89R19681 CJD-D
 
  By: Thompson H.B. No. 31
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to procedures related to juvenile justice proceedings and
  to the treatment of children detained in or committed to a juvenile
  facility.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 51.02, Family Code, is amended by adding
  Subdivision (7-a) to read as follows:
               (7-a) "Mitigating evidence" means evidence presented at
  a proceeding under this title that:
                     (A)  is used to assess the growth and maturity of a
  child; and
                     (B)  takes into consideration:
                           (i)  the diminished culpability of
  juveniles, as compared to that of adults;
                           (ii)  the hallmark features of youth; and
                           (iii)  the greater capacity of juveniles for
  change, as compared to that of adults.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 51, Family Code, is amended by adding
  Sections 51.22, 51.23, and 51.24 to read as follows:
         Sec. 51.22.  USE OF CHEMICAL DISPENSING DEVICE IN JUVENILE
  FACILITY PROHIBITED. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Chemical dispensing device" means a device that
  is designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of dispensing a
  substance capable of causing an adverse psychological or
  physiological effect on a human being. The term includes pepper
  spray, capsicum spray, OC gas, and oleoresin capsicum.
               (2)  "Juvenile facility" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 39.04, Penal Code.
         (b)  An employee, contractor, volunteer, intern, or service
  provider working in a juvenile facility may not use a chemical
  dispensing device against a child in the facility.
         Sec. 51.23.  ANNUAL USE OF FORCE AUDIT. (a) In this
  section:
               (1)  "Chemical dispensing device" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 51.22.
               (2)  "Department" means the Texas Juvenile Justice
  Department.
               (3)  "Juvenile facility" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 39.04, Penal Code.
         (b)  The department shall annually conduct an audit of use
  of force incidents to identify patterns, deficiencies, or instances
  of noncompliance with de-escalation protocols and the prohibition
  on chemical dispensing devices in juvenile facilities.
         (c)  The administrator of a juvenile facility operated by or
  under contract with a juvenile board or other local governmental
  unit shall annually report to the department data regarding use of
  force incidents in the facility. An administrator shall make the
  report required by this subsection in a form and by a date
  prescribed by the department. 
         (d)  Not later than August 31 of each year, the department
  shall deliver a report to the legislature regarding the findings of
  the audit conducted under Subsection (b). 
         (e)  The department shall timely post on the department's
  Internet website the audit findings and aggregate data collected
  during the audit.
         Sec. 51.24.  SOLITARY CONFINEMENT; REPORT. (a) In this
  section:
               (1)  "Department" means the Texas Juvenile Justice
  Department.
               (2)  "Juvenile facility" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 39.04, Penal Code.
               (3)  "Solitary confinement" means, with respect to a
  child in a juvenile facility, the involuntary separation of the
  child from other children placed in the facility in an area or room
  from which the child is prevented from leaving. The term does not
  include the involuntary separation of the child for a medical
  purpose.
         (b)  A juvenile facility may not place a child in solitary
  confinement unless:
               (1)  the child poses an immediate risk of physical harm
  to the child's self or another;
               (2)  placement in solitary confinement does not violate
  principles of trauma-informed care and does not interfere with
  de-escalation strategies;
               (3)  all other less restrictive methods of addressing
  the immediate risk of physical harm have been exhausted; and
               (4)  the child is placed in solitary confinement for a
  period that does not exceed the shortest period permitted for
  placement of a child in solitary confinement by a state or federal
  law, including an administrative rule.
         (c)  The administrator or superintendent of a juvenile
  facility shall:
               (1)  create a report documenting each instance a child
  in the facility is placed in solitary confinement and include in the
  report:
                     (A)  the reason for the placement;
                     (B)  the duration of the placement; and
                     (C)  any intervention attempted before the child
  was placed in solitary confinement; and
               (2)  annually submit the report under Subdivision (1)
  to the department.
         (d)  The department shall monitor and enforce compliance
  with the requirements of this section by regularly auditing and
  reviewing juvenile facility practices related to placing children
  in solitary confinement.
         SECTION 3.  Section 54.02, Family Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (d), (f), (h), (l), and (n) and adding
  Subsections (d-1) and (d-2) to read as follows:
         (a)  The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original
  jurisdiction and transfer a child to the appropriate district court
  or criminal district court for criminal proceedings if:
               (1)  the child is alleged to have violated a penal law
  of the grade of felony;
               (2)  the child was:
                     (A)  14 years of age or older at the time the child
  [he] is alleged to have committed the offense, if the offense is a
  capital felony[, an aggravated controlled substance felony, or a
  felony of the first degree,] and no adjudication hearing has been
  conducted concerning that offense; or
                     (B)  15 years of age or older at the time the child
  is alleged to have committed the offense, if:
                           (i)  the offense is a violation of Section
  19.02 or 22.011, Penal Code, or the petition for the offense alleges
  that the child engaged in conduct that constitutes habitual felony
  conduct as described by Section 51.031 of this code; [of the second
  or third degree or a state jail felony,] and
                           (ii)  no adjudication hearing has been
  conducted concerning the [that] offense; and
               (3)  after a full investigation and a hearing, the
  juvenile court determines that there is probable cause to believe
  that the child before the court committed the offense or engaged in
  the conduct constituting habitual felony conduct alleged, as
  applicable, and that because of the seriousness of the offense or
  conduct alleged or the background of the child the welfare of the
  community requires criminal proceedings.
         (d)  Prior to the hearing, the juvenile court shall admonish
  the child in open court and in the presence of the child's attorney
  regarding:
               (1)  the court's consideration of waiving its
  jurisdiction over the child and transferring the child to criminal
  court for criminal proceedings; and
               (2)  the child's right to participate or to decline to
  participate in any diagnostic study, social evaluation, or
  investigation ordered by the juvenile court under Subsection (d-1).
         (d-1)  After the admonishment under Subsection (d), the
  juvenile court shall order [and obtain] a complete diagnostic
  study, social evaluation, and full investigation of the child, the
  child's [his] circumstances, and the circumstances of the alleged
  offense and shall set the date of the transfer hearing. If the
  child declines to participate in a study, evaluation, or
  investigation, the child's attorney shall state the refusal to the
  court in open court or in writing not later than the fifth business
  day after the date the court ordered the study, evaluation, or
  investigation.
         (d-2)  In a hearing under this section, a presumption exists
  that it is in the best interest of the child and of justice that the
  juvenile court retain jurisdiction over the child. The burden is on
  the state to overcome this presumption.
         (f)  In making the determination required by Subsection (a)
  of this section, the court shall consider, among other matters:
               (1)  whether the alleged offense was against person or
  property, with greater weight in favor of transfer given to
  offenses against the person;
               (2)  the sophistication and maturity of the child;
               (3)  the record and previous history of the child;
  [and]
               (4)  the prospects of adequate protection of the public
  and the likelihood of the rehabilitation of the child by use of
  procedures, services, and facilities currently available to the
  juvenile court;
               (5)  the substantive requirements for waiving
  jurisdiction;
               (6)  relevant information ascertained in the full
  investigation of the child; and
               (7)  the benefits or harm of retaining the child in the
  juvenile justice system.
         (h)  If the juvenile court waives jurisdiction, it shall
  state specifically in the order its reasons for waiver. The
  statement of reasons must set forth a rational basis for the waiver
  of jurisdiction, with sufficient specificity to permit meaningful
  review, and must include case-specific findings of fact that do not
  rely solely on the nature or seriousness of the offense. The court
  shall [and] certify its action, including the written order and
  findings of the court, and shall transfer the person to the
  appropriate court for criminal proceedings and cause the results of
  the diagnostic study of the person ordered under Subsection (d-1)
  [(d)], including psychological information, to be transferred to
  the appropriate criminal prosecutor. On transfer of the person for
  criminal proceedings, the person shall be dealt with as an adult and
  in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, except that if
  detention in a certified juvenile detention facility is authorized
  under Section 152.0015, Human Resources Code, the juvenile court
  may order the person to be detained in the facility pending trial or
  until the criminal court enters an order under Article 4.19, Code of
  Criminal Procedure. A transfer of custody made under this
  subsection is an arrest.
         (l)  The juvenile court shall conduct a hearing without a
  jury to consider waiver of jurisdiction under Subsection (j).
  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a waiver of
  jurisdiction under Subsection (j) may be made without the necessity
  of conducting the diagnostic study [or complying with the
  requirements of discretionary transfer proceedings] under
  Subsection (d-1) [(d)]. If requested by the attorney for the person
  at least 10 days before the transfer hearing, the court shall order
  that the person be examined pursuant to Section 51.20(a) and that
  the results of the examination be provided to the attorney for the
  person and the attorney for the state at least five days before the
  transfer hearing.
         (n)  A mandatory transfer under Subsection (m) may be made
  without conducting the study required in discretionary transfer
  proceedings by Subsection (d-1) [(d)]. The requirements of
  Subsection (b) that the summons state that the purpose of the
  hearing is to consider discretionary transfer to criminal court
  does not apply to a transfer proceeding under Subsection (m). In a
  proceeding under Subsection (m), it is sufficient that the summons
  provide fair notice that the purpose of the hearing is to consider
  mandatory transfer to criminal court.
         SECTION 4.  Section 54.04, Family Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (s) to read as
  follows:
         (d)  If the court or jury makes the finding specified in
  Subsection (c) allowing the court to make a disposition in the case:
               (1)  the court or jury may, in addition to any order
  required or authorized under Section 54.041 or 54.042, place the
  child on probation on such reasonable and lawful terms as the court
  may determine:
                     (A)  in the child's own home or in the custody of a
  relative or other fit person; or
                     (B)  subject to the finding under Subsection (c)
  on the placement of the child outside the child's home, in:
                           (i)  a suitable foster home;
                           (ii)  a suitable public or private
  residential treatment facility licensed by a state governmental
  entity or exempted from licensure by state law, except a facility
  operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or
                           (iii)  a suitable public or private
  post-adjudication secure correctional facility that meets the
  requirements of Section 51.125, except a facility operated by the
  Texas Juvenile Justice Department;
               (2)  if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
  adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
  that constitutes serious felony conduct [violates a penal law of
  this state or the United States of the grade of felony], the court
  or jury made a special commitment finding under Section 54.04013,
  and the petition was not approved by the grand jury under Section
  53.045, the court may commit the child to the Texas Juvenile Justice
  Department under Section 54.04013[, or a post-adjudication secure
  correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(1), as
  applicable,] without a determinate sentence;
               (3)  if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
  adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
  that included a violation of a penal law listed in Section 53.045(a)
  and if the petition was approved by the grand jury under Section
  53.045, the court or jury may sentence the child to commitment in
  the Texas Juvenile Justice Department [or a post-adjudication
  secure correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(2)] with a
  possible transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a
  term of:
                     (A)  not more than 40 years if the conduct
  constitutes:
                           (i)  a capital felony;
                           (ii)  a felony of the first degree; or
                           (iii)  an aggravated controlled substance
  felony;
                     (B)  not more than 20 years if the conduct
  constitutes a felony of the second degree; or
                     (C)  not more than 10 years if the conduct
  constitutes a felony of the third degree;
               (4)  the court may assign the child an appropriate
  sanction level and sanctions as provided by the assignment
  guidelines in Section 59.003;
               (5)  the court may place the child in a suitable
  nonsecure correctional facility that is registered and meets the
  applicable standards for the facility as provided by Section
  51.126; or
               (6)  if applicable, the court or jury may make a
  disposition under Subsection (m) [or Section 54.04011(c)(2)(A)].
         (s)  In this section, "serious felony conduct" means
  conduct:
               (1)  that constitutes an offense under any of the
  following provisions of the Penal Code:
                     (A)  Section 19.02 (murder);
                     (B)  Section 19.03 (capital murder);
                     (C)  Section 20.03 (kidnapping);
                     (D)  Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping);
                     (E)  Section 20A.03 (continuous trafficking of
  persons);
                     (F)  Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of
  young child or disabled individual);
                     (G)  Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
                     (H)  Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
                     (I)  Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
                     (J)  Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
                     (K)  Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly
  individual, or disabled individual); or
                     (L)  Section 29.03 (aggravated robbery);
               (2)  for which it is shown that a deadly weapon, as
  defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, was used or exhibited during
  the commission of the conduct or during immediate flight from the
  commission of the conduct; or
               (3)  that constitutes habitual felony conduct as
  described by Section 51.031.
         SECTION 5.  Section 54.04013, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 54.04013.  SPECIAL COMMITMENT TO TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE
  DEPARTMENT.  (a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this code,
  after a disposition hearing held in accordance with Section 54.04
  or a hearing to modify a disposition held in accordance with Section
  54.05, the juvenile court may commit a child who is found to have
  engaged in delinquent conduct that constitutes serious felony
  conduct, as defined by Section 54.04, [a felony offense] to the
  Texas Juvenile Justice Department without a determinate sentence if
  the court makes a special commitment finding that the child has
  behavioral health or other special needs that cannot be met with the
  resources available in the community.  The court should consider
  the findings of a validated risk and needs assessment and the
  findings of any other appropriate professional assessment
  available to the court.
         (b)  In making a special commitment finding under Subsection
  (a), the court may consider mitigating evidence of the child's
  circumstances.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 54.05(f) and (j), Family Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (f)  Except as provided by Subsection (j), a disposition
  based on a finding that the child engaged in delinquent conduct that
  violates a penal law of this state or the United States of the grade
  of felony may be modified so as to commit the child to the Texas
  Juvenile Justice Department [or, if applicable, a
  post-adjudication secure correctional facility operated under
  Section 152.0016, Human Resources Code,] if the court after a
  hearing to modify disposition finds by a preponderance of the
  evidence that the child violated a reasonable and lawful order of
  the court and makes a special commitment finding under Section
  54.04013.  A disposition based on a finding that the child engaged
  in habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031 or in
  delinquent conduct that included a violation of a penal law listed
  in Section 53.045(a) may be modified to commit the child to the
  Texas Juvenile Justice Department [or, if applicable, a
  post-adjudication secure correctional facility operated under
  Section 152.0016, Human Resources Code,] with a possible transfer
  to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a definite term
  prescribed by[, as applicable,] Section 54.04(d)(3) [or Section
  152.0016(g), Human Resources Code,] if the original petition was
  approved by the grand jury under Section 53.045 and if after a
  hearing to modify the disposition the court finds that the child
  violated a reasonable and lawful order of the court.
         (j)  If, after conducting a hearing to modify disposition
  without a jury, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence
  that a child violated a reasonable and lawful condition of
  probation ordered under Section 54.04(q), the court may modify the
  disposition to commit the child to the Texas Juvenile Justice
  Department under Section 54.04(d)(3) [or, if applicable, a
  post-adjudication secure correctional facility operated under
  Section 152.0016, Human Resources Code,] for a term that does not
  exceed the original sentence assessed by the court or jury.
         SECTION 7.  Not later than 180 days after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Juvenile Justice Board shall adopt rules
  necessary to implement Sections 51.22, 51.23, and 51.24, Family
  Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 54.02 and 54.04, Family Code, as
  amended by this Act, apply only to conduct that occurs on or after
  the effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
  conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose. For purposes of this section, conduct occurs before the
  effective date of this Act if any element of the conduct occurs
  before the effective date.
         SECTION 9.  Sections 54.04013 and 54.05, Family Code, as
  amended by this Act, apply only to a hearing that occurs on or after
  the effective date of this Act.  A hearing that occurs before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
  time the hearing occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.