| 1 | 1 | | 84R7008 MK-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Murr H.B. No. 1594 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to increasing the punishment for contempt of court by |
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| 8 | 8 | | certain juveniles in a justice or municipal court. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Articles 45.050(b) and (c), Code of Criminal |
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| 11 | 11 | | Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b) A justice or municipal court may not order the |
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| 13 | 13 | | confinement of a child for[: |
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| 14 | 14 | | [(1)] the failure to pay all or any part of a fine or |
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| 15 | 15 | | costs imposed for the conviction of an offense punishable by fine |
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| 16 | 16 | | only[; or |
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| 17 | 17 | | [(2) contempt of another order of a justice or |
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| 18 | 18 | | municipal court]. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (c) If a child fails to obey an order of a justice or |
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| 20 | 20 | | municipal court under circumstances that would constitute contempt |
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| 21 | 21 | | of court, the justice or municipal court, after providing notice |
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| 22 | 22 | | and an opportunity to be heard, may: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1) refer the child to the appropriate juvenile court |
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| 24 | 24 | | for delinquent conduct for contempt of the justice or municipal |
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| 25 | 25 | | court order; or |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) retain jurisdiction of the case, hold the child in |
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| 27 | 27 | | contempt of the justice or municipal court, and order one or more |
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| 28 | 28 | | [either or both] of the following: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (A) that the contemnor pay a fine not to exceed |
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| 30 | 30 | | $500; [or] |
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| 31 | 31 | | (B) that the Department of Public Safety suspend |
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| 32 | 32 | | the contemnor's driver's license or permit or, if the contemnor does |
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| 33 | 33 | | not have a license or permit, to deny the issuance of a license or |
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| 34 | 34 | | permit to the contemnor until the contemnor fully complies with the |
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| 35 | 35 | | orders of the court; or |
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| 36 | 36 | | (C) that the child be confined for a period not to |
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| 37 | 37 | | exceed 24 hours in accordance with the requirements for detention |
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| 38 | 38 | | of a child under Section 51.12(f), Family Code. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 40 | 40 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 41 | 41 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 42 | 42 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 43 | 43 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 44 | 44 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 45 | 45 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 46 | 46 | | before that date. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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