Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 1118 amends Family Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Human Resources Code, and Government Code provisions affecting the juvenile justice system, including provisions relating to youth records, sex offender registration, juvenile board duties, justice and municipal court jurisdiction, disposition and sentencing, appointment of an attorney, and temporary custody of juveniles for the purpose of fingerprinting and photographing. Work groups composed of judges, attorneys, probation officials, and others with an interest in the juvenile justice system met to identify problems in the process, and many provisions of this bill are a result of their recommendations.

            The bill makes changes in the responsibilities of juvenile boards, courts, and probation departments that allow the juvenile board in each county rather than a juvenile court to make policy relating to juveniles. The bill establishes guidelines for the automatic restriction of access to juvenile records and the destruction of certain physical records and files. It also establishes guidelines for courts to determine whether or not a juvenile offender could be exempt or deferred from being registered as a sex offender and to determine the risk to the public at large.

            House Bill 1118 prohibits the confinement of a juvenile in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility, including a drug and alcohol treatment center, for a first time status offense, such as truancy, running away, or underage drinking. It also prohibits confinement or Texas Youth Commission commitment for a youth adjudicated for contempt of court by a municipal, justice, or juvenile court. The bill establishes guidelines for the appointment of an attorney for a juvenile, and once appointed, the attorney is required to continue to represent the juvenile until the case is terminated, the family retains other counsel, or new counsel is appointed.

            The bill authorizes the creation of a local juvenile justice information system composed of a county or multicounty computerized database of information concerning children, with data entry and access by the partner agencies that are members of the system. It authorizes juvenile justice agencies in a county or region of this state to jointly create and maintain a local juvenile justice information system to aid in processing the cases of children under the juvenile justice code, to facilitate the delivery of services to children in the system, and to aid in the early identification of at-risk and delinquent children.

            House Bill 1118 authorizes a justice or municipal court, with the consent of the city council or commissioners court, to employ a case manager for juvenile cases and establishes guidelines for taking a child into temporary custody for the purpose of fingerprinting and photographing.

            The bill also directs the Prairie View A&M University Center for the Study and Prevention of Juvenile Crime and Delinquency to study the relationship of the juvenile justice system to special categories of juveniles, including minorities, female offenders, and sex offenders, and to report the center's findings and recommendations to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the governor by December 1, 2002.