By: Watson S.B. No. 1149
(Workman)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the commitment of certain juveniles to local
post-adjudication secure correctional facilities in certain
counties and to the release under supervision of those juveniles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 51.13(c) and (d), Family Code, are
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;
(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); [or]
(3) after transfer from the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department under Section 245.151(c), Human Resources Code; or
(4) after transfer from a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility, as that term is defined by Section 54.04011.
(d) An adjudication under Section 54.03 that a child engaged
in conduct that occurred on or after January 1, 1996, and that
constitutes a felony offense resulting in commitment to the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department under Section 54.04(d)(2), (d)(3), or
(m) or 54.05(f) or commitment to a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility under Section 54.04011 for conduct that
occurred on or after December 1, 2013, is a final felony conviction
only for the purposes of Sections 12.42(a), (b), and (c)(1) or
Section 12.425, Penal Code.
SECTION 2. Section 53.045(d), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) If the grand jury approves of the petition, the fact of
approval shall be certified to the juvenile court, and the
certification shall be entered in the record of the case. For the
purpose of the transfer of a child to the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice as provided by Section 152.00161(c) or 245.151(c),
Human Resources Code, as applicable, a juvenile court petition
approved by a grand jury under this section is an indictment
presented by the grand jury.
SECTION 3. Section 54.11, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsection (o) to
read as follows:
(a) On receipt of a referral under Section 244.014(a), Human
Resources Code, for the transfer to the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice of a person committed to the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department under Section 54.04(d)(3), 54.04(m), or
54.05(f), on receipt of a request by the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department under Section 245.051(d), Human Resources Code, for
approval of the release under supervision of a person committed to
the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under Section 54.04(d)(3),
54.04(m), or 54.05(f), or on receipt of a referral under Section
152.0016(g) or (j), Human Resources Code, the court shall set a time
and place for a hearing on the possible transfer or release of the
person, as applicable.
(b) The court shall notify the following of the time and
place of the hearing:
(1) the person to be transferred or released under
supervision;
(2) the parents of the person;
(3) any legal custodian of the person, including the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department or a juvenile board or local
juvenile probation department if the child is committed to a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility;
(4) the office of the prosecuting attorney that
represented the state in the juvenile delinquency proceedings;
(5) the victim of the offense that was included in the
delinquent conduct that was a ground for the disposition, or a
member of the victim's family; and
(6) any other person who has filed a written request
with the court to be notified of a release hearing with respect to
the person to be transferred or released under supervision.
(d) At a hearing under this section the court may consider
written reports and supporting documents from probation officers,
professional court employees, professional consultants, [or]
employees of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, or employees of
a post-adjudication secure correctional facility in addition to the
testimony of witnesses. On or before the fifth day before the date
of the hearing, the court shall provide the attorney for the person
to be transferred or released under supervision with access to all
written matter to be considered by the court. All written matter is
admissible in evidence at the hearing.
(o) In this section, "post-adjudication secure correctional
facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 54.04011.
SECTION 4. Section 58.352(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A juvenile court judge in a county to which this
subchapter applies shall post a report on the Internet website of
the county in which the court is located. The report must include:
(1) the total number of children committed by the
judge to:
(A) a correctional facility operated by the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department [Youth Commission]; or
(B) a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility as that term is defined by Section 54.04011; and
(2) for each child committed to a facility described
by Subdivision (1):
(A) a general description of the offense
committed by the child or the conduct of the child that led to the
child's commitment to the facility;
(B) the year the child was committed to the
facility; and
(C) the age range, race, and gender of the child.
SECTION 5. Section 499.053, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 499.053. TRANSFERS FROM TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OR POST-ADJUDICATION SECURE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.
(a) In this section, "post-adjudication secure correctional
facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 152.00011, Human
Resources Code.
(a-1) The department shall accept persons transferred to
the department from:
(1) the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under
Section 245.151, Human Resources Code; or
(2) a post-adjudication secure correctional facility
under Section 152.00161, Human Resources Code.
(b) A person transferred to the department from the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department or from a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility is entitled to credit on the person's
sentence for the time served in the custody of the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department or the juvenile board or local juvenile
probation department, as applicable.
(c) All laws relating to good conduct time and eligibility
for release on parole or mandatory supervision apply to a person
transferred to the department by the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department or by a juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department that operates the post-adjudication secure correctional
facility as if the time the person was detained in a detention
facility and the time the person served in the custody of the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department or the juvenile board or local juvenile
probation department was time served in the custody of the
department.
(d) A person transferred from the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department or a post-adjudication secure correctional facility for
the offense of capital murder shall become eligible for parole as
provided in Section 508.145(d) for an offense listed in Section 3g,
Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an offense for which a
deadly weapon finding has been made.
SECTION 6. Section 508.003(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The provisions of this chapter not in conflict with
Section 508.156 apply to parole of a person from the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department or from a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility operated by or under contract with a juvenile board or
local juvenile probation department [Youth Commission] under that
section.
SECTION 7. Sections 508.156(a), (d), (e), and (f),
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Before the release of a person who is transferred under
Section 152.0016(g), 152.00161(e), 245.051(c), or 245.151(e),
Human Resources Code, to the department for release on parole, a
parole panel shall review the person's records and may interview
the person or any other person the panel considers necessary to
determine the conditions of parole. The panel may impose any
reasonable condition of parole on the person that the panel may
impose on an adult inmate under this chapter.
(d) The period of parole for a person released on parole
under this section is the term for which the person was sentenced
less calendar time served at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
or in the custody of a juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department following a commitment under Section 54.04011(c)(2),
Family Code, [Youth Commission] and in a juvenile detention
facility in connection with the conduct for which the person was
adjudicated.
(e) If a parole panel revokes the person's parole, the panel
may require the person to serve the remaining portion of the
person's sentence in the institutional division. The remaining
portion of the person's sentence is computed without credit for the
time from the date of the person's release to the date of
revocation. The panel may not recommit the person to the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department or to the custody of a juvenile board or
local juvenile probation department [Youth Commission].
(f) For purposes of this chapter, a person released from the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department or the custody of a juvenile
board or local juvenile probation department [Youth Commission] on
parole under this section is considered to have been convicted of
the offense for which the person has been adjudicated.
SECTION 8. Subchapter A, Chapter 152, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 152.00011 to read as follows:
Sec. 152.00011. DEFINITION. In this chapter,
"post-adjudication secure correctional facility" means a facility
operated by or under contract with a juvenile board or local
juvenile probation department under Section 152.0016.
SECTION 9. Section 152.0016, Human Resources Code, as added
by Chapter 1323 (S.B. 511), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular
Session, 2013, is amended by adding Subsections (f-1), (f-2), and
(g-1) and amending Subsections (h) and (i) to read as follows:
(f-1) After a child has completed the minimum length of stay
established under Subsection (f), the juvenile board or local
juvenile probation department shall:
(1) discharge the child from the custody of the
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department;
(2) release the child under supervision as provided by
Subsection (c)(2); or
(3) extend the child's length of stay in the custody of
the juvenile board or local juvenile probation department.
(f-2) A child's length of stay may only be extended under
Subsection (f-1)(3) on the basis of clear and convincing evidence
that:
(1) the child is in need of additional rehabilitation
from the juvenile board or local juvenile probation department; and
(2) the post-adjudication secure correctional
facility will provide the most suitable environment for that
rehabilitation.
(g-1) The juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department may request the approval of the court under Subsection
(g) at any time.
(h) The juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department may release a child who has been committed to a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility with a determinate
sentence under Section 54.04011(c)(2), Family Code, under
supervision without approval of the juvenile court that entered the
order of commitment if not more than nine months remain before the
child's discharge as provided by Section 152.00161(b)
[245.051(g)].
(i) The juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department may resume the care and custody of any child released
under supervision at any time before the final discharge of the
child in accordance with the rules governing the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department regarding resumption of care. Sections 243.051
and 245.051(f) apply only to a child who has been committed to a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility under Section
54.04011(c), Family Code, and who has either escaped or violated
the conditions of release under supervision. A hearing examiner
who conducts a revocation under this subsection has the same
subpoena authority as a hearing officer at the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department, as provided under Section 203.008.
SECTION 10. Subchapter A, Chapter 152, Human Resources
Code, is amended by adding Sections 152.00161, 152.00162,
152.00163, 152.00164, and 152.00165 to read as follows:
Sec. 152.00161. TERMINATION OF CONTROL. (a) Except as
provided by Subsections (b) and (c), if a person is committed to a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility under a determinate
sentence under Section 54.04011(c)(2), Family Code, the juvenile
board or local juvenile probation department may not discharge the
person from custody.
(b) The juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department shall discharge without a court hearing a person
committed to the department for a determinate sentence under
Section 54.04011(c)(2), Family Code, who has not been transferred
to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under a court order on
the date that the time spent by the person in detention in
connection with the committing case plus the time spent in the
custody of the juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department under the order of commitment equals the period of the
sentence.
(c) The juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department shall transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice a person who is the subject of an order under Section
152.0016(j) transferring the person to the custody of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice for the completion of the person's
sentence.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the juvenile board
or local juvenile probation department shall discharge from its
custody a person not already discharged on the person's 19th
birthday.
(e) The juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department shall transfer a person who has been sentenced under a
determinate sentence to commitment under Section 54.04011(c)(2),
Family Code, or who has been returned to the juvenile board or local
juvenile probation department 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.
Sec. 152.00162. DETERMINATE SENTENCE PAROLE. (a) Not
later than the 90th day before the date the juvenile board or local
juvenile probation department transfers a person to the custody of
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for release on parole
supervision under Section 152.0016(g) or 152.00161(e), the
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department shall submit
to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice all pertinent
information relating to the person, including:
(1) the juvenile court judgment;
(2) the circumstances of the person's offense;
(3) the person's previous social history and juvenile
court records;
(4) the person's physical and mental health record;
(5) a record of the person's conduct, employment
history, and attitude while committed to the department;
(6) a record of the sentence time served by the person
at the juvenile board or local juvenile probation department as a
result of a commitment under Section 54.04011(c)(2), Family Code,
and in a juvenile detention facility in connection with the conduct
for which the person was adjudicated; and
(7) any written comments or information provided by
the juvenile board or local juvenile probation department, local
officials, family members of the person, victims of the offense, or
the general public.
(b) The juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department shall provide instruction for parole officers of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice relating to juvenile programs
provided by the juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department. The juvenile boards and local juvenile probation
departments and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall
enter into a memorandum of understanding relating to the
administration of this subsection.
(c) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall grant
credit for sentence time served by a person in the custody of a
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department and in a
juvenile detention facility, as recorded by the board or department
under Subsection (a)(6), in computing the person's eligibility for
parole and discharge from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Sec. 152.00163. CHILD WITH MENTAL ILLNESS OR INTELLECTUAL
DISABILITY. (a) A juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department shall accept a child with a mental illness or an
intellectual disability who is committed to the custody of the
board or department.
(b) Unless a child is committed to the custody of a juvenile
board or local juvenile probation department under a determinate
sentence under Section 54.04011(c)(2), Family Code, the juvenile
board or local juvenile probation department shall discharge a
child with a mental illness or an intellectual disability from its
custody if:
(1) the child has completed the minimum length of stay
for the child's committing offense; and
(2) the juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department determines that the child is unable to progress in the
rehabilitation programs provided by the juvenile board or local
juvenile probation department because of the child's mental illness
or intellectual disability.
(c) If a child who is discharged from the custody of a
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department under
Subsection (b) as a result of mental illness is not receiving
court-ordered mental health services, the child's discharge is
effective on the earlier of:
(1) the date the court enters an order regarding an
application for mental health services filed under Section
152.00164(b); or
(2) the 30th day after the date the application is
filed.
(d) If a child who is discharged from the custody of a
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department under
Subsection (b) as a result of mental illness is receiving
court-ordered mental health services, the child's discharge is
effective immediately. If the child is receiving mental health
services outside the child's home county, the juvenile board or
local juvenile probation department shall notify the mental health
authority located in that county of the discharge not later than the
30th day after the date that the child's discharge is effective.
(e) If a child who is discharged from the custody of a
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department under
Subsection (b) as a result of an intellectual disability is not
receiving intellectual disability services, the child's discharge
is effective on the 30th day after the date that the referral is
made under Section 152.00164(c).
(f) If a child who is discharged from the custody of a
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department under
Subsection (b) as a result of an intellectual disability is
receiving intellectual disability services, the child's discharge
is effective immediately.
(g) If a child with a mental illness or an intellectual
disability is discharged from the custody of a juvenile board or
local juvenile probation department under Subsection (b), the child
is eligible to receive continuity of care services from the Texas
Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments
under Chapter 614, Health and Safety Code.
Sec. 152.00164. EXAMINATION BEFORE DISCHARGE. (a) A
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department shall
establish a system that identifies children with mental illnesses
or intellectual disabilities who are in the custody of the juvenile
board or local juvenile probation department.
(b) Before a child who is identified as having a mental
illness is discharged from the custody of the juvenile board or
local juvenile probation department under Section 152.00163(b),
the juvenile board or local juvenile probation department shall
arrange for a psychiatrist to examine the child. The juvenile board
or local juvenile probation department shall refer a child
requiring outpatient psychiatric treatment to the appropriate
mental health authority. For a child requiring inpatient
psychiatric treatment, the juvenile board or local juvenile
probation department shall file a sworn application for
court-ordered mental health services, as provided in Subchapter C,
Chapter 574, Health and Safety Code, if:
(1) the child is not receiving court-ordered mental
health services; and
(2) the psychiatrist who examined the child determines
that the child has a mental illness and the child meets at least one
of the criteria listed in Section 574.034, Health and Safety Code.
(c) Before a child who is identified as having an
intellectual disability under Chapter 593, Health and Safety Code,
is discharged from the custody of a juvenile board or local juvenile
probation department under Section 152.00163(b), the department
shall refer the child for intellectual disability services if the
child is not receiving intellectual disability services.
Sec. 152.00165. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN CHILDREN SERVING
DETERMINATE SENTENCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. (a) A juvenile
board or local juvenile probation department may petition the
juvenile court that entered the order of commitment for a child for
the initiation of mental health commitment proceedings if the child
is committed to the custody of the juvenile board or local juvenile
probation department under a determinate sentence under Section
54.04011(c)(2), Family Code.
(b) A petition made by a juvenile board or local juvenile
probation department shall be treated as a motion under Section
55.11, Family Code, and the juvenile court shall proceed in
accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 55, Family Code.
(c) A juvenile board or local juvenile probation department
shall cooperate with the juvenile court in any proceeding under
this section.
(d) The juvenile court shall credit to the term of the
child's commitment to a juvenile board or local juvenile probation
department any time the child is committed to an inpatient mental
health facility.
(e) A child committed to an inpatient mental health facility
as a result of a petition filed under this section may not be
released from the facility on a pass or furlough.
(f) If the term of an order committing a child to an
inpatient mental health facility is scheduled to expire before the
end of the child's sentence and another order committing the child
to an inpatient mental health facility is not scheduled to be
entered, the inpatient mental health facility shall notify the
juvenile court that entered the order of commitment committing the
child to a juvenile board or local juvenile probation department.
The juvenile court may transfer the child to the custody of the
juvenile board or local juvenile probation department, transfer the
child to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, or release the
child under supervision, as appropriate.
SECTION 11. (a) Section 261.101, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (f) and amending Subsection
(e) to read as follows:
(a-1) The independent ombudsman shall perform the duties
required under Subsection (a) with respect to children committed to
the department and children committed to a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility under Section 54.04011, Family Code.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
the powers of the office are limited to:
(1) facilities operated and services provided by the
department under Subtitle C; and
(2) post-adjudication correctional facilities under
Section 152.0016.
(f) This subsection and Subsections (a-1) and (e) expire
December 31, 2018.
(b) Effective January 1, 2019, Section 261.101, Human
Resources Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
the powers of the office are limited to facilities operated and
services provided by the department under Subtitle C.
SECTION 12. Section 152.0016(b), Human Resources Code, as
added by Chapter 1323 (S.B. 511), Acts of the 83rd Legislature,
Regular Session, 2013, is repealed.
SECTION 13. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
person committed to or serving a sentence in a post-adjudication
secure correctional facility on or after the effective date of this
Act, regardless of whether the underlying conduct giving rise to
the commitment and sentence occurred before, on, or after that
date.
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.