82R3484 AJZ-F
	By: Turner	H.B. No. 961

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the sealing of and restricting access to juvenile
	records of adjudications of delinquent conduct or conduct
	indicating a need for supervision.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 58.003(c), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(c)  Subject to Subsection (b), a court may order the sealing
	of records concerning a person adjudicated as having engaged in
	delinquent conduct that violated a penal law of the grade of felony
	only if:
	(1)  the person is 19 [21] years of age or older;
	(2)  the person was not transferred by a juvenile court
	under Section 54.02 to a criminal court for prosecution;
	(3)  the records have not been used as evidence in the
	punishment phase of a criminal proceeding under Section 3(a),
	Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
	(4)  the person has not been convicted of a penal law of
	the grade of felony after becoming age 17.
	SECTION 2.  Section 58.203(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  The department shall certify to the juvenile probation
	department to which a referral was made that resulted in
	information being submitted to the juvenile justice information
	system that the records relating to a person's juvenile case are
	subject to automatic restriction of access if:
	(1)  the person is at least 17 [21] years of age;
	(2)  the juvenile case did not include violent or
	habitual felony conduct resulting in proceedings in the juvenile
	court under Section 53.045; and
	(3)  the juvenile case was not certified for trial in
	criminal court under Section 54.02[; and
	[(4)     the department has not received a report in its
	criminal history system that the person was granted deferred
	adjudication for or convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor
	punishable by confinement in jail for an offense committed after
	the person became 17 years of age].
	SECTION 3.  Section 58.208, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 58.208.  INFORMATION TO CHILD ON DISCHARGE.  On the
	final discharge of a child from the juvenile system or on the last
	official action in the case, if there is no adjudication, the
	appropriate juvenile justice official shall provide to the child:
	(1)  a written explanation of how automatic restricted
	access under this subchapter works;
	(2)  a copy of this subchapter; and
	(3)  a statement that if the child wishes to receive
	notification of an action restricting access to the child's records
	under Section 58.207(a), the child must before the child's 17th
	[21st] birthday provide the juvenile probation department with a
	current address where the child can receive notification.
	SECTION 4.  Section 58.209(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  When a child is placed on probation for an offense that
	may be eligible for automatic restricted access at age 17 [21] or
	when a child is received by the Texas Youth Commission on an
	indeterminate commitment, a probation officer or an official at the
	Texas Youth Commission reception center, as soon as practicable,
	shall explain the substance of the following information to the
	child:
	(1)  if the child was adjudicated as having committed
	delinquent conduct for a felony or jailable misdemeanor, that the
	child probably has a juvenile record with the department and the
	Federal Bureau of Investigation;
	(2)  that the child's juvenile record is a permanent
	record that is not destroyed or erased unless the record is eligible
	for sealing and the child or the child's family hires a lawyer and
	files a petition in court to have the record sealed;
	(3)  that the child's juvenile record, other than
	treatment records made confidential by law, can be accessed by
	police, sheriff's officers, prosecutors, probation officers,
	correctional officers, and other criminal and juvenile justice
	officials in this state and elsewhere;
	(4)  that the child's juvenile record, other than
	treatment records made confidential by law, can be accessed by
	employers, educational institutions, licensing agencies, and other
	organizations when the child applies for employment or educational
	programs;
	(5)  if the child's juvenile record is placed on
	restricted access when the child becomes 17 [21] years of age, that
	access will be denied to employers, educational institutions, and
	others except for criminal justice agencies; and
	(6)  [that to have the child's juvenile record placed on
	restricted access at age 21, the child must not:
	[(A)  commit a felony or jailable misdemeanor; and
	[(B)     receive deferred adjudication for or be
	convicted in adult court of a felony or jailable misdemeanor; and
	[(7)]  that restricted access does not require any
	action by the child or the child's family, including the filing of a
	petition or hiring of a lawyer, but occurs automatically at age 17
	[21 if the child does not commit a criminal offense in the future].
	SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act applies to the
	sealing of and restricting access to records in the adjudication of
	a juvenile case on or after the effective date of this Act,
	regardless of whether the adjudication occurred before, on, or
	after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.