Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2304 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R8757 MCF-D
2	2	By: Johnson S.B. No. 2304
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the age at which a juvenile court may exercise
10	10	jurisdiction over a child and to the minimum age of criminal
11	11	responsibility.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Article 45A.453(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
14	14	is amended to read as follows:
15	15	(a) In this article, "child" means a person who is:
16	16	(1) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than 17
17	17	years of age; and
18	18	(2) charged with or convicted of an offense that a
19	19	justice or municipal court has jurisdiction of under Article 4.11
20	20	or 4.14.
21	21	SECTION 2. Article 45A.454(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
22	22	is amended to read as follows:
23	23	(b) If a law enforcement officer [issues a citation or]
24	24	files a complaint in the manner provided by Article 45A.101(g) for
25	25	conduct by a child 13 [12] years of age or older that is alleged to
26	26	have occurred on school property of or on a vehicle owned or
27	27	operated by a county or independent school district, the officer
28	28	shall submit to the court:
29	29	(1) the offense report;
30	30	(2) a statement by a witness to the alleged conduct;
31	31	and
32	32	(3) a statement by a victim of the alleged conduct, if
33	33	any.
34	34	SECTION 3. Section 37.141(1), Education Code, is amended to
35	35	read as follows:
36	36	(1) "Child" means a person who is:
37	37	(A) a student; and
38	38	(B) at least 13 [10] years of age and younger than
39	39	18 years of age.
40	40	SECTION 4. Section 51.02(2), Family Code, is amended to
41	41	read as follows:
42	42	(2) "Child" means a person who is:
43	43	(A) 10 years of age or older and under 13 years of
44	44	age who is alleged or found to have engaged in conduct that contains
45	45	the elements of any of the following offenses under the Penal Code:
46	46	(i) aggravated assault under Section 22.02,
47	47	sexual assault under Section 22.011, or aggravated sexual assault
48	48	under Section 22.021;
49	49	(ii) arson under Section 28.02;
50	50	(iii) murder under Section 19.02, capital
51	51	murder under Section 19.03, or criminal attempt under Section 15.01
52	52	to commit murder or capital murder;
53	53	(iv) indecency with a child under Section
54	54	21.11;
55	55	(v) aggravated kidnapping under Section
56	56	20.04;
57	57	(vi) aggravated robbery under Section
58	58	29.03;
59	59	(vii) manslaughter under Section 19.04;
60	60	(viii) criminally negligent homicide under
61	61	Section 19.05; or
62	62	(ix) continuous sexual abuse of young child
63	63	or disabled individual under Section 21.02;
64	64	(B) 13 [ten] years of age or older and under 17
65	65	years of age; or
66	66	(C) 17 [(B) seventeen] years of age or older and
67	67	under 18 years of age who is alleged or found to have engaged in
68	68	delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision as
69	69	a result of acts committed before becoming 17 years of age.
70	70	SECTION 5. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
71	71	Section 54.022 to read as follows:
72	72	Sec. 54.022. WAIVER OF JURISDICTION FOR CHILD UNDER 13
73	73	YEARS OF AGE. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date on
74	74	which a preliminary investigation under Section 53.01 concludes,
75	75	the attorney representing the state shall file a petition
76	76	requesting a hearing to determine whether the juvenile court should
77	77	waive its exclusive original jurisdiction over a child younger than
78	78	13 years of age.
79	79	(b) After the petition under Subsection (a) has been filed,
80	80	the juvenile court shall set a time for the hearing. The hearing
81	81	must be held:
82	82	(1) without a jury; and
83	83	(2) before an adjudication hearing may occur.
84	84	(c) At a hearing under this section, the juvenile court
85	85	shall consider whether:
86	86	(1) less restrictive interventions by the child's
87	87	parent, guardian, family, or school, or by child protective
88	88	services or county family and youth services, are available and
89	89	will be sufficient to ensure the safety of the public and of the
90	90	child;
91	91	(2) intervention by the court is warranted; and
92	92	(3) it is in the best interest of the child for the
93	93	court to intervene.
94	94	(d) If the court elects not to waive its jurisdiction over a
95	95	child in a hearing under this section, the court shall state the
96	96	reasons for its decision in the order.
97	97	(e) If the court elects to waive its jurisdiction over a
98	98	child in a hearing under this section, the court shall dismiss all
99	99	charges against the child. The court shall refer the child to the
100	100	person who conducted the preliminary investigation of the child
101	101	under Section 53.01 for a referral for services described by
102	102	Subsection (c)(1), as appropriate.
103	103	SECTION 6. Sections 8.07(d) and (e), Penal Code, are
104	104	amended to read as follows:
105	105	(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person may not be
106	106	prosecuted for or convicted of an offense described by Subsection
107	107	(a)(4) or (5) that the person committed when younger than 13 [10]
108	108	years of age.
109	109	(e) A person who is at least 13 [10] years of age but younger
110	110	than 15 years of age is presumed incapable of committing an offense
111	111	described by Subsection (a)(4) or (5). This presumption may be
112	112	refuted if the prosecution proves to the court by a preponderance of
113	113	the evidence that the actor had sufficient capacity to understand
114	114	that the conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was
115	115	engaged in. The prosecution is not required to prove that the actor
116	116	at the time of engaging in the conduct knew that the act was a
117	117	criminal offense or knew the legal consequences of the offense.
118	118	SECTION 7. The following provisions are repealed:
119	119	(1) Article 45A.454(d), Code of Criminal Procedure;
120	120	(2) Sections 37.124(d) and 37.126(c), Education Code;
121	121	and
122	122	(3) Section 42.01(f), Penal Code.
123	123	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
124	124	an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the
125	125	effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that
126	126	occurred before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
127	127	date the offense was committed or the conduct occurred, and the
128	128	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
129	129	this section, an offense was committed or conduct occurred before
130	130	the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
131	131	conduct occurred before that date.
132	132	SECTION 9. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
133	133	date of this Act, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and the
134	134	Texas School Safety Center shall update the training provided to
135	135	school resource officers and other peace officers to include the
136	136	changes in law made by this Act.
137	137	(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
138	138	Act, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall update the
139	139	training provided to juvenile probation departments to include the
140	140	changes in law made by this Act.
141	141	(c) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
142	142	Act, the Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission shall
143	143	disseminate information to judges and attorneys in this state
144	144	regarding the changes in law made by this Act.
145	145	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.