By Puente                                        H.B. No. 542
      75R2013 JMC-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the appeal by a defendant of the revocation of deferred
 1-3     adjudication community supervision.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 5(b), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
 1-6     Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (b)  On violation of a condition of community supervision
 1-8     imposed under Subsection (a) [of this section], the defendant may
 1-9     be arrested and detained as provided in Section 21 [of this
1-10     article].  The defendant is entitled to a hearing limited to the
1-11     determination by the court of whether it proceeds with an
1-12     adjudication of guilt on the original charge.  If the court makes
1-13     the determination to proceed with an adjudication of guilt, the
1-14     defendant is entitled to appeal the court's determination  [No
1-15     appeal may be taken from this determination].  After an
1-16     adjudication of guilt, all proceedings, including assessment of
1-17     punishment, pronouncement of sentence, granting of community
1-18     supervision, and defendant's appeal continue as if the adjudication
1-19     of guilt had not been deferred.  A court assessing punishment after
1-20     an adjudication of guilt of a defendant charged with a state jail
1-21     felony may suspend the imposition of the sentence and place the
1-22     defendant on community supervision or may order the sentence to be
1-23     executed, regardless of whether the defendant has previously been
1-24     convicted of a felony.
 2-1           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
 2-2     only to a defendant for whom a court makes a determination to
 2-3     proceed with an adjudication of guilt under Section 5, Article
 2-4     42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, on or
 2-5     after the effective date of this Act.
 2-6           (b)  A defendant for whom a court has made a determination to
 2-7     proceed with an adjudication of guilt before the effective date of
 2-8     this Act is covered by the law in effect when the determination was
 2-9     made, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-10           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
2-11           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-12     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-13     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-14     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-15     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.