By Longoria H.B. No. 2895
74R5641 DD-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment of boot camp programs by the Texas
1-3 Youth Commission and participation in boot camp programs by certain
1-4 juvenile offenders.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
1-7 Section 54.0321 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 54.0321. DEFERRAL OF ADJUDICATION AND DISMISSAL OF
1-9 CERTAIN CASES ON COMPLETION OF BOOT CAMP PROGRAM. (a) A juvenile
1-10 court may defer adjudication proceedings under Section 54.03 for 90
1-11 days if the child:
1-12 (1) is alleged to have engaged in conduct constituting
1-13 a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail;
1-14 (2) has on at least two previous occasions been
1-15 finally adjudicated for conduct constituting a misdemeanor
1-16 punishable by confinement in jail and at least one of the previous
1-17 final adjudications is for conduct that occurred after the date
1-18 another previous adjudication was rendered, if that adjudication
1-19 became final;
1-20 (3) waives, under Section 51.09, the privilege against
1-21 self-incrimination and testifies under oath that the allegations
1-22 against the child are true;
1-23 (4) presents to the court an oral or written request
1-24 to attend a boot camp program, if a program is available;
2-1 (5) has not successfully completed a boot camp program
2-2 in the two years preceding the date the alleged conduct occurred;
2-3 and
2-4 (6) can reasonably be expected, as determined by the
2-5 court, to complete a boot camp program under this section.
2-6 (b) A child whose adjudication is deferred under this
2-7 section must successfully complete during the time the adjudication
2-8 is deferred a boot camp program that requires the child to
2-9 participate in strenuous labor. In addition, the court may require
2-10 the child to attend a program that will educate the child as to the
2-11 conditions under which inmates in the institutional division of the
2-12 Texas Department of Criminal Justice live.
2-13 (c) On the juvenile court's request, the Texas Youth
2-14 Commission shall provide the court with a list of suitable boot
2-15 camp programs for a child to attend, including regional boot camp
2-16 programs established by the commission under Section 61.096, Human
2-17 Resources Code.
2-18 (d) If the Texas Youth Commission or the director of a boot
2-19 camp program determines that a child is not complying with the
2-20 rules of the program or that the child is medically or
2-21 psychologically unsuitable for the program, the child shall be
2-22 removed from the program and the juvenile court shall reassume
2-23 custody of the child to resume adjudication proceedings under
2-24 Section 54.03.
2-25 (e) The court shall dismiss a child's case with prejudice if
2-26 at the conclusion of the deferral period the child presents
2-27 satisfactory evidence that the child has successfully completed the
3-1 boot camp program.
3-2 SECTION 2. Subchapter G, Chapter 61, Human Resources Code,
3-3 is amended by adding Section 61.096 to read as follows:
3-4 Sec. 61.096. REGIONAL BOOT CAMP PROGRAMS. (a) The
3-5 commission shall establish boot camp programs in the various
3-6 regions of the state to rehabilitate children in the juvenile
3-7 justice system who repeatedly engage in conduct constituting a
3-8 misdemeanor.
3-9 (b) A child may participate in a program established under
3-10 this section if the child meets the criteria prescribed by Section
3-11 54.0321(a), Family Code.
3-12 (c) The programs shall provide:
3-13 (1) a highly structured, military-style setting;
3-14 (2) vocational training;
3-15 (3) counseling to prevent substance abuse;
3-16 (4) physical fitness training; and
3-17 (5) services that promote the well-being and the
3-18 positive self-esteem of its participants.
3-19 (d) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (c), the
3-20 commission shall cooperate with local school districts to provide
3-21 education services for children participating in the program.
3-22 (e) The commission shall establish guidelines designed to
3-23 enable a child to successfully complete a program established under
3-24 this section.
3-25 (f) The commission shall cooperate with authorities in
3-26 counties where a boot camp program is or may be located for the
3-27 operation of the program.
4-1 (g) The commission shall use existing facilities, if
4-2 available, for the operation of a boot camp program.
4-3 (h) The commission may accept gifts, grants, or matching
4-4 funds from a public or private source to carry out its duties under
4-5 this section.
4-6 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act regarding
4-7 the deferral of adjudication for a child applies only to the
4-8 adjudication of conduct that occurs on or after the effective date
4-9 of this Act. Conduct violating a penal law of the state occurs on
4-10 or after the effective date of this Act if every element of the
4-11 violation occurs on or after that date.
4-12 (b) Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this
4-13 Act is covered by the law in effect at the time the conduct
4-14 occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
4-15 purpose.
4-16 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
4-17 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.