BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4665

By: Leman

Juvenile Justice & Family Issues

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised that the composition of the juvenile board of Fayette County, consisting of the county judge and the district judge, does not allow decisions to be made in cases where the board members are evenly split. H.B. 4665 seeks to address this issue by revising the composition of the juvenile board.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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. 4665 amends the Human Resources Code to include the judge of each statutory county court in Fayette County among the members of the juvenile board of Fayette County and to authorize a public member to serve on the board only if the total number of board members is fewer than three or is an even number. The bill establishes that the public member must be appointed by a majority of the other members of the board and serves a two‑year term. The bill changes the amount of compensation that the commissioners court may pay the juvenile board members annually from an amount capped at $1,200 to $1,200. The bill establishes that the board member who has the greatest number of years of judicial service and is willing to serve is the chair of the board.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.