Bill Text: TX HB2399 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to a study of the feasibility and desirability of certain changes to the juvenile justice system.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-27 - Left pending in committee [HB2399 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB2399-Introduced.html
| 83R9591 JSC-D | ||
| By: Turner of Harris | H.B. No. 2399 | |
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| relating to a study of the feasibility and desirability of certain | ||
| changes to the juvenile justice system. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. (a) The executive director of the Texas Juvenile | ||
| Justice Department shall create a committee composed of employees | ||
| of the department to conduct a study on the feasibility and | ||
| desirability of certain changes to the juvenile justice system to | ||
| better provide effective services to youth. | ||
| (b) The study shall address and analyze the ability of the | ||
| department to: | ||
| (1) use a regionalized system of smaller facilities to | ||
| place children in a location as close as possible to their families; | ||
| (2) create diversified treatment and placement | ||
| options; | ||
| (3) improve existing mechanisms in place to prevent or | ||
| limit youth from being sent to the Texas Department of Criminal | ||
| Justice; | ||
| (4) collect and report the necessary data to support | ||
| performance-based standards focused on outcome measures for the | ||
| juvenile justice system; | ||
| (5) provide services to youth who are 17 years of age | ||
| or older if the law or the age of criminal responsibility were | ||
| changed; | ||
| (6) adequately serve and place youth with special | ||
| needs, including youth with severe mental illness and youth with | ||
| physical or educational disabilities; | ||
| (7) provide all youth in secure placement with | ||
| sufficient and effective oversight by the independent ombudsman; | ||
| and | ||
| (8) establish funding priorities for services that | ||
| support the mission of the department and do not provide incentives | ||
| to incarcerate youth. | ||
| (c) The executive director shall appoint the members of the | ||
| committee under this section not later than December 1, 2013. | ||
| (d) Not later than August 1, 2015, the committee established | ||
| under this section shall submit to the Sunset Advisory Commission | ||
| and to the legislature a report on the study required under this | ||
| section. The committee shall include in the report any legislative | ||
| recommendations based on the study. | ||
| (e) The department must make the report created by the | ||
| committee under this section available to the public on the | ||
| department's Internet website. | ||
| (f) The committee is abolished and this Act expires | ||
| September 1, 2015. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2013. | ||
