BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 1831 By: Johnson Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Drug court programs offer an alternative to incarceration for certain individuals, including those who have been arrested or charged with an offense involving alcohol, a controlled substance, or marihuana, as well as for those with a documented history of alcohol or substance use, and aim to support offenders struggling with addiction through treatment, with the goal of reducing rearrests and recidivism rates. According to a 2012 meta-analytic review of over 100 independent evaluations of adult and juvenile drug court programs published in the Journal of Criminal Justice, the average recidivism rate of drug court participants is 38 percent, which is lower than the recidivism rate of 50 percent for non-participants. However, eligibility for participation in a juvenile drug court program and access to the evidence-based interventions and treatment under those programs is limited to juveniles whose conduct does not involve a dangerous weapon, use of force, or death or serious bodily injury. H.B. 1831 seeks to expand access to such interventions and treatment for and reduce recidivism of juvenile offenders by revising the conditions of eligibility for participation in a juvenile drug court program. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS H.B. 1831 amends the Government Code to revise the conditions for eligibility of a juvenile detained for, taken into custody for, or adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct, including habitual felony conduct, or conduct indicating a need for supervision in which the use of alcohol or a controlled substance is suspected to have significantly contributed to the commission of the conduct to participate in a drug court program as follows: by creating an exception under which a juvenile who is otherwise ineligible for conduct that involves carrying, possessing, or using a firearm or other dangerous weapon or the death of or serious bodily injury to another may participate in the program if the state's attorney consents; and by removing the condition that a juvenile is ineligible for conduct that involves the use of force against another person. H.B. 1831 applies to a juvenile who enters a drug court program regardless of whether the juvenile engaged in the conduct for which the juvenile enters the program before, on, or after the bill's effective date. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
H.B. 1831
By: Johnson
Criminal Jurisprudence
Committee Report (Unamended)
H.B. 1831
By: Johnson
Criminal Jurisprudence
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Drug court programs offer an alternative to incarceration for certain individuals, including those who have been arrested or charged with an offense involving alcohol, a controlled substance, or marihuana, as well as for those with a documented history of alcohol or substance use, and aim to support offenders struggling with addiction through treatment, with the goal of reducing rearrests and recidivism rates. According to a 2012 meta-analytic review of over 100 independent evaluations of adult and juvenile drug court programs published in the Journal of Criminal Justice, the average recidivism rate of drug court participants is 38 percent, which is lower than the recidivism rate of 50 percent for non-participants. However, eligibility for participation in a juvenile drug court program and access to the evidence-based interventions and treatment under those programs is limited to juveniles whose conduct does not involve a dangerous weapon, use of force, or death or serious bodily injury. H.B. 1831 seeks to expand access to such interventions and treatment for and reduce recidivism of juvenile offenders by revising the conditions of eligibility for participation in a juvenile drug court program.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS H.B. 1831 amends the Government Code to revise the conditions for eligibility of a juvenile detained for, taken into custody for, or adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct, including habitual felony conduct, or conduct indicating a need for supervision in which the use of alcohol or a controlled substance is suspected to have significantly contributed to the commission of the conduct to participate in a drug court program as follows: by creating an exception under which a juvenile who is otherwise ineligible for conduct that involves carrying, possessing, or using a firearm or other dangerous weapon or the death of or serious bodily injury to another may participate in the program if the state's attorney consents; and by removing the condition that a juvenile is ineligible for conduct that involves the use of force against another person. H.B. 1831 applies to a juvenile who enters a drug court program regardless of whether the juvenile engaged in the conduct for which the juvenile enters the program before, on, or after the bill's effective date.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Drug court programs offer an alternative to incarceration for certain individuals, including those who have been arrested or charged with an offense involving alcohol, a controlled substance, or marihuana, as well as for those with a documented history of alcohol or substance use, and aim to support offenders struggling with addiction through treatment, with the goal of reducing rearrests and recidivism rates. According to a 2012 meta-analytic review of over 100 independent evaluations of adult and juvenile drug court programs published in the Journal of Criminal Justice, the average recidivism rate of drug court participants is 38 percent, which is lower than the recidivism rate of 50 percent for non-participants. However, eligibility for participation in a juvenile drug court program and access to the evidence-based interventions and treatment under those programs is limited to juveniles whose conduct does not involve a dangerous weapon, use of force, or death or serious bodily injury. H.B. 1831 seeks to expand access to such interventions and treatment for and reduce recidivism of juvenile offenders by revising the conditions of eligibility for participation in a juvenile drug court program.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 1831 amends the Government Code to revise the conditions for eligibility of a juvenile detained for, taken into custody for, or adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct, including habitual felony conduct, or conduct indicating a need for supervision in which the use of alcohol or a controlled substance is suspected to have significantly contributed to the commission of the conduct to participate in a drug court program as follows:
by creating an exception under which a juvenile who is otherwise ineligible for conduct that involves carrying, possessing, or using a firearm or other dangerous weapon or the death of or serious bodily injury to another may participate in the program if the state's attorney consents; and
by removing the condition that a juvenile is ineligible for conduct that involves the use of force against another person.
H.B. 1831 applies to a juvenile who enters a drug court program regardless of whether the juvenile engaged in the conduct for which the juvenile enters the program before, on, or after the bill's effective date.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.