Relating to the procedures for the expunction of arrest records and files; authorizing a fee.
Summary
SB 1667 revises Texas expunction procedures for arrest records and files. It requires petitioners seeking certain expunctions to provide the same identifying and agency-contact information already required in a formal expunction petition, and it directs district clerks to maintain an online list of agencies and entities, including email addresses, to help petitioners identify where notice must be sent. The bill also updates how petitions, notices of hearing, and final expunction orders are transmitted, emphasizing secure electronic delivery where possible and allowing certified mail or hand delivery when electronic transmission is not available.
The bill also makes several substantive record-handling changes. It requires courts to retain and keep confidential certain federal prohibited-person information related to mental health records even when an expunction order is issued, so that the information can be used for audits or to verify entries in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. It also changes how expunged records are disposed of, clarifies treatment of mistaken-identity expunctions, shortens and standardizes clerk record-destruction rules, and repeals provisions tied to older expunction procedures and a separate fee statute.
Impact
SB 1667 amends multiple provisions in Chapter 55A of the Code of Criminal Procedure governing expunction petitions, notice, clerk duties, DPS notification, and disposition of records. It shifts the process toward electronic service, imposes a $25 clerk fee for each listed entity that cannot receive electronic transmission, and removes the requirement that clerks send copies to the Office of Court Administration in certain steps. The bill also preserves certain mental-health-related federal prohibited-person information in confidential court records and repeals Article 102.006, affecting how expunction orders and related records are handled statewide by courts, clerks, DPS, law enforcement agencies, and private criminal-history vendors.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the Senate 30-1 and the House 136-0, with two members present not voting, indicating strong legislative consensus. The available context does not include committee testimony, but the voting record suggests the measure was viewed favorably as a procedural modernization of expunction practice rather than a controversial policy change.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are administrative and cost-related rather than ideological. The bill authorizes a $25 fee for each agency or entity that cannot receive electronic transmission, which could be viewed as shifting costs to petitioners or reflecting the burden of non-digital notice. Another possible concern is the requirement that courts retain certain federal prohibited-person information despite expunction, which narrows the practical reach of expunction in the mental-health/NICS context. The bill also places new responsibilities on district clerks to maintain agency lists and on agencies to accept electronic service, though the legislative votes suggest these changes were not significantly disputed.
Relating to the procedures for the expunction of arrest records and files for persons who complete certain court programs or pretrial intervention programs.
Relating to automatic expunction of arrest records and files for certain persons who are tried for an offense and subsequently acquitted and to the provision of certain records relating to that expunction.
Relating to certain pretrial hearings for defendants charged with certain controlled substance offenses and the expunction of all records and files related to arrests for certain controlled substance offenses.