SB1515 - Relating to the expunction of all records and files related to arrests for certain decriminalized misdemeanor offenses.

  89R3130 JRR-D     By: Johnson S.B. No. 1515       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the expunction of all records and files related to   arrests for certain decriminalized misdemeanor offenses.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 55A, Code of Criminal   Procedure, is amended by adding Article 55A.007 to read as follows:           Art.   55A.007.     CERTAIN DECRIMINALIZED MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES.   A person to whom this subchapter applies is entitled to the   expunction of all records and files related to the arrest,   including, as applicable, any records and files related to a   conviction of the offense, if:                 (1)     the person is convicted of or placed on deferred   adjudication community supervision under Subchapter C, Chapter   42A, for the offense for which the person was arrested;                 (2)     the offense for which the person was arrested was a   misdemeanor offense and the conduct that was the subject of the   offense as applied to the person has been statutorily   decriminalized subsequent to the date of the commission of the   offense; and                 (3)  as applicable:                       (A)     the person's sentence, including any term of   confinement or period of community supervision imposed and payment   of all fines and costs imposed, is finally discharged; or                       (B)     the person received a dismissal and discharge   under Article 42A.111 for the offense.          SECTION 2.  Article 55A.251, Code of Criminal Procedure, is   amended to read as follows:          Art. 55A.251.  FILING OF PETITION. (a) A person who is   entitled to expunction of records and files under Article 55A.002,   55A.004, or 55A.005 or Subchapter B, or a person who is eligible for   expunction of records and files under Article 55A.101, may, subject   to Article 55A.252, 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.           (b)     A person who is entitled to expunction of records and   files under Article 55A.007 may file an ex parte petition for   expunction in the court that convicted the person or placed the   person on deferred adjudication community supervision.          SECTION 3.  Subchapter F, Chapter 55A, Code of Criminal   Procedure, is amended by adding Article 55A.2545 to read as   follows:           Art.   55A.2545.     PETITIONER DEMONSTRATION AT HEARING FOR   EXPUNCTION OF DECRIMINALIZED MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE.   At a hearing   held on a petition for expunction on the basis of an entitlement   under Article 55A.007, the court may require the petitioner to   demonstrate that the offense that is the subject of the petition   qualifies as a statutorily decriminalized offense under current   law. The demonstration may include an affidavit signed by the   petitioner attesting to the fact that the offense that is the   subject of the petition qualifies as a statutorily decriminalized   offense under current law.          SECTION 4.  Article 55A.257, Code of Criminal Procedure, is   amended to read as follows:          Art. 55A.257.  DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY MAY FILE PETITION   ON PERSON'S BEHALF. The director of the Department of Public Safety   or the director's authorized representative may file on behalf of a   person described by Article 55A.251(a) [ 55A.251 ] or 55A.256 an ex   parte petition for expunction in a district court for the county in   which:                (1)  the person was arrested; or                (2)  the offense was alleged to have occurred.          SECTION 5.  Subchapter H, Chapter 55A, Code of Criminal   Procedure, is amended by adding Article 55A.3565 to read as   follows:           Art.   55A.3565.     RETENTION AND INSPECTION OF CERTAIN RECORDS   AFTER EXPUNCTION OF DECRIMINALIZED MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE.   (a)   This   article applies only to records and files for which an expunction   order has been issued on the basis of an entitlement under Article   55A.007.           (b)     Notwithstanding any other law, the law enforcement   agency, the prosecuting attorney responsible for investigating the   offense for which the expunction order was issued, and the clerk of   the applicable court may retain the records and files relating to   the arrest for the offense, including any records and files related   to a conviction of the offense, to be used only:                 (1)     for the investigation or prosecution of another   offense arising out of the same transaction for which the person who   is the subject of the order was arrested; or                 (2)     by the office of the governor in determining   whether to issue a pardon or commute a sentence.           (c)     The records and files for which the expunction order was   issued are not open for inspection by anyone, except that the   records and files are open for inspection by the person who is the   subject of the order or for the purposes described by Subsection   (b).          SECTION 6.  Article 102.006(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,   is amended to read as follows:          (b)  The fees under Subsection (a) or the fee under   Subsection (a-1), as applicable, shall be waived if :                 (1)   the petitioner seeks expunction of a criminal   record that relates to an arrest for an offense of which the person   was acquitted, other than an acquittal for an offense described by   Article 55A.151, and the petition for expunction is filed not later   than the 30th day after the date of the acquittal ; or                 (2)     the petitioner is entitled to expunction under   Article 55A.007 .          SECTION 7.  This Act applies to an expunction of arrest   records and files relating to any misdemeanor offense that was   committed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.          SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.