Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1783 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: White, Wu, et al. H.B. No. 1783
	1	+	87R6188 ADM-D
	2	+	By: White H.B. No. 1783
2	3
3	4
4	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	6		AN ACT
6	7		relating to the age of a child at which a juvenile court may
7	8		exercise jurisdiction over the child and to the minimum age of
8	9		criminal responsibility.
9	10		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	11		SECTION 1. Article 45.058(h), Code of Criminal Procedure,
11	12		is amended to read as follows:
12	13		(h) In this article, "child" means a person who is:
13	14		(1) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than 17
14	15		years of age; and
15	16		(2) charged with or convicted of an offense that a
16	17		justice or municipal court has jurisdiction of under Article 4.11
17	18		or 4.14.
18	19		SECTION 2. Section 37.141(1), Education Code, is amended to
19	20		read as follows:
20	21		(1) "Child" means a person who is:
21	22		(A) a student; and
22	23		(B) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than
23	24		18 years of age.
24	25		SECTION 3. Section 51.02(2), Family Code, is amended to
25	26		read as follows:
26	27		(2) "Child" means a person who is:
27		-	(A) 10 [ten] years of age or older and under 17
	28	+	(A) 13 [ten] years of age or older and under 17
28	29		years of age; or
29	30		(B) 17 [seventeen] years of age or older and
30	31		under 19 [18] years of age who is:
31	32		(i) alleged or found to have engaged in
32	33		delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision as
33	34		a result of acts committed before becoming 17 years of age; and
34	35		(ii) under the jurisdiction of a juvenile
35	36		court.
36	37		SECTION 4. Section 54.02(j), Family Code, is amended to
37	38		read as follows:
38	39		(j) The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original
39	40		jurisdiction and transfer a person to the appropriate district
40	41		court or criminal district court for criminal proceedings if:
41	42		(1) the person is 18 years of age or older;
42	43		(2) the person was:
43	44		(A) 13 [10] years of age or older and under 17
44	45		years of age at the time the person is alleged to have committed a
45	46		capital felony or an offense under Section 19.02, Penal Code;
46	47		(B) 14 years of age or older and under 17 years of
47	48		age at the time the person is alleged to have committed an
48	49		aggravated controlled substance felony or a felony of the first
49	50		degree other than an offense under Section 19.02, Penal Code; or
50	51		(C) 15 years of age or older and under 17 years of
51	52		age at the time the person is alleged to have committed a felony of
52	53		the second or third degree or a state jail felony;
53	54		(3) no adjudication concerning the alleged offense has
54	55		been made or no adjudication hearing concerning the offense has
55	56		been conducted;
56	57		(4) the juvenile court finds from a preponderance of
57	58		the evidence that:
58	59		(A) for a reason beyond the control of the state
59	60		it was not practicable to proceed in juvenile court before the 18th
60	61		birthday of the person; or
61	62		(B) after due diligence of the state it was not
62	63		practicable to proceed in juvenile court before the 18th birthday
63	64		of the person because:
64	65		(i) the state did not have probable cause to
65	66		proceed in juvenile court and new evidence has been found since the
66	67		18th birthday of the person;
67	68		(ii) the person could not be found; or
68	69		(iii) a previous transfer order was
69	70		reversed by an appellate court or set aside by a district court; and
70	71		(5) the juvenile court determines that there is
71	72		probable cause to believe that the child before the court committed
72	73		the offense alleged.
73		-	SECTION 5. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
74		-	Section 54.021 to read as follows:
75		-	Sec. 54.021. WAIVER OF JURISDICTION FOR CHILD UNDER 13
76		-	YEARS OF AGE. (a) The juvenile court shall, before holding an
77		-	adjudication hearing, hold a hearing without a jury to determine
78		-	whether to waive its exclusive original jurisdiction over a child
79		-	under 13 years of age.
80		-	(b) At a hearing under this section, the juvenile court
81		-	shall consider whether:
82		-	(1) normal interventions by the child's parent,
83		-	guardian, family, or school, or by child protective services or
84		-	county family and youth services, will be sufficient to ensure the
85		-	safety of the public and of the child;
86		-	(2) intervention by the court is warranted; and
87		-	(3) it is in the best interest of the child for the
88		-	court to intervene.
89		-	(c) If the court elects not to waive its jurisdiction over a
90		-	child in a hearing under this section, the court shall state the
91		-	reasons for its decision in the order.
92		-	(d) If the court elects to waive its jurisdiction over a
93		-	child in a hearing under this section, the court shall dismiss all
94		-	charges against the child. The court shall refer the child to the
95		-	person who conducted the preliminary investigation of the child
96		-	under Section 53.01 for a referral for services described by
97		-	Subsection (b)(1), as appropriate.
	74	+	SECTION 5. Section 63.001(1), Human Resources Code, is
	75	+	amended to read as follows:
	76	+	(1) "Juvenile" means a person from the age of 13 [10]
	77	+	to 18 years who has been found to have engaged in delinquent conduct
	78	+	by a court of competent jurisdiction.
98	79		SECTION 6. Section 201.001(a)(2), Human Resources Code, is
99	80		amended to read as follows:
100		-	(2) "Child" means an individual[:
101		-	[(A)] 10 years of age or older and younger than 19
	81	+	(2) "Child" means an individual 13[:
	82	+	[(A) 10] years of age or older and younger than 19
102	83		[18] years of age who is under the jurisdiction of a juvenile
103	84		court[; or
104	85		[(B) 10 years of age or older and younger than 19
105	86		years of age who is committed to the department under Title 3,
106	87		Family Code].
107	88		SECTION 7. Sections 8.07(d) and (e), Penal Code, are
108	89		amended to read as follows:
109	90		(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person may not be
110	91		prosecuted for or convicted of an offense described by Subsection
111	92		(a)(4) or (5) that the person committed when younger than 13 [10]
112	93		years of age.
113	94		(e) A person who is at least 13 [10] years of age but younger
114	95		than 15 years of age is presumed incapable of committing an offense
115	96		described by Subsection (a)(4) or (5), other than an offense under a
116	97		juvenile curfew ordinance or order. This presumption may be
117	98		refuted if the prosecution proves to the court by a preponderance of
118	99		the evidence that the actor had sufficient capacity to understand
119	100		that the conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was
120	101		engaged in. The prosecution is not required to prove that the actor
121	102		at the time of engaging in the conduct knew that the act was a
122	103		criminal offense or knew the legal consequences of the offense.
123	104		SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
124	105		an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
125	106		effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
126	107		occurred before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
127	108		date the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the
128	109		former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
129	110		this section, an offense was committed or conduct occurred before
130	111		the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
131	112		conduct occurred before that date.
132	113		SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.