By: Whitmire S.B. No. 2190
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution and detention of a juvenile who engages
in delinquent conduct or commits a felony offense while committed
to the custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 53.045(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the prosecuting
attorney may refer the petition to the grand jury of the county in
which the court in which the petition is filed presides if the
petition alleges that the child engaged in delinquent conduct that:
(1) constitutes habitual felony conduct as described
by Section 51.031;
(2) [or that] included the violation of any of the
following provisions:
(A) [(1)] Section 19.02, Penal Code (murder);
(B) [(2)] Section 19.03, Penal Code (capital
murder);
(C) [(3)] Section 19.04, Penal Code
(manslaughter);
(D) [(4)] Section 20.04, Penal Code (aggravated
kidnapping);
(E) [(5)] Section 22.011, Penal Code (sexual
assault) or Section 22.021, Penal Code (aggravated sexual assault);
(F) [(6)] Section 22.02, Penal Code (aggravated
assault);
(G) [(7)] Section 29.03, Penal Code (aggravated
robbery);
(H) [(8)] Section 22.04, Penal Code (injury to a
child, elderly individual, or disabled individual), if the offense
is punishable as a felony, other than a state jail felony;
(I) [(9)] Section 22.05(b), Penal Code (felony
deadly conduct involving discharging a firearm);
(J) [(10)] Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and
Safety Code, if the conduct constitutes a felony of the first degree
or an aggravated controlled substance felony (certain offenses
involving controlled substances);
(K) [(11)] Section 15.03, Penal Code (criminal
solicitation);
(L) [(12)] Section 21.11(a)(1), Penal Code
(indecency with a child);
(M) [(13)] Section 15.031, Penal Code (criminal
solicitation of a minor);
(N) [(14)] Section 15.01, Penal Code (criminal
attempt), if the offense attempted was an offense under Section
19.02, Penal Code (murder), or Section 19.03, Penal Code (capital
murder), or an offense listed by Article 42A.054(a), Code of
Criminal Procedure;
(O) [(15)] Section 28.02, Penal Code (arson), if
bodily injury or death is suffered by any person by reason of the
commission of the conduct;
(P) [(16)] Section 49.08, Penal Code
(intoxication manslaughter); or
(Q) [(17)] Section 15.02, Penal Code (criminal
conspiracy), if the offense made the subject of the criminal
conspiracy includes a violation of any of the provisions referenced
in Paragraphs (A) through (P); or
(3) constitutes a felony of the first, second, or
third degree committed while the child was committed to the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department [Subdivisions (1) through (16)].
SECTION 2. Section 245.101, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), after [After] a
child who is committed to the department without a determinate
sentence completes the minimum length of stay established by the
department for the child under Section 243.002, the department
shall, in the manner provided by this section and Section 245.102:
(1) discharge the child from the custody of the
department;
(2) release the child under supervision under Section
245.051; or
(3) extend the length of the child's stay in the
custody of the department.
(a-1) The department may not discharge a child from the
custody of the department or release a child under supervision as
provided by Subsection (a) if the child:
(1) is alleged by a pending petition to have engaged in
delinquent conduct during the child's commitment to the department;
or
(2) is under indictment for a felony committed during
the child's commitment to the department.
SECTION 3. Section 245.102(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A panel may extend the length of the child's stay as
provided by Section 245.101(a)(3) only if:
(1) the panel determines by majority vote and on the
basis of clear and convincing evidence that:
(A) [(1)] the child is in need of additional
rehabilitation from the department; and
(B) [(2)] the department will provide the most
suitable environment for that rehabilitation; or
(2) the child:
(A) is alleged by a pending petition to have
engaged in delinquent conduct during the child's commitment to the
department; or
(B) is under indictment for a felony committed
during the child's commitment to the department.
SECTION 4. This Act applies only to conduct that occurs or
an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
Conduct that occurs or an offense committed before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
conduct occurred or the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. For the purposes of this
section, conduct occurred or an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the conduct or offense
occurred before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.