Relating to the expunction of arrest records and files when a grand jury fails to find that probable cause exists to believe the alleged offense was committed.
HB 1820 allows individuals arrested for a crime but never charged to clear their arrest records under specific conditions. It directly affects people who were arrested but not prosecuted, including those where a grand jury failed to find probable cause for the alleged offense. The bill establishes timeframes for expungement: 180 days for Class C misdemeanors, one year for Class B/A misdemeanors, and three years for felonies, or if the state attorney certifies records aren't needed for investigations. If no indictment or information was filed within these periods, or if the grand jury declined to find probable cause, the person can request record removal. The law applies to offenses occurring before, during, or after its effective date of September 1, 2025.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 14, 2025
Last action May 19, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Engrossed
·
1 edit
·
May 16, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted and reorganized with improved spacing and alignment, but the substantive legal content regarding arrest record expunction remains unchanged. The core provisions for when arrest records can be expunged, including timeframes and conditions, are identical to the original version.
TECHNICAL
Formatting and spacing adjustments were made throughout the document, including repositioning of headers, removal of extraneous text like 'The digital content on TLO has been updated to align with the accessibility standards required by WCAG 2.1', and standardization of line breaks and indentation.
Floor votes · House May 15, 2025
How they voted
135–0
Passed · 10 other
Total votes 145
May 15, 2025
D
Democratic60
91% Yea
R
Republican85
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
25
Key actions
7
Committee
7
May 19, 2025
Committee
Referred to Criminal Justice
upper
May 19, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 19, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
May 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
5 primary · 5 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Alma Allen
DDemocratic
P
Mihaela Pleșa
DDemocratic
P
Nicole Collier
DDemocratic
P
Rhetta Bowers
DDemocratic
P
Terri Leo-Wilson
RRepublican
Co
JG
Jessica González
DDemocratic
Co
Penny Morales Shaw
DDemocratic
Co
RA
Rafael Anchía
DDemocratic
Co
Salman Bhojani
DDemocratic
Co
Vikki Goodwin
DDemocratic
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about HB 1820
Scope: TX
Hi! I can help you understand HB 1820. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline