BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2496

By: Gonzalez, Naomi

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

When dating violence occurs between teenagers, often the only means of legal remediation is through punitive actions against the offender that can involve community service, probation, or incarceration. This path, however, does not address the issues causing the teenager to engage in acts of violence.

C.S.H.B. 2496 intends to provide a legal avenue for an intervention or therapy treatment program to address the mental and emotional health issues that often affect teenage delinquents by allowing a court to defer certain adjudication proceedings while an adolescent offender is enrolled in a teen dating violence program and by allowing for dismissal of charges upon successful completion of the program. It is hoped that the implementation of this court-based intervention program will provide a path to rehabilitation for teenage offenders and reduce recidivism rates and the costs associated with probation and incarceration.

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

C.S.H.B. 2496 amends the Family Code to authorize a juvenile court, on the recommendation of a prosecuting attorney, to defer adjudication proceedings for not more than 180 days if a child is a first offender who is alleged to have engaged in conduct that violated a penal law of this state of the grade of misdemeanor and involving dating violence. The bill specifies that a first offender is a child who has not previously been referred to juvenile court for allegedly engaging in conduct constituting dating violence, family violence, or an assault.

C.S.H.B. 2496 requires a child for whom adjudication proceedings are deferred to complete a teen dating violence court program not later than the last day of the deferral period and appear in court once a month for monitoring purposes. The bill requires a teen dating violence court program to be approved by the court and the commissioners court of the county before implementation. The bill requires the court to dismiss a case with prejudice at the time a child presents satisfactory evidence that the child has successfully completed a teen dating violence court program.

C.S.H.B. 2496 authorizes a court to require a child who participates in a teen dating violence court program to pay a fee not to exceed $10 that is set by the court to cover the costs of administering the bill's provisions to be deposited in the county treasury of the county in which the court is located.  The bill in addition authorizes a court to require a child who participates in a teen dating violence court program to pay a $10 fee to cover the cost to the teen dating violence court program for performing its duties to be paid by the court to the program.  The bill requires the teen dating violence court program to account to the court for the receipt and the disbursal of the fee.

C.S.H.B. 2496 requires the court to track the number of children ordered to participate in a teen dating violence court program, the percentage of victims meeting with a teen victim advocate, and the compliance rate of the children ordered to participate in the program. The bill provides for the meaning of "dating violence" and "family violence" by reference and defines "teen dating violence court program."

C.S.H.B. 2496 amends the Government Code to make a conforming change in provisions of law relating to additional fees in certain criminal cases. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2011.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2496 contains provisions not included in the original providing for the meaning of "dating violence" and "family violence."

C.S.H.B. 2496, in a provision defining "teen dating violence court program" to include a dedicated teen victim advocate, omits a specification included in the original that such an advocate be employed through the counseling services unit of the district attorney's office. The substitute differs from the original, in the provision defining "teen dating violence court program," by specifying an attorney in the district attorney's office or the county attorney's office who is assigned to the program, whereas the original specifies an attorney in the district attorney's office who is assigned to the program. 

C.S.H.B. 2496 differs from the original by specifying that a juvenile court's authority to defer adjudication proceedings for certain child offenders is on the recommendation of the prosecuting attorney, whereas the original contains no such specification.

C.S.H.B. 2496 differs from the original, in a bill provision authorizing a juvenile court to defer adjudication proceedings for certain child offenders, by making the provision applicable to a child who is a first offender alleged to have engaged in certain conduct, whereas the original makes that provision applicable to a child who is alleged to have engaged in certain conduct indicating a need for supervision.

C.S.H.B. 2496 contains a provision not included in the original specifying that a first offender is a child who has not previously been referred to juvenile court for allegedly engaging in conduct constituting dating violence, family violence, or an assault.

C.S.H.B. 2496 differs from the original by requiring the teen dating violence court program to be approved by the court and the commissioners court of a county before implementation, whereas the original requires the program to be approved by the court.

C.S.H.B. 2496 omits a provision included in the original authorizing a court, if the child for whom adjudicated proceedings are deferred does not comply with requirements of a program, to order the child to perform community service or serve additional time in the program.

C.S.H.B. 2496 omits a provision included in the original prohibiting a case dismissed on evidence that the child successfully completed the program from being part of a child's records for any purpose.

C.S.H.B. 2496 contains a transition provision not included in the original. The substitute differs from the original in nonsubstantive ways.