| 1 | | - | By: Wu (Senate Sponsor - Miles) H.B. No. 678 |
|---|
| 2 | | - | (In the Senate - Received from the House April 10, 2017; |
|---|
| 3 | | - | April 19, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on |
|---|
| 4 | | - | Criminal Justice; May 17, 2017, reported favorably by the |
|---|
| 5 | | - | following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 17, 2017, sent to printer.) |
|---|
| 6 | | - | Click here to see the committee vote |
|---|
| 1 | + | H.B. No. 678 |
|---|
| 10 | 4 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 11 | 5 | | relating to the procedure for the entering of a plea or a |
|---|
| 12 | 6 | | stipulation of evidence by a child subject to a determinate |
|---|
| 13 | 7 | | sentence. |
|---|
| 14 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 15 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 54.10, Family Code, is amended by |
|---|
| 16 | 10 | | amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as |
|---|
| 17 | 11 | | follows: |
|---|
| 18 | 12 | | (e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), the [The] hearings |
|---|
| 19 | 13 | | provided by Sections 54.03, 54.04, and 54.05 may not be held before |
|---|
| 20 | 14 | | a referee if the grand jury has approved of the petition and the |
|---|
| 21 | 15 | | child is subject to a determinate sentence. |
|---|
| 22 | 16 | | (f) When the state and a child who is subject to a |
|---|
| 23 | 17 | | determinate sentence agree to the disposition of the case, wholly |
|---|
| 24 | 18 | | or partly, a referee or associate judge may hold a hearing for the |
|---|
| 25 | 19 | | purpose of allowing the child to enter a plea or stipulation of |
|---|
| 26 | 20 | | evidence. After the hearing under this subsection, the referee or |
|---|
| 27 | 21 | | associate judge shall transmit the referee's or associate judge's |
|---|
| 28 | 22 | | written findings and recommendations regarding the plea or |
|---|
| 29 | 23 | | stipulation of evidence to the juvenile court judge for |
|---|
| 30 | 24 | | consideration. The juvenile court judge may accept or reject the |
|---|
| 31 | 25 | | plea or stipulation of evidence in accordance with Section |
|---|
| 32 | 26 | | 54.03(j). |
|---|
| 33 | 27 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|---|
| 34 | 28 | | conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|---|
| 35 | 29 | | Conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is |
|---|
| 36 | 30 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and |
|---|
| 37 | 31 | | the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|---|
| 38 | 32 | | purposes of this section, conduct occurs before the effective date |
|---|
| 39 | 33 | | of this Act if any element of the conduct occurs before that date. |
|---|
| 40 | 34 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
|---|
| 41 | | - | * * * * * |
|---|
| 35 | + | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
|---|
| 36 | + | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
|---|
| 37 | + | I certify that H.B. No. 678 was passed by the House on April |
|---|
| 38 | + | 6, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not |
|---|
| 39 | + | voting. |
|---|
| 40 | + | ______________________________ |
|---|
| 41 | + | Chief Clerk of the House |
|---|
| 42 | + | I certify that H.B. No. 678 was passed by the Senate on May |
|---|
| 43 | + | 19, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
|---|
| 44 | + | ______________________________ |
|---|
| 45 | + | Secretary of the Senate |
|---|
| 46 | + | APPROVED: _____________________ |
|---|
| 47 | + | Date |
|---|
| 48 | + | _____________________ |
|---|
| 49 | + | Governor |
|---|