Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1511 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Hickland H.B. No. 1511
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the authority of a political subdivision to adopt or
9	9	enforce a juvenile curfew; creating criminal offenses.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Article 45A.259(i), Code of Criminal Procedure,
12	12	is amended to read as follows:
13	13	(i) This article does not limit the authority of a court to
14	14	order a child taken into custody under Article 45A.453 or 45A.4555
15	15	[45A.455].
16	16	SECTION 2. Subchapter J, Chapter 45A, Code of Criminal
17	17	Procedure, is amended by adding Article 45A.4555 to read as
18	18	follows:
19	19	Art. 45A.4555. CHILD TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR VIOLATION OF
20	20	JUVENILE CURFEW OR ORDER. (a) In this article, "child" means a
21	21	person who is younger than 17 years of age.
22	22	(b) A peace officer taking a child into custody for a
23	23	violation of a juvenile curfew ordinance of a municipality or order
24	24	of the commissioners court of a county shall, without unnecessary
25	25	delay:
26	26	(1) release the child to the child's parent, guardian,
27	27	or custodian;
28	28	(2) take the child before a justice or municipal court
29	29	to answer the charge; or
30	30	(3) take the child to a place designated as a juvenile
31	31	curfew processing office by the head of the law enforcement agency
32	32	having custody of the child.
33	33	(c) A juvenile curfew processing office must observe the
34	34	following procedures:
35	35	(1) the office must be an unlocked, multipurpose area
36	36	that is not designated, set aside, or used as a secure detention
37	37	area or part of a secure detention area;
38	38	(2) the child may not be secured physically to a
39	39	cuffing rail, chair, desk, or stationary object;
40	40	(3) the child may not be held for a period longer than
41	41	is necessary to complete:
42	42	(A) identification;
43	43	(B) investigation;
44	44	(C) processing;
45	45	(D) release to a parent, guardian, or custodian;
46	46	or
47	47	(E) arrangement of transportation to court;
48	48	(4) the office may not be designated or intended for
49	49	residential purposes;
50	50	(5) a peace officer or other individual shall provide
51	51	continuous visual supervision of a child while the child is in the
52	52	office; and
53	53	(6) a child may not be held in the office for a period
54	54	of more than six hours.
55	55	(d) A place designated under this article as a juvenile
56	56	curfew processing office is not subject to the approval of the
57	57	juvenile board having jurisdiction where the governmental entity is
58	58	located.
59	59	SECTION 3. Article 45A.456(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
60	60	is amended to read as follows:
61	61	(a) Except as provided by Articles 45A.453, 45A.454, and
62	62	45A.4555 [45A.455], an individual may not be taken into secured
63	63	custody for offenses alleged to have occurred before the
64	64	individual's 17th birthday.
65	65	SECTION 4. Section 51.02(15), Family Code, is amended to
66	66	read as follows:
67	67	(15) "Status offender" means a child who is accused,
68	68	adjudicated, or convicted for conduct that would not, under state
69	69	law, be a crime if committed by an adult, including:
70	70	(A) running away from home under Section
71	71	51.03(b)(2);
72	72	(B) a fineable only offense under Section
73	73	51.03(b)(1) transferred to the juvenile court under Section
74	74	51.08(b), but only if the conduct constituting the offense would
75	75	not have been criminal if engaged in by an adult;
76	76	(C) a violation of standards of student conduct
77	77	as described by Section 51.03(b)(4);
78	78	(D) a violation of a juvenile curfew ordinance or
79	79	order;
80	80	(E) a violation of a provision of the Alcoholic
81	81	Beverage Code applicable to minors only; or
82	82	(F) [(E)] a violation of any other fineable only
83	83	offense under Section 8.07(a)(4) or (5), Penal Code, but only if the
84	84	conduct constituting the offense would not have been criminal if
85	85	engaged in by an adult.
86	86	SECTION 5. Section 38.003(a), Government Code, is amended
87	87	to read as follows:
88	88	(a) The judge of a county, justice, or municipal court, in
89	89	accordance with Section 38.002, may award money from a judicial
90	90	donation trust fund established under Section 38.001 to eligible
91	91	children or families who appear before the court for a truancy or
92	92	curfew violation or in another misdemeanor offense proceeding
93	93	before the court.
94	94	SECTION 6. Subchapter Z, Chapter 341, Local Government
95	95	Code, is amended by adding Section 341.905 to read as follows:
96	96	Sec. 341.905. JUVENILE CURFEW IN GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY.
97	97	(a) To provide for the public safety, the governing body of a
98	98	general-law municipality has the same authority to adopt a juvenile
99	99	curfew ordinance that a county has under Section 351.903.
100	100	(b) The governing body of a general-law municipality may
101	101	adopt by ordinance a juvenile curfew order adopted by the
102	102	commissioners court of the county in which any part of the
103	103	municipality is located and, except as provided by Subsection (c),
104	104	may adapt the order to fit the needs of the municipality.
105	105	(c) The governing body of a general-law municipality may not
106	106	adopt an ordinance regulating the movements or actions of persons
107	107	under 17 years of age during the period beginning one-half hour
108	108	before sunrise and extending until one-half hour after sunset.
109	109	(d) A person commits an offense if the person violates a
110	110	restriction or prohibition imposed by an ordinance adopted under
111	111	this section.
112	112	(e) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
113	113	SECTION 7. Subchapter Z, Chapter 351, Local Government
114	114	Code, is amended by adding Section 351.903 to read as follows:
115	115	Sec. 351.903. COUNTY JUVENILE CURFEW. (a) To provide for
116	116	the public safety, the commissioners court of a county by order may
117	117	adopt a curfew to regulate the movements or actions of persons under
118	118	17 years of age during the period beginning one-half hour after
119	119	sunset and extending until one-half hour before sunrise. The order
120	120	applies only to the unincorporated area of the county.
121	121	(b) The authority under Subsection (a) includes the
122	122	authority to:
123	123	(1) establish the hours of the curfew, including
124	124	different hours for different days of the week;
125	125	(2) apply different curfew hours to different age
126	126	groups of juveniles;
127	127	(3) describe the kinds of conduct subject to the
128	128	curfew;
129	129	(4) determine the locations to which the curfew
130	130	applies;
131	131	(5) determine which persons incur liability if a
132	132	violation of the curfew occurs;
133	133	(6) prescribe procedures, in compliance with Article
134	134	45A.4555, Code of Criminal Procedure, a police officer must follow
135	135	in enforcing the curfew; and
136	136	(7) establish exemptions to the curfew, including
137	137	exemptions for:
138	138	(A) holidays; and
139	139	(B) persons going to or from work.
140	140	(c) A person commits an offense if the person violates a
141	141	restriction or prohibition imposed by an order adopted under this
142	142	section.
143	143	(d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
144	144	SECTION 8. Chapter 370, Local Government Code, is amended
145	145	by adding Section 370.002 to read as follows:
146	146	Sec. 370.002. REVIEW OF JUVENILE CURFEW ORDER OR ORDINANCE.
147	147	(a) Before the third anniversary of the date of adoption of a
148	148	juvenile curfew ordinance by a general-law municipality or a
149	149	home-rule municipality or an order of a county commissioners court,
150	150	and every third year after the date of the initial review, the
151	151	governing body of the general-law municipality or home-rule
152	152	municipality or the commissioners court of the county shall:
153	153	(1) review the ordinance's or order's effects on the
154	154	community and on problems the ordinance or order was intended to
155	155	remedy;
156	156	(2) conduct public hearings on the need to continue
157	157	the ordinance or order; and
158	158	(3) abolish, continue, or modify the ordinance or
159	159	order.
160	160	(b) An ordinance or order described by Subsection (a)
161	161	expires if the governing body of the general-law municipality or
162	162	home-rule municipality or the commissioners court of the county
163	163	fails to act in accordance with Subsection (a).
164	164	SECTION 9. Section 8.07(e), Penal Code, is amended to read
165	165	as follows:
166	166	(e) A person who is at least 10 years of age but younger than
167	167	15 years of age is presumed incapable of committing an offense
168	168	described by Subsection (a)(4) or (5), other than an offense under a
169	169	juvenile curfew ordinance or order. This presumption may be
170	170	refuted if the prosecution proves to the court by a preponderance of
171	171	the evidence that the actor had sufficient capacity to understand
172	172	that the conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was
173	173	engaged in. The prosecution is not required to prove that the actor
174	174	at the time of engaging in the conduct knew that the act was a
175	175	criminal offense or knew the legal consequences of the offense.
176	176	SECTION 10. The following provisions are repealed:
177	177	(1) Article 45A.455, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
178	178	(2) Section 370.007, Local Government Code, as added
179	179	by Chapter 425 (H.B. 1819), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
180	180	Session, 2023.
181	181	SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
182	182	to an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
183	183	effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
184	184	occurred before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
185	185	date the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the
186	186	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
187	187	this section, an offense was committed or conduct occurred before
188	188	the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
189	189	conduct occurred before that date.
190	190	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.