in violation of the code and that, with respect to the condition that the applicant for expunction was not arrested for a violation of the code other than the arrest the applicant seeks to expunge that the applicant must swear to in the expunction application and that is the basis of the court's finding in entering such an order, the applicant was not arrested for an event leading to such a violation; and

· removes the specification that the $30 fee the court may charge an applicant for expunction of a record of a minor to defray the cost of notifying state agencies of such orders of expunction is a reimbursement fee.

The bill applies to the expunction records of a conviction or arrest made before, on, or after the bill's effective date.      

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.