By: White, Wu, et al. H.B. No. 1783
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the age of a child at which a juvenile court may
exercise jurisdiction over the child and to the minimum age of
criminal responsibility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 45.058(h), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(h) In this article, "child" means a person who is:
(1) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than 17
years of age; and
(2) charged with or convicted of an offense that a
justice or municipal court has jurisdiction of under Article 4.11
or 4.14.
SECTION 2. Section 37.141(1), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Child" means a person who is:
(A) a student; and
(B) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than
18 years of age.
SECTION 3. Section 51.02(2), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Child" means a person who is:
(A) 10 [ten] years of age or older and under 17
years of age; or
(B) 17 [seventeen] years of age or older and
under 19 [18] years of age who is:
(i) alleged or found to have engaged in
delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision as
a result of acts committed before becoming 17 years of age; and
(ii) under the jurisdiction of a juvenile
court.
SECTION 4. Section 54.02(j), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(j) The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original
jurisdiction and transfer a person to the appropriate district
court or criminal district court for criminal proceedings if:
(1) the person is 18 years of age or older;
(2) the person was:
(A) 13 [10] years of age or older and under 17
years of age at the time the person is alleged to have committed a
capital felony or an offense under Section 19.02, Penal Code;
(B) 14 years of age or older and under 17 years of
age at the time the person is alleged to have committed an
aggravated controlled substance felony or a felony of the first
degree other than an offense under Section 19.02, Penal Code; or
(C) 15 years of age or older and under 17 years of
age at the time the person is alleged to have committed a felony of
the second or third degree or a state jail felony;
(3) no adjudication concerning the alleged offense has
been made or no adjudication hearing concerning the offense has
been conducted;
(4) the juvenile court finds from a preponderance of
the evidence that:
(A) for a reason beyond the control of the state
it was not practicable to proceed in juvenile court before the 18th
birthday of the person; or
(B) after due diligence of the state it was not
practicable to proceed in juvenile court before the 18th birthday
of the person because:
(i) the state did not have probable cause to
proceed in juvenile court and new evidence has been found since the
18th birthday of the person;
(ii) the person could not be found; or
(iii) a previous transfer order was
reversed by an appellate court or set aside by a district court; and
(5) the juvenile court determines that there is
probable cause to believe that the child before the court committed
the offense alleged.
SECTION 5. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 54.021 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.021. WAIVER OF JURISDICTION FOR CHILD UNDER 13
YEARS OF AGE. (a) The juvenile court shall, before holding an
adjudication hearing, hold a hearing without a jury to determine
whether to waive its exclusive original jurisdiction over a child
under 13 years of age.
(b) At a hearing under this section, the juvenile court
shall consider whether:
(1) normal interventions by the child's parent,
guardian, family, or school, or by child protective services or
county family and youth services, will be sufficient to ensure the
safety of the public and of the child;
(2) intervention by the court is warranted; and
(3) it is in the best interest of the child for the
court to intervene.
(c) If the court elects not to waive its jurisdiction over a
child in a hearing under this section, the court shall state the
reasons for its decision in the order.
(d) If the court elects to waive its jurisdiction over a
child in a hearing under this section, the court shall dismiss all
charges against the child. The court shall refer the child to the
person who conducted the preliminary investigation of the child
under Section 53.01 for a referral for services described by
Subsection (b)(1), as appropriate.
SECTION 6. Section 201.001(a)(2), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(2) "Child" means an individual[:
[(A)] 10 years of age or older and younger than 19
[18] years of age who is under the jurisdiction of a juvenile
court[; or
[(B) 10 years of age or older and younger than 19
years of age who is committed to the department under Title 3,
Family Code].
SECTION 7. Sections 8.07(d) and (e), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person may not be
prosecuted for or convicted of an offense described by Subsection
(a)(4) or (5) that the person committed when younger than 13 [10]
years of age.
(e) A person who is at least 13 [10] years of age but younger
than 15 years of age is presumed incapable of committing an offense
described by Subsection (a)(4) or (5), other than an offense under a
juvenile curfew ordinance or order. This presumption may be
refuted if the prosecution proves to the court by a preponderance of
the evidence that the actor had sufficient capacity to understand
that the conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was
engaged in. The prosecution is not required to prove that the actor
at the time of engaging in the conduct knew that the act was a
criminal offense or knew the legal consequences of the offense.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
occurred before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
date the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed or conduct occurred before
the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
conduct occurred before that date.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.