BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 577 By: Henderson Jurisprudence 2-28-95 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND Under current law, if a juvenile defendant allegedly committed a crime in a county other than county in which the defendant lives, the defendant's parents are required to be present when the defendant enters a plea. When large distances separate the juvenile's home county from the county in which the offense allegedly occurred, the parents often must bear considerable travel expenses. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 577 requires pleas entered by a defendant younger than 18 years of age to be made in open court with the defendant's parent, guardian, or conservator present. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 45, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Article 45.331, as follows: Art. 45.331. PLEA BY MINOR. (a) Requires a plea of a defendant who is younger than 17 years of age and who has not had the disabilities of minority removed to be made in open court with the defendant's parent, guardian, or managing conservator present. (b) Requires the court to cause one or both parent or guardians to be summoned to appear in court and to require one or both of them to be present during all proceedings in the case. Authorizes the court to waive the requirement of the presence of parents or guardians in any case in which, after diligent effort, the court is unable to locate them or to compel their presence. (c) Authorizes a defendant who resides in a county other than the county in which the alleged offense occurred to enter the plea before a justice in the county in which the defendant resides. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1995. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.