88R9577 JRR-D
 
  By: Herrero H.B. No. 3260
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the expunction of arrest records and files by a
  statutory county court.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Article 55.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-2) to
  read as follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c) and subject to
  Subsections [Subsection] (b-1) and (b-2), a district court, a
  statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court of
  record may expunge all records and files relating to the arrest of a
  person under the procedure established under Article 55.02 if:
               (1)  the person is:
                     (A)  tried for the offense for which the person
  was arrested;
                     (B)  convicted of the offense; and
                     (C)  acquitted by the court of criminal appeals
  or, if the period for granting a petition for discretionary review
  has expired, by a court of appeals; or
               (2)  an office of the attorney representing the state
  authorized by law to prosecute the offense for which the person was
  arrested recommends the expunction to the court before the person
  is tried for the offense, regardless of whether an indictment or
  information has been presented against the person in relation to
  the offense.
         (b-2)  A statutory county court may only expunge records and
  files under Subsection (b) that relate to the arrest of a person for
  an offense that is subject to the jurisdiction of a statutory county
  court.
         SECTION 2.  Section 1, Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 1.  At the request of the acquitted person and after
  notice to the state, or at the request of the attorney for the state
  with the consent of the acquitted person, the trial court presiding
  over the case in which the person was acquitted, if the trial court
  is a district court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a
  municipal court of record, or a district court in the county in
  which the trial court is located shall enter an order of expunction
  for a person entitled to expunction under Article 55.01(a)(1)(A)
  not later than the 30th day after the date of the acquittal. On
  acquittal, the trial court shall advise the acquitted person of the
  right to expunction. The party requesting the order of expunction
  shall provide to the court all of the information required in a
  petition for expunction under Section 2(b). The attorney for the
  acquitted person in the case in which the person was acquitted, if
  the person was represented by counsel, or the attorney for the
  state, if the person was not represented by counsel or if the
  attorney for the state requested the order of expunction, shall
  prepare the order for the court's signature.
         SECTION 3.  Section 1a(a), Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The trial court presiding over a case in which a person
  is convicted and subsequently granted relief or pardoned on the
  basis of actual innocence of the offense of which the person was
  convicted, if the trial court is a district court, a statutory
  county court, a justice court, or a municipal court of record, or a
  district court in the county in which the trial court is located
  shall enter an order of expunction for a person entitled to
  expunction under Article 55.01(a)(1)(B)(ii) not later than the 30th
  day after the date the court receives notice of the pardon or other
  grant of relief. The person shall provide to the court all of the
  information required in a petition for expunction under Section
  2(b).
         SECTION 4.  Section 2, Article 55.02, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (a-2) and amending
  Subsection (b) to read as follows:
         (a-2)  If the arrest for which expunction is sought is for an
  offense that is subject to the jurisdiction of a statutory county
  court, a person who is entitled to expunction of records and files
  under Article 55.01(a)(1)(A) 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 statutory county court in the
  county in which:
               (1)  the petitioner was arrested; or
               (2)  the offense was alleged to have occurred.
         (b)  A petition filed under Subsection (a), [or] (a-1), or
  (a-2) must be verified and must include the following or an
  explanation for why one or more of the following is not included:
               (1)  the petitioner's:
                     (A)  full name;
                     (B)  sex;
                     (C)  race;
                     (D)  date of birth;
                     (E)  driver's license number;
                     (F)  social security number; and
                     (G)  address at the time of the arrest;
               (2)  the offense charged against the petitioner;
               (3)  the date the offense charged against the
  petitioner was alleged to have been committed;
               (4)  the date the petitioner was arrested;
               (5)  the name of the county where the petitioner was
  arrested and if the arrest occurred in a municipality, the name of
  the municipality;
               (6)  the name of the agency that arrested the
  petitioner;
               (7)  the case number and court of offense; and
               (8)  together with the applicable physical or e-mail
  addresses, a list of all:
                     (A)  law enforcement agencies, jails or other
  detention facilities, magistrates, courts, prosecuting attorneys,
  correctional facilities, central state depositories of criminal
  records, and other officials or agencies or other entities of this
  state or of any political subdivision of this state;
                     (B)  central federal depositories of criminal
  records that the petitioner has reason to believe have records or
  files that are subject to expunction; and
                     (C)  private entities that compile and
  disseminate for compensation criminal history record information
  that the petitioner has reason to believe have information related
  to records or files that are subject to expunction.
         SECTION 5.  Article 102.006(a-1), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         (a-1)  In addition to any other fees required by other law
  and except as provided by Subsection (b), a petitioner seeking
  expunction of a criminal record in a statutory county court, a
  justice court, or a municipal court of record under Chapter 55 shall
  pay a fee of $100 for filing an ex parte petition for expunction to
  defray the cost of notifying state agencies of orders of expunction
  under that chapter.
         SECTION 6.  Section 25.0003, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
         (g)  A statutory county court has concurrent jurisdiction
  with a district court over expunction proceedings relating to the
  arrest of a person for an offense that is subject to the
  jurisdiction of a statutory county court.
         SECTION 7.  The change in law made by this Act applies to the
  expunction of arrest records and files for any criminal offense
  that occurred before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.