1-1     By:  Capelo, Goodman (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)         H.B. No. 2870
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1999;
 1-3     May 12, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the grounds for an appeal or a postconviction writ of
 1-9     habeas corpus brought by a child.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 59.014, Family Code, is amended to read
1-12     as follows:
1-13           Sec. 59.014.  APPEAL.  A child may not bring an appeal or a
1-14     postconviction writ of habeas corpus based on:
1-15                 (1)  the  [The] failure or inability of any person to
1-16     provide a service listed under Sections 59.004-59.010;
1-17                 (2)  [or] the failure of a court or of any person to
1-18     make a sanction level assignment as provided in Section 59.002 or
1-19     59.003;
1-20                 (3)  a deviation from the sanction level assignment
1-21     guidelines provided by this chapter; or
1-22                 (4)  the failure of a juvenile court or probation
1-23     department to report a deviation from the guidelines as required by
1-24     Section 59.003(e) [may not be used by a child as a ground for
1-25     appeal or for a postconviction writ of habeas corpus].
1-26           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
1-27     only to an appeal or a writ of habeas corpus relating to conduct
1-28     that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.  Conduct
1-29     violating a penal law of the state occurs on or after the effective
1-30     date of this Act if every element of the violation occurs on or
1-31     after that date.
1-32           (b)  An appeal or a writ of habeas corpus relating to conduct
1-33     that occurs before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
1-34     law in effect at the time the conduct occurred, and the former law
1-35     is continued in effect for that purpose.
1-36           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-37           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-38     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-39     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-40     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-41     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-42                                  * * * * *