HB 2042

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
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Article 55A.201, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections
(e) and (f) to read as follows:
(a)  An [At the request of the acquitted person and after
notice to the state, or at the request of the attorney representing
the state with the consent of the acquitted person, an] expunction
order shall be entered, not later than the 30th day after the date
of the acquittal, for a person entitled to expunction under Article
(1)  the trial court presiding over the case in which
the person was acquitted, if the court is:
(C)  a municipal court of record; or
(2)  a district court in the county in which the trial
(d)  An expunction order under this article shall be prepared
(1)  the attorney for the acquitted person in the case
in which the person was acquitted, if the acquitted person was
(2)  the attorney representing the state, if the person
was not represented by an attorney [or if the attorney representing
the state requested the order].
(e)  If the trial court is not a court described by
Subsection (a)(1), the trial court shall forward the proposed order
and all information required in a petition for expunction under
Article 55A.253 to a court described by Subsection (a)(2).
(f)  A court that issues an expunction order under this
article shall provide to the person who is the subject of the order
(2)  the court's case file, including all documents,
items, and information required to be disclosed to the person under
Article 39.14 and in the possession of the state at the time of the
SECTION 2.  Articles 55A.201(b) and (c), Code of Criminal
SECTION 3.  (a)  This Act applies to the expunction of arrest
records and files for a person entitled to that expunction under
Article 55A.002, Code of Criminal Procedure, before, on, or after
the effective date of this Act, regardless of when the underlying
(b)  For a person who is entitled to expunction under Article
55A.002, Code of Criminal Procedure, based on an acquittal that
occurred before the effective date of this Act, notwithstanding the
30-day time limit provided for the court to enter an automatic order
of expunction under Article 55A.201, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended by this Act, the court shall enter an order of expunction
for the person as soon as practicable after the court receives
written notice from any party to the case about the person's
SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.