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


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 1570
By: West, Royce
Criminal Jurisprudence
5/4/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



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.  C.S.S.B. 1570
sets forth provisions regarding an expunction of arrest records by a court
and files following acquittal and establishes requirements for the
arresting law enforcement agency to follow in providing such information. 

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

C.S.S.B. 1570 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to require a law
enforcement agency that arrested a defendant to provide to a court that is
required to enter an order of expunction specified information or an
explanation why the information is not provided and to pay any costs
associated with providing to the court the information and any other action
necessary to obtain the expunction.  The bill provides that the defendant
or counsel for the defendant is not required to assist the court clerk in
preparing copies of the expunction order for delivery or to take any other
action necessary to obtain the expunction.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001. 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.S.B. 1570 differs from the original bill by requiring a law enforcement
agency that arrested the defendant to provide specified information to a
court that is required to enter an order of expunction, whereas the
original bill authorized 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.