By: Whitmire S.B. No. 1209
(In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2011; March 16, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
April 21, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
Nays 0; April 21, 2011, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the detention of certain juvenile offenders.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsections (f) and (h), Section 51.12, Family
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(f) A child detained in a building that contains a jail,
lockup, or other place of secure confinement, including an alcohol
or other drug treatment facility, shall be separated by sight and
sound from adults detained in the same building. Children and
adults are separated by sight and sound only if they are unable to
see each other and conversation between them is not possible. The
separation must extend to all areas of the facility, including
sally ports and passageways, and those areas used for admission,
counseling, sleeping, toileting, showering, dining, recreational,
educational, or vocational activities, and health care. The
separation may be accomplished through architectural design. A
person who has been transferred for prosecution in criminal court
under Section 54.02 and is under 17 years of age is considered a
child for the purposes of this subsection.
(h) This section does not apply to a person:
(1) who has been transferred [after transfer] to
criminal court for prosecution under Section 54.02 and is at least
17 years of age; or
(2) who is at least 17 years of age and who has been
taken into custody after having:
(A) escaped from a juvenile facility operated by
or under contract with the Texas Youth Commission; or
(B) violated a condition of release under
supervision of the Texas Youth Commission.
SECTION 2. Subsection (c), Section 51.13, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) A child may not be committed or transferred to a penal
institution or other facility used primarily for the execution of
sentences of persons convicted of crime, except:
(1) for temporary detention in a jail or lockup
pending juvenile court hearing or disposition under conditions
meeting the requirements of Section 51.12 [of this code];
(2) after transfer for prosecution in criminal court
under Section 54.02, unless the juvenile court orders the detention
of the child in a certified juvenile detention facility under
Section 54.02(h) [of this code]; or
(3) after transfer from the Texas Youth Commission
under Section 61.084, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 3. Section 152.0007, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The board shall establish a policy that specifies
whether a person who has been transferred for criminal prosecution
under Section 54.02, Family Code, and is younger than 17 years of
age may be detained in a juvenile facility pending trial.
SECTION 4. Subsection (h), Section 54.02, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(h) If the juvenile court waives jurisdiction, it shall
state specifically in the order its reasons for waiver 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), 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
152.0007(c), 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 [The] transfer of custody made under this subsection
is an arrest.
SECTION 5. Chapter 4, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 4.19 to read as follows:
Art. 4.19. TRANSFER OF CHILD. Notwithstanding the order of
a juvenile court to detain a child in a certified juvenile detention
facility under Section 54.02(h), Family Code, the judge of the
criminal court having jurisdiction over the child may order the
child to be transferred to another facility and treated as an adult
as provided by this code.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 23.101, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The trial courts of this state shall regularly and
frequently set hearings and trials of pending matters, giving
preference to hearings and trials of the following:
(1) temporary injunctions;
(2) criminal actions, with the following actions given
preference over other criminal actions:
(A) criminal actions against defendants who are
detained in jail pending trial;
(B) criminal actions involving a charge that a
person committed an act of family violence, as defined by Section
71.004, Family Code;
(C) an offense under:
(i) Section 21.02 or 21.11, Penal Code;
(ii) Chapter 22, Penal Code, if the victim
of the alleged offense is younger than 17 years of age;
(iii) Section 25.02, Penal Code, if the
victim of the alleged offense is younger than 17 years of age;
(iv) Section 25.06, Penal Code; or
(v) Section 43.25, Penal Code; [and]
(D) an offense described by Article 62.001(6)(C)
or (D), Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(E) criminal actions against children who are
detained as provided by Section 51.12, Family Code, after transfer
for prosecution in criminal court under Section 54.02, Family Code;
(3) election contests and suits under the Election
Code;
(4) orders for the protection of the family under
Subtitle B, Title 4, Family Code;
(5) appeals of final rulings and decisions of the
division of workers' compensation of the Texas Department of
Insurance regarding workers' compensation claims and claims under
the Federal Employers' Liability Act and the Jones Act;
(6) appeals of final orders of the commissioner of the
General Land Office under Section 51.3021, Natural Resources Code;
(7) actions in which the claimant has been diagnosed
with malignant mesothelioma, other malignant asbestos-related
cancer, malignant silica-related cancer, or acute silicosis; and
(8) appeals brought under Section 42.01 or 42.015, Tax
Code, of orders of appraisal review boards of appraisal districts
established for counties with a population of less than 175,000.
SECTION 7. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
only to the detention of a child for conduct that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act. Conduct violating a penal law 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.
(b) 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 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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