H.B. No. 2386

	AN ACT
	relating to the sealing of juvenile records.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 58.003, Family Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) and amending Subsections (d) and
	(e) to read as follows:
	(c-1)  Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (c) and subject
	to Subsection (b), a juvenile court may order the sealing of records
	concerning a child adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent
	conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision that violated
	a penal law of the grade of misdemeanor or felony if the child
	successfully completed a drug court program under Chapter 469,
	Health and Safety Code.  The court may:
	(1)  order the sealing of the records immediately and
	without a hearing; or
	(2)  hold a hearing to determine whether to seal the
	records.
	(c-2)  If the court orders the sealing of a child's records
	under Subsection (c-1), a prosecuting attorney or juvenile
	probation department may maintain until the child's 17th birthday a
	separate record of the child's name and date of birth and the date
	the child successfully completed the drug court program. The
	prosecuting attorney or juvenile probation department, as
	applicable, shall send the record to the court as soon as
	practicable after the child's 17th birthday to be added to the
	child's other sealed records.
	(d)  The court may grant the relief authorized in Subsection
	(a) or (c-1) at any time after final discharge of the person or
	after the last official action in the case if there was no
	adjudication, subject to Subsection (e). If the child is referred
	to the juvenile court for conduct constituting any offense and at
	the adjudication hearing the child is found to be not guilty of each
	offense alleged, the court shall immediately and without any
	additional hearing order the sealing of all files and records
	relating to the case.
	(e)  The court shall hold a hearing before sealing a person's
	records under Subsection (a) or (c) unless the applicant waives the
	right to a hearing in writing and the court and the prosecuting
	attorney for the juvenile court consent. Reasonable notice of the
	hearing shall be given to:
	(1)  the person who made the application or who is the
	subject of the records named in the motion;
	(2)  the prosecuting attorney for the juvenile court;
	(3)  the authority granting the discharge if the final
	discharge was from an institution or from parole;
	(4)  the public or private agency or institution having
	custody of records named in the application or motion; and
	(5)  the law enforcement agency having custody of files
	or records named in the application or motion.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies to the
	sealing of 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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2386 was passed by the House on May 4,
	2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 97, Nays 46, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2386 was passed by the Senate on May
	14, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 1.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor