By De La Garza H.B. No. 1276
74R2805 DAK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the disposition of a person committed to the Texas
1-3 Youth Commission under a determinate sentence.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 54.11, Family Code, is amended by
1-6 amending Subsections (a) and (i) and adding Subsection (k) to read
1-7 as follows:
1-8 (a) On receipt of a notice required under Section 61.079(a),
1-9 Human Resources Code, of the transfer to the Texas Department of
1-10 Corrections of a person committed to the Texas Youth Commission
1-11 under a determinate sentence, on receipt of a notice required under
1-12 Section 61.079(c), Human Resources Code, of the expiration of a
1-13 recommitment of a child by the court to the commission for a
1-14 specified period, or on receipt of a request by the commission
1-15 under Section 61.081(f), Human Resources Code, for approval of the
1-16 release under supervision of a person committed to the commission
1-17 under a determinate sentence, the court shall set a time and place
1-18 for a hearing on the release of the person.
1-19 (i) On conclusion of the release hearing on a person who is
1-20 the subject of a notice of transfer, the court may order:
1-21 (1) the recommitment of the person to the Texas Youth
1-22 Commission without a determinate sentence;
1-23 (2) the recommitment of the person to the Texas Youth
1-24 Commission for a specific period as provided by Subsection (k)
2-1 except that the period of recommitment may not:
2-2 (A) extend past the 21st birthday of the person;
2-3 and
2-4 (B) result in the person being in custody for a
2-5 period longer than the person's determinate sentence;
2-6 (3) the recommitment of the person to the Texas Youth
2-7 Commission for release under the supervision of the commission for
2-8 the duration of the person's determinate sentence, if:
2-9 (A) the person's sentence ends before the 21st
2-10 birthday of the person; and
2-11 (B) the person is older than 18 years of age;
2-12 (4) the recommitment of the person to the Texas Youth
2-13 Commission for parole under Section 61.084, Human Resources Code,
2-14 if the person is older than 18 years of age;
2-15 (5) the transfer of the person to the custody of the
2-16 Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the completion of the
2-17 person's determinate sentence; or
2-18 (6) <(3)> the final discharge of the person.
2-19 (k) The court may order the recommitment of the person to
2-20 the Texas Youth Commission for a specific period under Subsection
2-21 (i)(2) only if the period of recommitment does not extend past the
2-22 21st birthday of the person and result in the person being in
2-23 custody for a period longer than the person's determinate sentence.
2-24 At the end of the period of recommitment, the court shall conduct a
2-25 release hearing as provided by this section at which the court may
2-26 order:
2-27 (1) the recommitment of the person to the Texas Youth
3-1 Commission for parole under Section 61.084, Human Resources Code;
3-2 (2) the transfer of the person to the custody of the
3-3 Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the completion of the
3-4 person's determinate sentence; or
3-5 (3) the final discharge of the person.
3-6 SECTION 2. Section 56.01(c), Family Code, is amended to read
3-7 as follows:
3-8 (c) An appeal may be taken:
3-9 (1) by or on behalf of a child from an order entered
3-10 under:
3-11 (A) Section 54.02 of this code respecting
3-12 transfer of the child to criminal court for prosecution as an
3-13 adult;
3-14 (B) Section 54.03 of this code with regard to
3-15 delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision;
3-16 (C) Section 54.04 of this code disposing of the
3-17 case;
3-18 (D) Section 54.05 of this code respecting
3-19 modification of a previous juvenile court disposition; or
3-20 (E) Chapter 55 of this code committing a child
3-21 to a facility for the mentally ill or mentally retarded; or
3-22 (2) by a person from an order entered under Section
3-23 54.11(i)(5) or (k)(2) of this code transferring the person to the
3-24 custody of the institutional division of the Texas Department of
3-25 Criminal Justice.
3-26 SECTION 3. Section 61.079, Human Resources Code, is amended
3-27 by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
4-1 (c) Not later than 30 days before the date that a
4-2 recommitment of a person by a juvenile court to the commission for
4-3 a specific period under Section 54.11(i)(2), Family Code, expires,
4-4 the commission shall send to the court that entered the order of
4-5 recommitment a notice of the date that the recommitment expires.
4-6 SECTION 4. Section 61.084, Human Resources Code, is amended
4-7 by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
4-8 follows:
4-9 (c) The commission shall transfer to the Texas Department
4-10 of Criminal Justice a person who is the subject of an order under
4-11 Section 54.11(i)(5) or (k)(2), Family Code, transferring the person
4-12 to the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the
4-13 completion of the person's determinate sentence.
4-14 (e) The commission shall transfer a person recommitted to
4-15 the commission for parole under Section 54.11(i)(4) or 54.11(k)(1),
4-16 Family Code, to the custody of the pardons and paroles division of
4-17 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve the remainder of
4-18 the person's sentence on parole as provided by Section 29, Article
4-19 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure.
4-20 SECTION 5. Section 20, Article 42.18, Code of Criminal
4-21 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
4-22 Sec. 20. INAPPLICABLE TO JUVENILES. (a) Except as provided
4-23 by Subsection (b) of this section, the <The> provisions of this
4-24 article shall not apply to parole from institutions for juveniles
4-25 or to temporary furloughs granted to an inmate by the institutional
4-26 division under Section 500.006, Government Code.
4-27 (b) The provisions of this article not in conflict with
5-1 Section 29 of this article apply to parole of a person from the
5-2 Texas Youth Commission under that section.
5-3 SECTION 6. Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
5-4 amended by adding Section 29 to read as follows:
5-5 Sec. 29. DETERMINATE SENTENCE PAROLE. (a) Not later than
5-6 the 90th day before the date the Texas Youth Commission transfers a
5-7 person to the custody of the pardons and paroles division for
5-8 release on parole under Section 61.084(e), Human Resources Code,
5-9 the commission shall submit to the board all pertinent information
5-10 relating to the person, including:
5-11 (1) the juvenile court judgment;
5-12 (2) the circumstances of the person's offense;
5-13 (3) the person's previous social history and juvenile
5-14 court records;
5-15 (4) the person's physical and mental health record;
5-16 (5) a record of the person's conduct, employment
5-17 history, and attitude while committed to the commission;
5-18 (6) a record of the sentence time served by the person
5-19 at the commission; and
5-20 (7) any written comments or information provided by
5-21 the commission, local officials, or victims of the offense.
5-22 (b) Before the release of the person on parole, a parole
5-23 panel shall review the person's records and may interview the
5-24 person or any other person the panel deems is necessary to
5-25 determine the conditions of parole. The panel may impose any
5-26 reasonable condition of parole on the person that the panel may
5-27 impose on an adult prisoner under this article.
6-1 (c) The panel shall furnish the person with a contract
6-2 clearly describing the conditions and rules of parole. The person
6-3 must accept and sign the contract as a precondition to release on
6-4 parole.
6-5 (d) While on parole, the person remains in the legal custody
6-6 of the state and shall comply with the conditions of parole ordered
6-7 by a panel under this section.
6-8 (e) The period of parole for a person released to parole
6-9 under this section is the maximum term for which the person was
6-10 sentenced less calendar time actually served at the Texas Youth
6-11 Commission.
6-12 (f) If a parole panel revokes the person's parole, the panel
6-13 may require the person to serve the portion remaining of the
6-14 person's sentence in the institutional division. The remaining
6-15 portion of the person's sentence is calculated without credit for
6-16 the time from the date of the person's release to the date of
6-17 revocation. The panel may not recommit the person to the Texas
6-18 Youth Commission.
6-19 (g) For purposes of this article, a person released from the
6-20 Texas Youth Commission on parole under this section is deemed to
6-21 have been convicted of the offense for which the person has been
6-22 adjudicated.
6-23 SECTION 7. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
6-24 (b) This Act applies only to a person receiving a
6-25 determinate sentence under Section 54.04, Family Code, on or after
6-26 the effective date of this Act. A person receiving a determinate
6-27 sentence before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
7-1 law in effect at the time the sentence was received, and that law
7-2 is continued in effect for that purpose.
7-3 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
7-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.