House Bill No. [insert number] amends the Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 923 and 926.2(A) to enhance the process of post-conviction relief. The bill mandates that once an appellate court's decision is final, the clerk must send a certified copy of the decree to the originating court, replacing the term "judgment" with "decree." Additionally, it requires the clerk of the court of appeal to provide an electronic copy of the appellate record at no cost to any imprisoned defendant who requests it. The bill also clarifies that failure to comply with these requirements does not extend the time for filing post-conviction relief applications or provide grounds for vacating a conviction.

Furthermore, the bill expands the grounds for seeking post-conviction relief based on factual innocence to include those convicted by a guilty plea or nolo contendere, as well as those found guilty after a trial. It removes previous provisions that allowed for an exception to the time limitations for filing claims of factual innocence, specifically those claims filed before December 31, 2022. The new language ensures that all applications for post-conviction relief filed after this date will be subject to existing procedural rules. The bill also includes provisions for redacting sensitive information from the appellate record before transmission.