H.B. No. 2337
AN ACT
relating to the admissibility of certain statements made by a child
in a juvenile justice or criminal proceeding.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 51.095(b) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) This section and Section 51.09 do not preclude the
admission of a statement made by the child if:
(1) the statement does not stem from interrogation of
the child under a circumstance described by Subsection (d); or
(2) without regard to whether the statement stems from
interrogation of the child under a circumstance described by
Subsection (d), the statement is:
(A) voluntary and has a bearing on the
credibility of the child as a witness; or
(B) recorded by an electronic recording device,
including a device that records images, and is obtained:
(i) in another state in compliance with the
laws of that state or this state; or
(ii) by a federal law enforcement officer
in this state or another state in compliance with the laws of the
United States.
(c) An electronic recording of a child's statement made
under Subsection (a)(5) or (b)(2)(B) shall be preserved until all
juvenile or criminal matters relating to any conduct referred to in
the statement are final, including the exhaustion of all appeals,
or barred from prosecution.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a statement relating to conduct violating a penal law that
occurred on or after the effective date of this Act. A statement
relating to conduct violating a penal law that occurred before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
time the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose. For purposes of this section, conduct violating a
penal law occurred before the effective date of this Act if any
element of the violation occurred before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2337 was passed by the House on April
21, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2337 on May 27, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2337 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0
.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor