BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1962

By: Villarreal

Corrections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, judges of justice and municipal courts have the authority to require a juvenile before the court to attend a special program, including, among other programs, a community service, rehabilitation, counseling, tutoring, or mentoring program, for which county commissioners courts approve the expenditure of funds. The purposes of H.B. 1962 are to give additional program options to a judge in a justice or municipal court when sentencing a juvenile in a case under the court's jurisdiction by including special programs authorized by the governing body of a municipality among the programs that those judges may order a juvenile offender to attend and to better offset program costs by increasing the amount that such a court may collect from parents and guardians for the costs of special programs.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1962 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to include within a justice or municipal court's jurisdiction an order for a child found to have committed an offense of which the court has jurisdiction to attend a special program that involves the expenditure of municipal funds, in addition to a special program involving the expenditure of county funds, and requires a special program involving the expenditure of municipal funds to be approved by the governing body of a municipality. The bill increases from $100 to $250 the maximum amount that the justice or municipal court is authorized to order the parent, managing conservator, or guardian of a child required to attend a special program to pay.

H.B. 1962 amends the Government Code to make conforming changes in provisions of law relating to court fees and costs collected in a justice court, municipal court, and municipal court of record.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2011.