Bill Text: TX HB31 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to procedures related to juvenile justice proceedings, the treatment of children placed in or committed to a juvenile facility, and certain offenses or conduct committed by a child or by a person placed in or committed to certain juvenile facilities; changing the eligibility for community supervision.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-05-14 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB31 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB31-Comm_Sub.html

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89R25403 CJD-D
By: Thompson H.B. No. 31
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 31:
By: Rodríguez Ramos C.S.H.B. No. 31

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures related to juvenile justice proceedings, the
treatment of children placed in or committed to a juvenile
facility, and certain offenses or conduct committed by a child or by
a person placed in or committed to certain juvenile facilities;
changing the eligibility for community supervision.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 42A, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 42A.061 to read as follows:
Art. 42A.061. PLACEMENT ON COMMUNITY SUPERVISION
PROHIBITED FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES COMMITTED IN CERTAIN JUVENILE
FACILITIES. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
defendant is not eligible for community supervision, including
deferred adjudication community supervision, under this chapter
for an offense punishable as a felony committed:
(1) when the defendant was at least 17 years of age;
and
(2) while the defendant was:
(A) committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department;
(B) placed in a halfway house operated by or
under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or
(C) placed in a secure correctional facility or
secure detention facility, as defined by Section 51.02, Family
Code.
SECTION 2. Section 51.02, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subdivision (7-a) to read as follows:
(7-a) "Mitigating evidence" means evidence presented at
a proceeding under this title that:
(A) reduces the culpability of a child;
(B) is used to assess the growth and maturity of a
child; and
(C) takes into consideration:
(i) the diminished culpability of children,
as compared to that of adults;
(ii) the hallmark features of youth; and
(iii) the greater capacity of children for
change, as compared to that of adults.
SECTION 3. Chapter 51, Family Code, is amended by adding
Sections 51.22, 51.23, and 51.24 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.22. USE OF CHEMICAL DISPENSING DEVICE ON PREGNANT
CHILD PROHIBITED. (a) In this section:
(1) "Chemical dispensing device" means a device that
is designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of dispensing a
substance capable of causing an adverse psychological or
physiological effect on a human being. The term includes pepper
spray, capsicum spray, OC gas, and oleoresin capsicum.
(2) "Juvenile facility" has the meaning assigned by
Section 39.04, Penal Code.
(b) An employee, contractor, volunteer, intern, or service
provider working in a juvenile facility may not use a chemical
dispensing device against a pregnant child in the facility.
Sec. 51.23. ANNUAL USE OF FORCE AUDIT. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Chemical dispensing device" has the meaning
assigned by Section 51.22.
(2) "Department" means the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department.
(3) "Juvenile facility" has the meaning assigned by
Section 39.04, Penal Code.
(b) The department shall annually conduct an audit of use
of force incidents to identify patterns, deficiencies, or instances
of noncompliance with de-escalation protocols and the prohibition
on the use of chemical dispensing devices on pregnant children in
juvenile facilities.
(c) The administrator of a juvenile facility operated by or
under contract with a juvenile board or other local governmental
unit shall annually report to the department data regarding use of
force incidents in the facility. An administrator shall make the
report required by this subsection in a form and by a date
prescribed by the department.
(d) Not later than August 31 of each year, the department
shall deliver a report to the legislature regarding the findings of
the audit conducted under Subsection (b).
(e) The department shall timely post on the department's
Internet website the audit findings and aggregate data collected
during the audit.
Sec. 51.24. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT; REPORT. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Department" means the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department.
(2) "Juvenile facility" has the meaning assigned by
Section 39.04, Penal Code.
(3) "Solitary confinement" means, with respect to a
child in a juvenile facility, the involuntary separation of the
child from other children placed in the facility in an area or room
from which the child is prevented from leaving for a coercive,
disciplinary, punitive, or retaliatory purpose. The term does not
include the involuntary separation of the child for an
administrative, medical, protective, or emergency interventional
purpose in a manner consistent with applicable laws, including
applicable administrative rules.
(b) A juvenile facility may not place a child in solitary
confinement unless:
(1) the child poses an immediate risk of physical harm
to the child's self or another;
(2) placement in solitary confinement does not violate
principles of trauma-informed care and does not interfere with
de-escalation strategies;
(3) all other less restrictive methods of addressing
the immediate risk of physical harm have been exhausted; and
(4) the child is placed in solitary confinement for a
period that does not exceed the shortest period permitted for
placement of a child in solitary confinement by a state or federal
law, including an administrative rule.
(c) The administrator or superintendent of a juvenile
facility shall:
(1) create a report documenting each instance a child
in the facility is placed in solitary confinement and include in the
report:
(A) the reason for the placement;
(B) the duration of the placement; and
(C) any intervention attempted before the child
was placed in solitary confinement; and
(2) annually submit the report under Subdivision (1)
to the department.
(d) The department shall monitor and enforce compliance
with the requirements of this section by regularly auditing and
reviewing juvenile facility practices related to placing children
in solitary confinement.
SECTION 4. Section 54.02, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (d), (f), (h), (l), and (n) and adding
Subsections (d-1) and (d-2) to read as follows:
(a) The juvenile court may waive its exclusive original
jurisdiction and transfer a child to the appropriate district court
or criminal district court for criminal proceedings if:
(1) the child is alleged to have violated a penal law
of the grade of felony;
(2) the child was:
(A) 14 years of age or older at the time the child
[he] is alleged to have committed the offense, if the offense is a
capital felony[, an aggravated controlled substance felony, or a
felony of the first degree,] and no adjudication hearing has been
conducted concerning that offense; or
(B) 15 years of age or older at the time the child
is alleged to have committed the offense, if:
(i) the offense constitutes serious felony
conduct, as defined by Section 54.04; [is a felony of the second or
third degree or a state jail felony,] and
(ii) no adjudication hearing has been
conducted concerning the [that] offense; and
(3) after a full investigation and a hearing, the
juvenile court determines that there is probable cause to believe
that the child before the court committed the offense alleged and
that because of the seriousness of the offense alleged or the
background of the child the welfare of the community requires
criminal proceedings.
(d) Prior to the hearing, the juvenile court shall admonish
the child in open court and in the presence of the child's attorney
regarding:
(1) the court's consideration of waiving its
jurisdiction over the child and transferring the child to criminal
court for criminal proceedings; and
(2) the child's right to participate or to decline to
participate in any diagnostic study, social evaluation, or
investigation ordered by the juvenile court under Subsection (d-1).
(d-1) After the admonishment under Subsection (d), the
juvenile court shall order [and obtain] a complete diagnostic
study, social evaluation, and full investigation of the child, the
child's [his] circumstances, and the circumstances of the alleged
offense and shall set the date of the transfer hearing. If the
child declines to participate in a study, evaluation, or
investigation, the child's attorney shall state the refusal to the
court in open court or in writing not later than the fifth business
day after the date the court ordered the study, evaluation, or
investigation.
(d-2) In a hearing under this section, a presumption exists
that it is in the best interest of the child and of justice that the
juvenile court retain jurisdiction over the child. The burden is on
the state to overcome this presumption.
(f) In making the determination required by Subsection (a)
of this section, the court shall consider, among other matters:
(1) whether the alleged offense was against person or
property, with greater weight in favor of transfer given to
offenses against the person;
(2) the sophistication and maturity of the child;
(3) the record and previous history of the child;
[and]
(4) the prospects of adequate protection of the public
and the likelihood of the rehabilitation of the child by use of
procedures, services, and facilities currently available to the
juvenile court;
(5) the substantive requirements for waiving
jurisdiction;
(6) relevant information ascertained in the full
investigation of the child; and
(7) the benefits or harm of retaining the child in the
juvenile justice system.
(h) If the juvenile court waives jurisdiction, it shall
state specifically in the order its reasons for waiver. The
statement of reasons must set forth a rational basis for the waiver
of jurisdiction, with sufficient specificity to permit meaningful
review, and must include case-specific findings of fact that do not
rely solely on the nature or seriousness of the offense. The court
shall [and] certify its action, including the written order and
findings of the court, and shall transfer the person to the
appropriate court for criminal proceedings and cause the results of
the diagnostic study of the person ordered under Subsection (d-1)
[(d)], including psychological information, to be transferred to
the appropriate criminal prosecutor. On transfer of the person for
criminal proceedings, the person shall be dealt with as an adult and
in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, except that if
detention in a certified juvenile detention facility is authorized
under Section 152.0015, Human Resources Code, the juvenile court
may order the person to be detained in the facility pending trial or
until the criminal court enters an order under Article 4.19, Code of
Criminal Procedure. A transfer of custody made under this
subsection is an arrest.
(l) The juvenile court shall conduct a hearing without a
jury to consider waiver of jurisdiction under Subsection (j).
Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a waiver of
jurisdiction under Subsection (j) may be made without the necessity
of conducting the diagnostic study [or complying with the
requirements of discretionary transfer proceedings] under
Subsection (d-1) [(d)]. If requested by the attorney for the person
at least 10 days before the transfer hearing, the court shall order
that the person be examined pursuant to Section 51.20(a) and that
the results of the examination be provided to the attorney for the
person and the attorney for the state at least five days before the
transfer hearing.
(n) A mandatory transfer under Subsection (m) may be made
without conducting the study required in discretionary transfer
proceedings by Subsection (d-1) [(d)]. The requirements of
Subsection (b) that the summons state that the purpose of the
hearing is to consider discretionary transfer to criminal court
does not apply to a transfer proceeding under Subsection (m). In a
proceeding under Subsection (m), it is sufficient that the summons
provide fair notice that the purpose of the hearing is to consider
mandatory transfer to criminal court.
SECTION 5. Section 54.04, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (s) to read as
follows:
(d) If the court or jury makes the finding specified in
Subsection (c) allowing the court to make a disposition in the case:
(1) the court or jury may, in addition to any order
required or authorized under Section 54.041 or 54.042, place the
child on probation on such reasonable and lawful terms as the court
may determine:
(A) in the child's own home or in the custody of a
relative or other fit person; or
(B) subject to the finding under Subsection (c)
on the placement of the child outside the child's home, in:
(i) a suitable foster home;
(ii) a suitable public or private
residential treatment facility licensed by a state governmental
entity or exempted from licensure by state law, except a facility
operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or
(iii) a suitable public or private
post-adjudication secure correctional facility that meets the
requirements of Section 51.125, except a facility operated by the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department;
(2) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
that constitutes serious felony conduct [violates a penal law of
this state or the United States of the grade of felony], the court
or jury made a special commitment finding under Section 54.04013,
and the petition was not approved by the grand jury under Section
53.045, the court may commit the child to the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department under Section 54.04013[, or a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(1), as
applicable,] without a determinate sentence;
(3) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
that included a violation of a penal law listed in Section 53.045(a)
and if the petition was approved by the grand jury under Section
53.045, the court or jury may sentence the child to commitment in
the Texas Juvenile Justice Department [or a post-adjudication
secure correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(2)] with a
possible transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a
term of:
(A) not more than 40 years if the conduct
constitutes:
(i) a capital felony;
(ii) a felony of the first degree; or
(iii) an aggravated controlled substance
felony;
(B) not more than 20 years if the conduct
constitutes a felony of the second degree; or
(C) not more than 10 years if the conduct
constitutes a felony of the third degree;
(4) the court may assign the child an appropriate
sanction level and sanctions as provided by the assignment
guidelines in Section 59.003;
(5) the court may place the child in a suitable
nonsecure correctional facility that is registered and meets the
applicable standards for the facility as provided by Section
51.126; or
(6) if applicable, the court or jury may make a
disposition under Subsection (m) [or Section 54.04011(c)(2)(A)].
(s) In this section, "serious felony conduct" means
conduct:
(1) that constitutes an offense under any of the
following provisions of the Penal Code:
(A) Section 19.02 (murder);
(B) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(C) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(D) Section 20.03 (kidnapping);
(E) Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping);
(F) Section 20A.03 (continuous trafficking of
persons);
(G) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of
young child or disabled individual);
(H) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(I) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(J) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(K) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
(L) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual);
(M) Section 28.02 (arson);
(N) Section 29.03 (aggravated robbery); or
(O) Section 49.08 (intoxication manslaughter);
(2) for which it is shown that a deadly weapon, as
defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, was used or exhibited during
the commission of the conduct or during immediate flight from the
commission of the conduct; or
(3) that constitutes habitual felony conduct as
described by Section 51.031.
SECTION 6. Section 54.04013, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 54.04013. SPECIAL COMMITMENT TO TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code,
after a disposition hearing held in accordance with Section 54.04
or a hearing to modify a disposition held in accordance with Section
54.05, the juvenile court may commit a child who is found to have
engaged in delinquent conduct that constitutes serious felony
conduct, as defined by Section 54.04, [a felony offense] to the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department without a determinate sentence if
the court makes a special commitment finding that the child has
behavioral health or other special needs that cannot be met with the
resources available in the community. The court should consider
the findings of a validated risk and needs assessment and the
findings of any other appropriate professional assessment
available to the court.
(b) In making a special commitment finding under Subsection
(a), the court may consider mitigating evidence of the child's
circumstances.
SECTION 7. Sections 54.05(f) and (j), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (j), a disposition
based on a finding that the child engaged in delinquent conduct that
violates a penal law of this state or the United States of the grade
of felony may be modified so as to commit the child to the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department [or, if applicable, a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility operated under
Section 152.0016, Human Resources Code,] if the court after a
hearing to modify disposition finds by a preponderance of the
evidence that the child violated a reasonable and lawful order of
the court and makes a special commitment finding under Section
54.04013. A disposition based on a finding that the child engaged
in habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031 or in
delinquent conduct that included a violation of a penal law listed
in Section 53.045(a) may be modified to commit the child to the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department [or, if applicable, a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility operated under
Section 152.0016, Human Resources Code,] with a possible transfer
to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a definite term
prescribed by[, as applicable,] Section 54.04(d)(3) [or Section
152.0016(g), Human Resources Code,] if the original petition was
approved by the grand jury under Section 53.045 and if after a
hearing to modify the disposition the court finds that the child
violated a reasonable and lawful order of the court.
(j) If, after conducting a hearing to modify disposition
without a jury, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence
that a child violated a reasonable and lawful condition of
probation ordered under Section 54.04(q), the court may modify the
disposition to commit the child to the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department under Section 54.04(d)(3) [or, if applicable, a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility operated under
Section 152.0016, Human Resources Code,] for a term that does not
exceed the original sentence assessed by the court or jury.
SECTION 8. Section 54.051, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (d), (d-1), (e), (e-2), (f), and (i) and
adding Subsections (f-1) and (f-2) to read as follows:
(b) The hearing must be conducted before the person's 19th
birthday[, or before the person's 18th birthday if the offense for
which the person was placed on probation occurred before September
1, 2011,] and must be conducted in the same manner as a hearing to
modify disposition under Section 54.05.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), if [If], after a
hearing, the court determines to transfer the child, the court
shall transfer the child to an appropriate district court on the
child's 19th birthday.
(d-1) After a transfer to district court under this section
[Subsection (d)], only the petition, the grand jury approval, the
judgment concerning the conduct for which the person was placed on
determinate sentence probation, and the transfer order are a part
of the district clerk's public record.
(e) A district court that exercises jurisdiction over a
person transferred under this section [Subsection (d)] shall place
the person on community supervision under Chapter 42A, Code of
Criminal Procedure, for the remainder of the person's probationary
period and under conditions consistent with those ordered by the
juvenile court.
(e-2) If a person who is placed on community supervision
under this section violates a condition of that supervision or if
the person violated a condition of probation ordered under Section
54.04(q) and that probation violation was not discovered by the
state before the date the person was transferred to the district
court [person's 19th birthday], the district court shall dispose of
the violation of community supervision or probation, as
appropriate, in the same manner as if the court had originally
exercised jurisdiction over the case. If the judge revokes
community supervision, the judge may reduce the prison sentence to
any length without regard to the minimum term imposed by Article
42A.755(a), Code of Criminal Procedure.
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), the [The]
juvenile court may transfer a child to an appropriate district
court as provided by this section without a showing that the child
violated a condition of probation ordered under Section 54.04(q).
(f-1) If a motion filed under Subsection (a) includes an
allegation that, after the child's 18th birthday, the child
violated a condition of probation ordered under Section 54.04(q),
the juvenile court may hold a hearing to determine whether there is
probable cause to believe that the child committed the alleged
violation. If the court determines that there is probable cause to
believe that the child committed the alleged violation, the court
may immediately transfer the child to an appropriate district
court.
(f-2) A district court exercising jurisdiction over a child
transferred under this section does not have jurisdiction over an
alleged violation of a condition of probation known to the juvenile
court before the child was transferred to the district court.
(i) If the juvenile court exercises jurisdiction over a
person who is [18 or] 19 years of age or older[, as applicable,]
under Section 51.041 or 51.0412, the court or jury may, if the
person is otherwise eligible, place the person on probation under
Section 54.04(q). The juvenile court shall set the conditions of
probation and immediately transfer supervision of the person to the
appropriate court exercising criminal jurisdiction under
Subsection (e).
SECTION 9. Section 41.302, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 41.302. GENERAL FUNCTION OF SPECIAL PROSECUTION UNIT.
The special prosecution unit is an independent unit that:
(1) cooperates with and supports prosecuting
attorneys in prosecuting offenses and delinquent conduct described
by Article 104.003(a), Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(2) participates in a hearing described by Section
41.311.
SECTION 10. Subchapter E, Chapter 41, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 41.311 to read as follows:
Sec. 41.311. HEARING TO RETURN CHILD TO INSTITUTION FOR
VIOLATION OF CONDITION OF RELEASE. (a) At the request of the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department, a prosecuting attorney serving on the
unit may participate in a hearing regarding the return of a child to
an institution under Section 245.051(f)(1), Human Resources Code.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) and with the
consent of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, a prosecuting
attorney serving on the unit may serve any role in a hearing
described by Subsection (a).
(c) A prosecuting attorney serving on the unit may not
represent the child or act as a hearing officer under this section.
SECTION 11. Section 38.112(a), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A person who is required to submit to electronic
monitoring of the person's location as part of an electronic
monitoring program under Article 42.035, Code of Criminal
Procedure, or as a condition of community supervision, parole,
mandatory supervision, [or] release on bail, probation imposed by a
juvenile court, release under supervision under Section 245.051,
Human Resources Code, or placement in a halfway house operated by or
under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department commits
an offense if the person knowingly removes or disables, or causes or
conspires or cooperates with another person to remove or disable, a
tracking device that the person is required to wear to enable the
electronic monitoring of the person's location.
SECTION 12. Not later than 180 days after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Juvenile Justice Board shall adopt rules
necessary to implement Sections 51.22, 51.23, and 51.24, Family
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 13. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, this Act applies only to conduct violating a penal law that
occurs or an offense committed on or after the effective date of
this Act. Conduct that occurred or an offense committed before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect at the
time the conduct occurred or the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the
purposes of this section, conduct occurred or an offense was
committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the conduct or offense occurred before that date.
(b) Sections 54.02(d-2), 54.04013, and 54.05, Family Code,
as amended by this Act, and Section 41.311, Government Code, as
added by this Act, apply only to a hearing that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act. A hearing that occurs before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the
time the hearing occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
(c) Section 54.02(h), Family Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to an order of a juvenile court waiving jurisdiction
and transferring a child to criminal court that is issued on or
after the effective date of this Act. An order of a juvenile court
waiving jurisdiction and transferring a child to criminal court
that is issued before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the order was issued, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(d) Section 54.051, Family Code, as amended by this Act,
applies to a child placed on probation on or after the effective
date of this Act, regardless of whether the conduct for which the
child was placed on probation was committed before, on, or after the
effective date of this Act.
(e) Section 38.112, Penal Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to an offense committed under that section or conduct
violating that section that occurs on or after the effective date of
this Act. An offense committed or conduct that occurred before that
date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
committed or the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an
offense was committed or conduct occurred before the effective date
of this Act if any element of the offense or conduct occurred before
that date.
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.