By: Turner H.B. No. 3350
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the maximum age of commitment of certain juveniles to
the Texas Youth Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.079(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) After a child sentenced to commitment under Section
54.04(d)(3), 54.04(m), or 54.05(f), Family Code, becomes 16 years
of age but before the child becomes 21 [19] years of age, the
commission may refer the child to the juvenile court that entered
the order of commitment for approval of the child's transfer to the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice for confinement if:
(1) the child has not completed the sentence; and
(2) the child's conduct, regardless of whether the
child was released under supervision under Section 61.081,
indicates that the welfare of the community requires the transfer.
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 61, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 61.0817 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0817. EXTENSION ORDER FOR CERTAIN PERSONS IN
COMMISSION PROGRAMS. (a) Not more than six months before the 19th
birthday of a person who has been committed to the commission with a
determinate sentence, the commission may refer the person to the
committing juvenile court for a hearing to determine whether to
extend the term of the person's commitment to the commission, for
the purpose of continuing in a commission program after the
person's 19th birthday until the earlier of:
(1) the date the person completes the program;
(2) the date the person's term of sentence under the
order of commitment is complete; or
(3) the person's 21st birthday.
(b) The court may order a person to remain in the custody of
the commission as provided by Subsection (a) only if after the
hearing the court finds that:
(1) the person is in need of additional rehabilitation
from the commission;
(2) the commission will provide the most suitable
environment for that rehabilitation; and
(3) the person's conduct more likely than not
indicates that the welfare of the community does not require the
person's transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
SECTION 3. Section 61.084(g), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) The commission shall transfer a person who has been
sentenced under a determinate sentence to commitment under Section
54.04(d)(3), 54.04(m), or 54.05(f), Family Code, or who has been
returned to the commission under Section 54.11(i)(1), Family Code,
to the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice [on the
person's 19th birthday], if the person has not already been
discharged or transferred, to serve the remainder of the person's
sentence on parole as provided by Section 508.156, Government Code:
(1) on the person's 19th birthday, if the court has not
extended the person's term of commitment to the commission under
Section 61.0817; or
(2) on or before the person's 21st birthday, if the
court has extended the person's term of commitment to the
commission under Section 61.0817.
SECTION 4. Sections 61.079 and 61.084, Human Resources
Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 61.0817, Human Resources
Code, as added 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 covered by the law in effect when
the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose. For purposes of this subsection, conduct violating a
penal law of this state occurred before the effective date of this
Act if any element of the violation occurred before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.