HBA-BSM S.B. 1570 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1570
By: West, Royce
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/30/2001
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the record of a not guilty verdict may only be expunged by a
specific method and not by the standard method of expunction.  This may
impose an unnecessary  burden by limiting the choice of methods whereby a
person may seek expunction of the record of such a verdict.  Senate Bill
1570 amends provisions to allow a person to also employ the standard method
of expunction for the purposes of expunging a record of a not guilty
verdict.  

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

Senate Bill 1570 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a
person who has been arrested for commission of either a felony or
misdemeanor and who is entitled to have all records and files relating to
the arrest expunged to file an ex parte petition for expunction in a
district court for the county in which the person was arrested or in the
county where the offense was alleged to have occurred. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.