House Bill 607 Summary

• Suspended automatic expunction: Dismissed charges and not guilty verdicts will not be automatically expunged from August 1, 2022 to August 1, 2023, while a stakeholder group examines implementation issues and recommends solutions.

• Expanded expunction petitions: Increased the filing period for multiple expunction petitions from 30 days to 120 days, with court authority to grant petitions filed outside the window for good cause shown.

• Magistrate residency changes: Allowed magistrates to reside in counties contiguous to their appointment county rather than requiring residence in the appointment county itself.

• Magistrate emergency authority: Authorized magistrates to accept domestic violence complaints and civil no-contact order filings when clerk's offices are closed, with documents delivered to clerk upon reopening.

• Eliminated State Judicial Council: Repealed Article 31A of Chapter 7A, consolidating judicial oversight functions and removing the State Judicial Council as a separate entity.