Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 2319 amends provisions of the law relating to juvenile delinquency. The bill amends the Family Code to provide for the rights and responsibilities of the parent, guardian, or custodian of a child who is the subject of a proceeding in a juvenile court. It establishes procedures for issuing, enforcing, and appealing court orders against a parent or guardian and enumerates the responsibilities and rights of a parent or guardian in juvenile proceedings, including appointment of and payment for legal representation, compliance with conditional release requirements, payment for a child's participation in certain treatment programs, contempt of court proceedings, the right to certain information about the alleged offense, the right of access to the child, and the right to submit a written or oral statement about the needs of the child or any matter relevant to the disposition of the case in hearings that do not involve a jury.

            The bill includes provisions relating to the use of contempt of court as enforcement of a court order and the juvenile court's discretionary powers in relation to the punishment for contempt. It authorizes a juvenile court to commit a person to the county jail on a finding of contempt and requires a justice or municipal court to provide notice and opportunity to be heard before holding a child in contempt.

            House Bill 2319 amends provisions of the Family Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to the registration of juvenile sex offenders and to excusing registration requirements in certain cases, including procedures for the transfer of authority to reexamine the need for registration and to excuse registration in cases involving probation, the filing of a motion for excusal for a person registered in this state because of an out-of-state adjudication, and the removal of registration information when a person's duty to register expires.

            The bill sets out procedures relating to the detention of certain offenders in a juvenile detention facility or county facility pending transfer from the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It authorizes the appeal by the state of certain court orders in cases involving a violent or habitual offender, provides for the expungement of certain DNA records, and includes provisions applicable to school-attendance-related offenses, credit for courses completed in TYC educational programs, the authority of judges related to community supervision in certain cases, and enforcement of juvenile child support orders