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HOUSE BILL 1550 |
HOUSE AUTHOR: Goodman et al. |
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EFFECTIVE: See below |
SENATE SPONSOR: Harris |
House Bill 1550 amends Title 3, Family Code, relating to the juvenile justice system. The act makes a number of clarifying and technical changes to the code to correct problems that have been discovered since the major reform of the juvenile justice system during the 74th Legislature. Listed below are some of the changes.
1. Adds arson, if bodily injury or death results, to the list of determinate sentence offenses.
2. Makes the first offense of DWI by a juvenile delinquent conduct.
3. Applies the same penalties to juveniles that apply to adults for traffic violations in municipal or justice court.
4. Streamlines the statutory warning requirements for the admissibility of written statements.
5. Authorizes the admissibility of recorded oral statements if the statutory warnings and waiver of rights are included in the recording and authorizes a magistrate to give the warnings in this circumstance.
6. Applies the limitation periods established for criminal offenses to juvenile proceedings and establishes a two-year statute of limitations for conduct that is not addressed in the criminal statute of limitation.
7. Requires that an objection be presented to the court stating the reasons for the objection in order to preserve for appellate review the failure of the court to give a youth the pre-adjudication statutory admonishments.
8. Requires the court to inform a youth that the court is not bound to accept an agreed disposition.
9. Repeals the court's authority to place a youth on probation in a TYC operated or contracted intermediate sanction program.
10. Requires the TYC to accept youth with mental illness and to discharge those who cannot progress in its programs as long as they: (1) are not determinate sentence offenders; and (2) have completed the minimum length of stay applicable to their committing offense.
11. Amends the progressive sanctions guidelines.
12. Amends provisions related to juvenile records.
13. Establishes the center for the Study and Prevention of Juvenile Crime and Delinquency at Prairie View A&M University.
14. Establishes requirements relating to the location of a correctional or rehabilitation facility.
The act takes effect September 1, 1997, except for certain provisions that apply to persons in the custody of the Texas Youth Commission, which take effect June 19, 1997.