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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the jurisdiction of a juvenile court over certain |
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persons and to the sealing and nondisclosure of certain juvenile |
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records. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 51.0412, Family Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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Sec. 51.0412. JURISDICTION OVER INCOMPLETE PROCEEDINGS. |
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The court retains jurisdiction over a person, without regard to the |
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age of the person, who is a respondent in an adjudication |
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proceeding, a disposition proceeding, a proceeding to modify |
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disposition, a proceeding for waiver of jurisdiction and transfer |
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to criminal court under Section 54.02(a), or a motion for transfer |
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of determinate sentence probation to an appropriate district court |
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if: |
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(1) the petition or motion was filed while the |
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respondent was younger than 18 or 19 years of age, as applicable; |
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(2) the proceeding is not complete before the |
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respondent becomes 18 or 19 years of age, as applicable; and |
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(3) the court enters a finding in the proceeding that: |
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(A) the prosecuting attorney exercised due |
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diligence in an attempt to complete the proceeding before the |
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respondent became 18 or 19 years of age, as applicable; or |
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(B) the proceeding has been delayed through no |
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fault of the state. |
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SECTION 2. Section 58.256, Family Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read |
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as follows: |
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(d) A court may not order the sealing of the records of a |
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person who: |
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(1) received a determinate sentence and was |
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transferred to district court under Section 54.051 or 54.11 [for |
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engaging in: |
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[(A) delinquent conduct that violated a penal law |
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listed under Section 53.045; or |
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[(B) habitual felony conduct as described by |
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Section 51.031]; |
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(2) is currently required to register as a sex |
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offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure; or |
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(3) was committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice |
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Department or to a post-adjudication secure correctional facility |
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under former Section 54.04011, unless the person has been |
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discharged from the agency to which the person was committed. |
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(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), on [On] receipt of |
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an application under this section, the court may: |
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(1) order the sealing of the person's records |
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immediately, without a hearing; or |
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(2) hold a hearing under Section 58.257 at the court's |
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discretion to determine whether to order the sealing of the |
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person's records. |
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(f) On receipt of an application under this section from a |
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person who received a determinate sentence and was not transferred |
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to a district court under Section 54.051 or 54.11, the court shall |
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hold a hearing under Section 58.257 to determine whether it is in |
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the best interest of the person and of justice to order the sealing |
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of the person's records and may order the records to be sealed. |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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conduct violating a penal law of this state that occurs on or after |
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the effective date of this Act. Conduct violating a penal law of |
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this state that occurs before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and |
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the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, conduct occurred before the effective |
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date of this Act if any element of the conduct occurred before that |
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date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |