Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2687 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Leach, Flores H.B. No. 2687
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the age at which a juvenile court may exercise
7	7	jurisdiction over a child and to the minimum age of criminal
8	8	responsibility.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Articles 45.058(h) and (i), Code of Criminal
11	11	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(h) In this article, "child" means a person who is:
13	13	(1) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than 17
14	14	years of age; and
15	15	(2) charged with or convicted of an offense that a
16	16	justice or municipal court has jurisdiction of under Article 4.11
17	17	or 4.14.
18	18	(i) If a law enforcement officer [issues a citation or]
19	19	files a complaint in the manner provided by Article 45.018 for
20	20	conduct by a child 13 [12] years of age or older that is alleged to
21	21	have occurred on school property or on a vehicle owned or operated
22	22	by a county or independent school district, the officer shall
23	23	submit to the court the offense report, a statement by a witness to
24	24	the alleged conduct, and a statement by a victim of the alleged
25	25	conduct, if any. An attorney representing the state may not proceed
26	26	in a trial of an offense unless the law enforcement officer complied
27	27	with the requirements of this subsection.
28	28	SECTION 2. Section 37.141(1), Education Code, is amended to
29	29	read as follows:
30	30	(1) "Child" means a person who is:
31	31	(A) a student; and
32	32	(B) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than
33	33	18 years of age.
34	34	SECTION 3. Section 51.02(2), Family Code, is amended to
35	35	read as follows:
36	36	(2) "Child" means a person who is:
37	37	(A) 10 years of age or older and under 13 years of
38	38	age who is alleged or found to have engaged in conduct that contains
39	39	the elements of any of the following offenses under the Penal Code:
40	40	(i) aggravated assault under Section 22.02,
41	41	sexual assault under Section 22.011, or aggravated sexual assault
42	42	under Section 22.021;
43	43	(ii) arson under Section 28.02;
44	44	(iii) murder under Section 19.02, capital
45	45	murder under Section 19.03, or criminal attempt under Section 15.01
46	46	to commit murder or capital murder;
47	47	(iv) indecency with a child under Section
48	48	21.11;
49	49	(v) aggravated kidnapping under Section
50	50	20.04;
51	51	(vi) aggravated robbery under Section
52	52	29.03;
53	53	(vii) manslaughter under Section 19.04;
54	54	(viii) criminally negligent homicide under
55	55	Section 19.05; or
56	56	(ix) continuous sexual abuse of young child
57	57	or disabled individual under Section 21.02;
58	58	(B) 13 [ten] years of age or older and under 17
59	59	years of age; or
60	60	(C) 17 [(B) seventeen] years of age or older and
61	61	under 18 years of age who is alleged or found to have engaged in
62	62	delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision as
63	63	a result of acts committed before becoming 17 years of age.
64	64	SECTION 4. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
65	65	Section 54.021 to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 54.021. WAIVER OF JURISDICTION FOR CHILD UNDER 13
67	67	YEARS OF AGE. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date on
68	68	which a preliminary investigation under Section 53.01 concludes,
69	69	the attorney representing the state shall file a petition
70	70	requesting a hearing to determine whether the juvenile court should
71	71	waive its exclusive original jurisdiction over a child younger than
72	72	13 years of age.
73	73	(b) After the petition under Subsection (a) has been filed,
74	74	the juvenile court shall set a time for the hearing. The hearing
75	75	must be held:
76	76	(1) without a jury; and
77	77	(2) before an adjudication hearing may occur.
78	78	(c) At a hearing under this section, the juvenile court
79	79	shall consider whether:
80	80	(1) less restrictive interventions by the child's
81	81	parent, guardian, family, or school, or by child protective
82	82	services or county family and youth services, are available and
83	83	will be sufficient to ensure the safety of the public and of the
84	84	child;
85	85	(2) intervention by the court is warranted; and
86	86	(3) it is in the best interest of the child for the
87	87	court to intervene.
88	88	(d) If the court elects not to waive its jurisdiction over a
89	89	child in a hearing under this section, the court shall state the
90	90	reasons for its decision in the order.
91	91	(e) If the court elects to waive its jurisdiction over a
92	92	child in a hearing under this section, the court shall dismiss all
93	93	charges against the child. The court shall refer the child to the
94	94	person who conducted the preliminary investigation of the child
95	95	under Section 53.01 for a referral for services described by
96	96	Subsection (c)(1), as appropriate.
97	97	SECTION 5. Sections 8.07(d) and (e), Penal Code, are
98	98	amended to read as follows:
99	99	(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person may not be
100	100	prosecuted for or convicted of an offense described by Subsection
101	101	(a)(4) or (5) that the person committed when younger than 13 [10]
102	102	years of age.
103	103	(e) A person who is at least 13 [10] years of age but younger
104	104	than 15 years of age is presumed incapable of committing an offense
105	105	described by Subsection (a)(4) or (5), other than an offense under a
106	106	juvenile curfew ordinance or order. This presumption may be
107	107	refuted if the prosecution proves to the court by a preponderance of
108	108	the evidence that the actor had sufficient capacity to understand
109	109	that the conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was
110	110	engaged in. The prosecution is not required to prove that the actor
111	111	at the time of engaging in the conduct knew that the act was a
112	112	criminal offense or knew the legal consequences of the offense.
113	113	SECTION 6. The following provisions are repealed:
114	114	(1) Article 45.058(j), Code of Criminal Procedure;
115	115	(2) Sections 37.124(d) and 37.126(c), Education Code;
116	116	and
117	117	(3) Section 42.01(f), Penal Code.
118	118	SECTION 7. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
119	119	date of this Act, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and the
120	120	Texas School Safety Center shall update the training provided to
121	121	school resource officers and other peace officers to include the
122	122	changes in law made by this Act.
123	123	(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
124	124	Act, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall update the
125	125	training provided to juvenile probation departments to include the
126	126	changes in law made by this Act.
127	127	(c) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
128	128	Act, the Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission shall
129	129	disseminate information to judges and attorneys in this state
130	130	regarding the changes in law made by this Act.
131	131	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
132	132	an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
133	133	effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
134	134	occurred before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
135	135	date the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the
136	136	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
137	137	this section, an offense was committed or conduct occurred before
138	138	the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
139	139	conduct occurred before that date.
140	140	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.