Temporary Repeal of the Chapter 55A Expunction Fee

By Ned Minevitz 

Municipal Courts of Record & Chapter 55A Expunctions  

Municipal courts of record are authorized to process expunctions under Chapter 55A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Chapter 55A expunctions are distinct from expunctions that all municipal courts process, such as juvenile expunctions under Article 45A.463 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or alcohol-related expunctions under Chapter 106 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code. Therefore, the following information about Chapter 55A expunctions only applies to municipal courts of record—not non-record municipal courts. 

Expunction Fee Repeal and Reinstatement 

In the 89th Regular Session, the Texas Legislature repealed Article 102.006 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provided for a $100 filing fee to be paid by petitioners seeking expunction under Chapter 55A, via S.B. 1667. This bill took effect on September 1, 2025.  

During the second special session, H.B. 16 (known as the “court omnibus bill”) passed and was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on September 17, 2025. H.B. 16 did two important things related to the Chapter 55A expunction fee: 

• Reinstated Article 102.006, effective immediately, but with an expiration date of January 1, 2026.  

• Enacted Article 102.0061, effective January 1, 2026, which provides for a $100 Chapter 55A expunction fee. 

Did the Repeal Ever Take Full Effect?  

Section 51.607(c) of the Government Code states that any “imposition or change” of the amount of a court cost or fee does not take effect until January 1, the year after a regular session bill’s enactment. But does the total repeal of a cost or fee constitute a “change” for the purposes of Section 51.607(c)? This seems to be an unresolved gray area. Therefore, a common question has been whether S.B. 1667 triggered Section 51.607(c). If it did not, then the Chapter 55A expunction fee repeal took effect on September 1, 2025.  

While official guidance has not yet been provided by the Office of Court Administration or Comptroller, the likely conclusion will be that Section 51.607(c) did not apply to the repealed fee. A “change” is distinguishable from an elimination and typically covers situations where a cost or fee increases or decreases. Furthermore, if 51.607(c) applied to Article 102.006’s repeal, then the temporary reinstatement of Article 102.006 during the special session would be meaningless. If this interpretation holds true, courts of record should have ceased assessing the $100 Chapter 55A expunction fee for petitions filed beginning on September 1, 2025. 

Because, however, the Legislature reenacted Article 102.006 effective September 17, 2025, the period where the fee should not have been assessed lasted a mere 16 days. Courts of record were authorized to resume assessing the $100 fee for petitions filed on or after September 17, 2025. Note that because Article 102.006 was reinstated during a special session—and Section 51.607(c) only applies to costs and fees imposed during a regular session—the reinstatement took effect immediately and was not affected by Section 51.607(c). 

Putting It All Together 

If a petitioner paid a $100 expunction fee for a Chapter 55A expunction petition filed from September 1, 2025, to September 16, 2025, they might come to the court requesting a refund. Or perhaps courts of record will choose to proactively issue refunds in the event they assessed any fees in this timeframe. The following table illustrates which petitions should have the $100 fee attached if TMCEC’s current interpretation holds true: 

Date Chapter 55A Expunction Petition Filed	Fee	Authority
Before September 1, 2025	$100	Now-Repealed Article 102.006, C.C.P.
September 1, 2025 – September 16, 2025	None	No Statute Authorizing Collection of a Fee
September 17, 2025 – December 31, 2025	$100	Reinstated Article 102.006, C.C.P.
January 1, 2026 or later	$100	New Article 102.0061, C.C.P.