Enrolled Bill Summary

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Senate Bill 1610 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Government Code, Health and Safety Code, and Penal Code to revise the conduct of and enhance penalties for certain assaultive offenses, provide for the prosecution of offenses committed by a civilly committed sexually violent predator, and revise provisions relating to the sex offender registration program and the civil commitment of a sexually violent predator. Among other provisions, the bill does the following:

• requires the imprisonment of a defendant in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years on conviction of a felony offense, other than a state jail felony, if it is shown on the trial that the defendant was civilly committed as a sexually violent predator at the time of the offense;
• enhances the penalties for indecent assault and aggravated assault if the offense is committed by an actor committed to a civil commitment facility against Texas Civil Commitment Office (TCCO) officers, employees, or contractors under certain circumstances;
• expands the conduct that constitutes harassment by a person in a correctional, detention, or civil commitment facility and harassment of a public servant; and
• provides for the application of the offense of obstruction or retaliation committed against a person who contracts with the state to perform a service in a civil commitment facility or that person's employee.

Senate Bill 1610, with respect to magistration and the prosecution of offenses committed by a civilly committed sexually violent predator, revises provisions relating to venue, warrantless arrests, duties of magistrates, notice of certain bail reductions, bail and conditions of bond, and consecutive sentencing. The bill also does the following:

• authorizes a magistrate to impose on a defendant who was civilly committed as a sexually violent predator at the time of the alleged offense any reasonable condition of bond related to public safety or the safety of a civil commitment facility but requires the magistrate to impose the condition that the defendant does not commit a new offense while on bond and complies with their civil commitment order;
• requires a magistrate who finds that such a defendant violated a condition of bond to revoke bond and order the defendant immediately returned to custody; and
• excludes an accused person who is civilly committed as a sexually violent predator at the time of the offense from statutory provisions authorizing release without bond for fine-only misdemeanors.

The bill provides for a prosecuting attorney serving on the special prosecution unit to represent the state in the prosecution of a criminal offense committed by a person civilly committed as a sexually violent predator. The bill provides for a court to conduct a proceeding relating to litigation by a civilly committed individual who is unable to pay costs without the consent of the individual or applicable parties.

Senate Bill 1610, with respect to the sex offender registration program, does the following:

• provides for the application of the program to a person with a reportable conviction or adjudication for which the person has been civilly committed as a sexually violent predator;
• grants immunity to a TCCO employee or officer from liability for good faith conduct under the program;
• requires a person who has been civilly committed as a sexually violent predator but is not required to reside in a civil commitment center to report quarterly to their local law enforcement authority; and
• expands the prohibition against a person subject to sex offender registration from taking certain actions for compensation.

Furthermore, the bill requires lifetime sex offender registration for a person who has a reportable conviction or adjudication, other than an adjudication of delinquent conduct, for which the person has been civilly committed as a sexually violent predator, except that the duty to register for such a person whose conviction or order of deferred adjudication in a cause that was transferred to a district or criminal district court is subject to the standard 10-year period.

 Senate Bill 1610 requires information in the computerized criminal history system maintained by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to include any sexually violent predator civil commitment order. The bill entitles TCCO to obtain from DPS criminal history record information maintained by DPS and relating to a person who is civilly committed as a sexually violent predator or who was previously committed and subsequently released by a court order.

Senate Bill 1610 revises provisions governing the civil commitment of sexually violent predators as follows:

• establishes that a person is a repeat sexually violent offender if the person is convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual and a sentence is imposed for the offense;
• establishes that a civilly committed sex offender is responsible for costs of repairs or replacement of property or medical care expenses under certain circumstances in which the offender intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently caused the damage or injury;
• caps the term of contracts for the provision of any necessary supervised housing and other related services and for medical and mental health services and sex offender treatment for civilly committed sexually violent predators at 10 years but authorizes a contract to provide for renewals each for an additional term capped at 10 years; and
• provides for the payment of reasonable compensation by the Health and Human Services Commission to persons performing a duty or providing a service to a committed person with an intellectual or developmental disability, a mental illness, or a physical disability that prevents the committed person from effectively participating in the sex offender treatment program.

The bill provides for the immediate dismissal of any action asserting a claim against a person granted immunity from liability under provisions governing the civil commitment of sexually violent predators, the attorney general's defense of any person providing or contracting, appointed, or volunteering to perform any service requested by TCCO, and the recovery of related court costs and attorney's fees.