86R12204 ADM-D
By: Murr H.B. No. 3741
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to jurisdiction over certain child protection and juvenile
matters involving juvenile offenders.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.04, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (h) to read as
follows:
(a) This title covers the proceedings in all cases involving
the delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision
engaged in by a person who was a child within the meaning of this
title at the time the person engaged in the conduct, and, except as
provided by Subsection (h) or Section 51.0414, the juvenile court
has exclusive original jurisdiction over proceedings under this
title.
(h) A juvenile court judge may refer any aspect of a suit
instituted under Subtitle E, Title 5, to an associate judge
appointed under Subchapter C, Chapter 201, who serves in the
county, with the associate judge's consent. The scope of an
associate judge's authority over a suit referred under this
subsection is subject to any limitations placed by the juvenile
court judge in the order of referral.
SECTION 2. Chapter 51, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 51.0414 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.0414. DISCRETIONARY TRANSFER FOR ADJUDICATION OR
DISPOSITION. The juvenile court may transfer a child's case,
including transcripts of records and documents for the case, to a
court located in the county that is exercising jurisdiction over
the child under Chapter 263 or 264 for adjudication of the case
under Section 54.03 or disposition of the case under Section 54.04.
Consent of the court to which the case is transferred under this
section is not required.
SECTION 3. Section 201.204, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) An associate judge may hear and render an order in a suit
referred to the associate judge by a juvenile court under Section
51.04, subject to the limitations placed on the associate judge's
authority in the order of referral.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made 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
governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the
purposes of this section, conduct occurred before the effective
date of this Act if any element of the conduct occurred before that
date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.