By: Perry S.B. No. 2693
(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2025; April 3, 2025, read
first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
April 23, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6,
Nays 0; April 23, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the role of advocacy and support groups in the juvenile
justice system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 203.017(b-1), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b-1) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (b), in
developing the regionalization plan, the department shall consult
with:
(1) the advisory council on juvenile services;
(2) juvenile probation departments;
(3) regional juvenile probation associations;
(4) [advocacy groups;
[(5)] parents and guardians of children under the
jurisdiction of the department;
(5) [(6)] individuals formerly involved in the
juvenile justice system; and
(6) [(7)] any other stakeholder the department
determines may be helpful.
SECTION 2. Section 242.056, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections
(d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
(a) If the department finds that the involvement of an
advocacy or support group is in the best interest of a child, the
[The] department may [shall] allow an advocacy or [and] support
group [groups] whose primary function is [functions are] to benefit
children, inmates, girls and women, persons with mental illness, or
victims of sexual assault to provide on-site information, support,
and other services for the child [children] confined in a
department facility [facilities].
(b) The department shall adopt security and privacy
procedures for advocacy and support groups that provide on-site
information, support, and other services under this section. [The
security and privacy procedures may not be designed to deny an
advocacy or support group access to children confined in department
facilities.]
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the department
shall deny admission to a department facility to an advocacy or
support group that has filed:
(1) a complaint with the federal government regarding
the department, while the investigation regarding the complaint is
pending; or
(2) a lawsuit against the department, while the
lawsuit is pending.
(e) The department shall allow an advocacy or support group
to provide information, support, or services under this section if
admission of an advocacy or support group to a department facility
is required by federal law.
(f) Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent an
attorney from meeting with a client or a potential client that has
inquired about the attorney's services.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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