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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the age of a child at which a juvenile court may |
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exercise jurisdiction over the child and to the minimum age of |
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criminal responsibility. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 45.058(h), Code of Criminal Procedure, |
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is amended to read as follows: |
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(h) In this article, "child" means a person who is: |
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(1) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than 17 |
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years of age; and |
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(2) charged with or convicted of an offense that a |
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justice or municipal court has jurisdiction of under Article 4.11 |
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or 4.14. |
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SECTION 2. Section 37.141(1), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(1) "Child" means a person who is: |
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(A) a student; and |
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(B) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than |
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18 years of age. |
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SECTION 3. Section 51.02(2), Family Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(2) "Child" means a person who is: |
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(A) 13 [ten] years of age or older and under 17 |
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years of age; or |
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(B) 17 [seventeen] years of age or older and |
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under 19 [18] years of age who is: |
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(i) alleged or found to have engaged in |
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delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision as |
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a result of acts committed before becoming 17 years of age; and |
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(ii) under the jurisdiction of a juvenile |
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court. |
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SECTION 4. Section 54.02(j), Family Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(j) The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original |
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jurisdiction and transfer a person to the appropriate district |
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court or criminal district court for criminal proceedings if: |
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(1) the person is 18 years of age or older; |
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(2) the person was: |
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(A) 13 [10] years of age or older and under 17 |
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years of age at the time the person is alleged to have committed a |
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capital felony or an offense under Section 19.02, Penal Code; |
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(B) 14 years of age or older and under 17 years of |
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age at the time the person is alleged to have committed an |
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aggravated controlled substance felony or a felony of the first |
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degree other than an offense under Section 19.02, Penal Code; or |
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(C) 15 years of age or older and under 17 years of |
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age at the time the person is alleged to have committed a felony of |
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the second or third degree or a state jail felony; |
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(3) no adjudication concerning the alleged offense has |
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been made or no adjudication hearing concerning the offense has |
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been conducted; |
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(4) the juvenile court finds from a preponderance of |
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the evidence that: |
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(A) for a reason beyond the control of the state |
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it was not practicable to proceed in juvenile court before the 18th |
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birthday of the person; or |
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(B) after due diligence of the state it was not |
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practicable to proceed in juvenile court before the 18th birthday |
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of the person because: |
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(i) the state did not have probable cause to |
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proceed in juvenile court and new evidence has been found since the |
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18th birthday of the person; |
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(ii) the person could not be found; or |
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(iii) a previous transfer order was |
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reversed by an appellate court or set aside by a district court; and |
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(5) the juvenile court determines that there is |
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probable cause to believe that the child before the court committed |
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the offense alleged. |
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SECTION 5. Section 63.001(1), Human Resources Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(1) "Juvenile" means a person from the age of 13 [10] |
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to 18 years who has been found to have engaged in delinquent conduct |
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by a court of competent jurisdiction. |
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SECTION 6. Section 201.001(a)(2), Human Resources Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(2) "Child" means an individual 13[: |
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[(A) 10] years of age or older and younger than 19 |
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[18] years of age who is under the jurisdiction of a juvenile |
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court[; or |
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[(B) 10 years of age or older and younger than 19 |
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years of age who is committed to the department under Title 3, |
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Family Code]. |
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SECTION 7. Sections 8.07(d) and (e), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person may not be |
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prosecuted for or convicted of an offense described by Subsection |
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(a)(4) or (5) that the person committed when younger than 13 [10] |
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years of age. |
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(e) A person who is at least 13 [10] years of age but younger |
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than 15 years of age is presumed incapable of committing an offense |
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described by Subsection (a)(4) or (5), other than an offense under a |
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juvenile curfew ordinance or order. This presumption may be |
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refuted if the prosecution proves to the court by a preponderance of |
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the evidence that the actor had sufficient capacity to understand |
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that the conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was |
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engaged in. The prosecution is not required to prove that the actor |
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at the time of engaging in the conduct knew that the act was a |
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criminal offense or knew the legal consequences of the offense. |
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SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the |
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effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that |
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occurred before that date is governed by the law in effect on the |
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date the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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this section, an offense was committed or conduct occurred before |
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the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or |
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conduct occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |