By: Gallegos S.B. No. 710
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the authority of a juvenile court to order certain
1-2 children to perform community service.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), Section
1-5 54.041, Family Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-6 (b) If a child is found to have engaged in delinquent
1-7 conduct arising from the commission of an offense in which property
1-8 damage or loss or personal injury occurred, the juvenile court, on
1-9 notice to all persons affected and on hearing, may order the child
1-10 or a parent to make full or partial restitution to the victim of
1-11 the offense. The program of restitution must promote the
1-12 rehabilitation of the child, be appropriate to the age and
1-13 physical, emotional, and mental abilities of the child, and not
1-14 conflict with the child's schooling. When practicable and subject
1-15 to court supervision, the court may approve a restitution program
1-16 based on a settlement between the child and the victim of the
1-17 offense. An order under this subsection may provide for periodic
1-18 payments by the child or a parent of the child for the period
1-19 specified in the order but that period may not extend past the 18th
1-20 birthday of the child.
1-21 (c) In addition to or in lieu of restitution, a juvenile <If
1-22 the child or parent is unable to make full or partial restitution
1-23 or if a restitution order is not appropriate under the
2-1 circumstances, the> court may order a <the> child found to have
2-2 engaged in delinquent conduct to render community service <personal
2-3 services to a charitable or educational institution in the manner
2-4 prescribed in the court order in lieu of restitution>. The total
2-5 number of hours of community service ordered may not exceed 500. A
2-6 court that orders a child to perform community service has
2-7 continuing jurisdiction past the 18th birthday of the child if
2-8 necessary to enforce the court's order under this subsection.
2-9 (d) Restitution under this section is cumulative of any
2-10 other remedy allowed by law and may be used in addition to other
2-11 remedies; except that a victim of an offense is not entitled to
2-12 receive more than actual damages under a juvenile court order.
2-13 (e) A city, town, or county that establishes a program to
2-14 assist children in rendering community service <personal services
2-15 to a charitable or educational institution> as authorized by
2-16 Subsection (c) of this section <this subsection> may purchase
2-17 insurance policies protecting the city, town, or county against
2-18 claims brought by a person other than the child for a cause of
2-19 action that arises from an act of the child while rendering those
2-20 services. The city, town, or county is not liable under this Act
2-21 to the extent that damages are recoverable under a contract of
2-22 insurance or under a plan of self-insurance authorized by statute.
2-23 The liability of the city, town, or county for a cause of action
2-24 that arises from an action of the child while rendering those
2-25 services may not exceed $100,000 to a single person and $300,000
3-1 for a single occurrence in the case of personal injury or death,
3-2 and $10,000 for a single occurrence of property damage. Liability
3-3 may not extend to punitive or exemplary damages. This subsection
3-4 does not waive a defense, immunity, or jurisdictional bar available
3-5 to the city, town, or county or its officers or employees, nor
3-6 shall this Act be construed to waive, repeal, or modify any
3-7 provision of Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code <the
3-8 Texas Tort Claims Act, as amended (Article 6252-19, Vernon's Texas
3-9 Civil Statutes)>.
3-10 (f) <(c)> A person subject to an order proposed under
3-11 Subsection (a) of this section is entitled to a hearing on the
3-12 order before the order is entered by the court.
3-13 (g) <(d)> An order made under this section may be enforced
3-14 as provided by Section 54.07 of this code.
3-15 (h) <(e)> If a child is found to have engaged in conduct
3-16 indicating a need for supervision described under Section
3-17 51.03(b)(2) of this code, the court may order the child's parents
3-18 or guardians to attend a class provided under Section 21.035(h),
3-19 Education Code, if the school district in which the child's parents
3-20 or guardians reside offers a class under that section.
3-21 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-22 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
3-23 only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this
3-24 Act. Conduct violating a penal law of the state occurs on or after
3-25 the effective date of this Act if every element of the violation
4-1 occurs on or after that date.
4-2 (b) Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this
4-3 Act is covered by the law in effect at the time the conduct
4-4 occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
4-5 purpose.
4-6 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.