HBA-EDN, KDB H.B. 1415 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1415
By: Farrar
Criminal Jurisprudence
7/20/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

It may be difficult to have a deferred adjudication expunged from a
criminal record.  While many people have accepted a conviction on deferred
adjudication, they generally do so with the expectation that the offense
will not affect their permanent record.  However, as the law currently
stands, a deferred adjudication remains on a permanent criminal record.
This deferred adjudication may impede a person's ability to obtain a
desired job or position for many years after the offense.  House Bill 1415
prohibits a criminal justice agency from disclosing to the public a
person's criminal record information regarding a deferred adjudication
after a specified period of time depending on the offense. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1415 amends the Government Code to prohibit a criminal justice
agency, if a person is placed on deferred adjudication community
supervision and subsequently receives a discharge and dismissal, from
disclosing to the public criminal history record information related to the
offense giving rise to the deferred adjudication on or after: 

 _ the fifth anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense was
a misdemeanor   relating to kidnapping and unlawful restraint, a sexual
offense, an assaultive offense, an offense against the family, disorderly
conduct and related offenses, or weapons; 

 _the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was
placed on deferred adjudication was any other misdemeanor; 
 
 _ or the 10th anniversary of the discharge and dismissal if the offense
was a felony.   

The bill provides that such information is excepted from provisions
regarding the availability of public information on or after: 

 _the fifth anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense was
a misdemeanor relating to kidnapping and unlawful restraint, a sexual
offense, an assaultive offense, an offense against the family, disorderly
conduct and related offenses, or weapons; 

 _the discharge and dismissal, if the offense for which the person was
placed on deferred adjudication was any other misdemeanor; 

 _ or the 10th anniversary of the discharge and dismissal, if the offense
was a felony.   

The bill authorizes a person who is the subject of information that is
excepted from the requirements of  availability of public information to
deny the occurrence of the arrest and prosecution to which the information
relates and the exception of the information, unless the information is
being used against the person in a subsequent criminal proceeding.  The
bill entitles a person to these benefits only if during the prescribed
applicable period the person is not convicted of or placed on deferred
adjudication community supervision for any offense other than an offense
under the Transportation Code punishable by fine only. A person is not
entitled to these benefits during any period in which the person is
required to register as a sex offender. 

The bill provides that a person is considered to have been placed on
deferred adjudication community supervision if, the person entered a plea
of guilty or nolo contendre, the person was placed under the supervision of
the court or an officer under the supervision of the court, and at the end
of the period of supervision the judge dismissed the proceedings and
discharged the person. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

Vetoed.