CN H.B. 1917 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS JUVENILE JUSTICE & FAMILY ISSUES H.B 1917 By: Goodman 3-11-97 H.B. 1917 3-13-97 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND House Bill 1917 relates to the powers and duties of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC) and of juvenile boards in Texas. The enabling legislation of the TJPC has not been updated and modernized for many years. TJPC underwent Sunset Review during 1996, and the resulting Sunset bill recommends amending Texas Human Resources Code (HRC) Chapter 141. This bill contains additional amendments to HRC Chapters 141 and 142. PURPOSE H.B. 1917 as introduced amends the enabling legislation of the commission in HRC Chapter 141 that establishes the purposes, duties and mandates of the agency. Further, the bill amends sections of HRC Chapter 142 of dealing with probation departments and juvenile boards. The purpose of HB 1917 is to update and modernize the language of the agency's statutes to more accurately reflect the agency's duties, responsibilities and mandates under the new Juvenile Justice Code and Education Code, which were re-written during the 74th Texas Legislature. Some sections of the current agency enabling legislation are outdated because of either new law or appropriations riders that are currently in effect. Additionally, several of the amendments reflect suggestions from juvenile justice practitioners regarding the agency's operation and mandates. RULE MAKING AUTHORITY H.B. 1917 provides the authority and mandate for TJPC to promulgate and adopt reasonable rules for 1) the implementation of the progressive sanctions guidelines; and 2) minimum standards for the operation of juvenile justice alternative education programs created under Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends HRC Sec. 141.001 to reflect that the TJPC currently has the mandate to establish standards for the community-based juvenile justice system which include probation administration standards as well as standards for programs and facilities operated by the juvenile board such as secure detention facilities, correctional facilities, and juvenile justice alternative education programs. This section also creates the purpose of delinquency prevention and early intervention as an explicit mandate of the agency. SECTION 2. Amends HRC Sec. 141.011 to require that the six appointed public members of the governing board of TJPC reflect a balance between small, medium and large counties. The section requires two members to be appointed from counties with a population of 500,000 or more; two members to be appointed from a county with a population of 100,000 or more; and two members appointed from a county with a population of less than 100,000. The section provides that the population figures to be used shall be the most recent figures available from the comptroller's office. SECTION 3. Amends HRC Sec. 141.042(a) to provide the authority and mandate for TJPC to promulgate and adopt reasonable rules for 1) the implementation of the progressive sanctions guidelines; and 2) minimum standards for the operation of juvenile justice alternative education programs created under Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code. SECTION 4. Amends HRC Sec. 141.044 regarding the type and format of records to be collected and reports to be submitted by local juvenile boards to TJPC. This amendment requires the juvenile board to keep programmatic records and submit programmatic data to TJPC in a format specified by TJPC, including electronic formats. SECTION 5. Amends HRC Sec. 141.046 to provide that TJPC may evaluate the juvenile board and probation department and may audit both entities' programmatic and statistical records, in addition to the financial records for which the agency currently has authority. SECTION 6. Amends HRC Sec. 141.082(a) regarding a juvenile board's eligibility to receive state financial assistance funds. This section provides that a juvenile board must maintain a local funding level that is equal to the amount spent by the county on juvenile services during the first year of the preceding state appropriations biennium. TJPC is granted the authority to waive this requirement upon a showing of unusual, catastrophic or exceptional circumstances. If the agency does not grant a waiver of the requirement, a dollar for dollar reduction in the funds received is required. SECTION 7. Amends Sec. 141.085(a) to provide that TJPC has the discretion to refuse, reduce or suspend state financial aid to a juvenile board that fails to comply with TJPC standards. Currently, the statute does not allow TJPC this discretion, but mandates that funding be refused, reduced or suspended. SECTION 8. Amends HRC Sec. 142.001 to make a technical, conforming amendment. The old terminology of "informal adjustment" is replaced with the current terminology under the Family Code of "deferred prosecution". The section further clarifies that the term "juvenile probation services" includes services provided by a probation department that are related to the operation of a pre- and post-adjudication juvenile facility. SECTION 9. Amends HRC Sec. 142.003 to provide the juvenile board the explicit authority to contract with another governmental unit or a private vendor for the provision of juvenile probation services. SECTION 10. Repeals Section 103, of House Bill 327, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995 dealing with supplantation of local funds and the maintenance of local financial effort for juvenile probation services. SECTION 11. This section contains the effective date of the legislation which is September 1, 1997. The section further provides that the changes to Section 141.011(a)(3) regarding the appointment of TJPC board members does not affect the current board members until their terms have expired. SECTION 12. Emergency Clause. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Amendment #1, Rep. Reyna, amends HRC Sec. 141.042(a)(6) by adding text at the end of subsection (6) stating: "in collaboration and conjunction with the Texas Education Agency, or its designee." In reference to TJPC authority to promulgate by rule minimum standards by rule for juvenile justice alternative education programs created under Sec. 37.011, Education Code. Amendment #2, Rep. Staples, amends HRC Sec. 141.082(a) by adding text where the funding budgeted to local or county funds for juvenile services is at least equal to the amount spent on those services in the 1994 county fiscal year.