By Wise                                         H.B. No. 2194

      75R6093 JMC-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to excluding the public from criminal trials and juvenile

 1-3     court hearings during the testimony of certain victims.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 54.08, Family Code, is amended by

 1-6     amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read

 1-7     as follows:

 1-8           (a)  Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b) and

 1-9     (c), the court shall open hearings under this title to the public

1-10     unless  the court, for good cause shown, determines that the public

1-11     should be excluded.

1-12           (c)  The court shall exclude the public from a hearing under

1-13     this title during the testimony of a person who is a victim of the

1-14     conduct of a child if:

1-15                 (1)  the person is younger than 16 years of age; and

1-16                 (2)  the court determines that the presence of the

1-17     public in the courtroom while the person is testifying:

1-18                       (A)  intimidates the person to the extent that

1-19     the person is unable to testify; or

1-20                       (B)  causes the person severe emotional distress.

1-21           (d)  If the court excludes the public from a hearing under

1-22     Subsection (c), the court shall, as soon as practical, make

1-23     available to the news media a copy of the transcript of the

1-24     excluded testimony.

 2-1           SECTION 2.  Chapter 36, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

 2-2     amended by adding Article 36.051 to read as follows:

 2-3           Art. 36.051.  EXCLUDING THE PUBLIC DURING TESTIMONY OF

 2-4     CERTAIN CHILD VICTIMS.  (a)  A court shall exclude the public from

 2-5     a judicial proceeding  during the testimony of a person who is the

 2-6     victim of an offense if:

 2-7                 (1)  the person is younger than 16 years of age; and

 2-8                 (2)  the court determines that the presence of the

 2-9     public in the courtroom while the person is testifying:

2-10                       (A)  intimidates the person to the extent that

2-11     the person is unable to testify; or

2-12                       (B)  causes the person severe emotional distress.

2-13           (b)  If a court excludes the public from a judicial

2-14     proceeding under Subsection (a), the court shall, as soon as

2-15     practical, make available to the news media the transcript of the

2-16     excluded  testimony.

2-17           SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only

2-18     to a judicial proceeding or, for the purposes of Title 3, Family

2-19     Code, a hearing commenced on or after the effective date of this

2-20     Act.  A proceeding or hearing commenced before the effective date

2-21     of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the proceeding or

2-22     hearing was commenced, and the former law is continued in effect

2-23     for that purpose.

2-24           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-25     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-26     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-27     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-1     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

 3-2     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

 3-3     passage, and it is so enacted.