HB 463 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

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.

HB 463 automatically expunges arrest records for individuals charged with certain controlled substance offenses when their case is dismissed under specific conditions. It directly affects defendants whose charges are dismissed due to completion of court programs (veterans, mental health, or pretrial intervention), lab results showing no controlled substance was present, or dismissal due to lack of probable cause. The bill requires courts to issue expungement orders within 30 days of dismissal in cases where lab analysis confirms no controlled substance was found, and prohibits courts from charging fees for this process. This policy change removes barriers to clearing records for eligible individuals without requiring additional court petitions.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 28, 2025 Last action May 1, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Apr 30, 2025

MODERATE

This bill expands automatic expunction rights for arrest records related to controlled substance offenses where lab tests show no drugs were present. It adds a new article creating a pretrial hearing process to determine if a substance contains controlled substances and requires courts to dismiss charges with prejudice if no drugs are found. The bill also updates filing petition requirements and clarifies effective dates for different types of expunctions.

Scope change

The bill significantly expands the scope by adding a new controlled substance offense category (Article 55A.007) that allows automatic expunction when lab analysis finds no controlled substance present, in addition to existing categories for dismissed charges and veterans/mental health court participants.

ELIGIBILITY

Added new Article 55A.007 establishing automatic expunction eligibility for controlled substance offenses where laboratory analysis finds no presence of controlled substances.

Modified Article 55A.053(a)(2) to include controlled substance offenses with negative lab results as a ground for dismissal and expunction.

REQUIREMENT

Added new Article 28.15 requiring pretrial hearings to determine if suspected controlled substances contain drugs, with burden of proof on state to provide lab analysis.

Added new petition requirements under Article 55A.251(b) requiring lab reports or evidence demonstrating no controlled substance was present.

TIMELINE

Added effective date provisions clarifying when new controlled substance expunction rules apply versus existing expunction categories.

Floor votes · House Apr 30, 2025

How they voted

131–1

Passed · 11 other

Total votes 143

Apr 30, 2025

D Democratic57

55 Yea 2

96% Yea

R Republican86

76 Yea 1 Nay 9

88% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 1, 2025

Introduced

Received from the House

upper

Apr 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed as amended

lower

Apr 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

Apr 30, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (131-1-11)

house

Apr 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed to engrossment

lower

Apr 22, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

Apr 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

Apr 8, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

lower

Mar 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

Mar 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Feb 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence

lower

Feb 28, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

5 primary · 24 co-sponsors