Bill Text: TX SB719 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to discharging fines and costs assessed against certain juvenile defendants through community service or tutoring.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-23 - Referred to Criminal Justice [SB719 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-SB719-Introduced.html
82R2194 AJZ-D | ||
By: Van de Putte | S.B. No. 719 |
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relating to discharging fines and costs assessed against certain | ||
juvenile defendants through community service or tutoring. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 45, Code of Criminal | ||
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 45.0492 to read as follows: | ||
Art. 45.0492. COMMUNITY SERVICE OR TUTORING IN SATISFACTION | ||
OF FINE OR COSTS FOR CERTAIN JUVENILE DEFENDANTS. (a) This article | ||
applies only to a defendant younger than 17 years of age who is | ||
assessed a fine or costs for a Class C misdemeanor occurring in a | ||
building or on the grounds of the primary or secondary school at | ||
which the defendant was enrolled at the time of the offense. | ||
(b) A justice or judge may require a defendant described by | ||
Subsection (a) to discharge all or part of the fine or costs by | ||
performing community service or attending a tutoring program that | ||
is satisfactory to the court. A defendant may discharge an | ||
obligation to perform community service or attend a tutoring | ||
program under this article by paying at any time the fine and costs | ||
assessed. | ||
(c) In the justice's or judge's order requiring a defendant | ||
to participate in community service work or a tutoring program | ||
under this article, the justice or judge must specify the number of | ||
hours the defendant is required to work or attend tutoring. | ||
(d) The justice or judge may order the defendant to perform | ||
community service work under this article only for a governmental | ||
entity or a nonprofit organization that provides services to the | ||
general public that enhance social welfare and the general | ||
well-being of the community. A governmental entity or nonprofit | ||
organization that accepts a defendant under this article to perform | ||
community service must agree to supervise the defendant in the | ||
performance of the defendant's work and report on the defendant's | ||
work to the justice or judge who ordered the community service. | ||
(e) A tutoring program that accepts a defendant under this | ||
article must agree to supervise the defendant in the attendance of | ||
the tutoring program and report on the defendant's work to the | ||
justice or judge who ordered the tutoring. | ||
(f) A justice or judge may not order a defendant to perform | ||
more than 16 hours of community service per week or attend more than | ||
16 hours of tutoring per week under this article unless the justice | ||
or judge determines that requiring additional hours of work or | ||
tutoring does not cause a hardship on the defendant or the | ||
defendant's family. For purposes of this subsection, "family" has | ||
the meaning assigned by Section 71.003, Family Code. | ||
(g) A defendant is considered to have discharged not less | ||
than $50 of fines or costs for each eight hours of community service | ||
performed or tutoring program attended under this article. | ||
(h) A sheriff, employee of a sheriff's department, county | ||
commissioner, county employee, county judge, justice of the peace, | ||
municipal court judge, officer or employee of a political | ||
subdivision other than a county, nonprofit organization, or | ||
tutoring program is not liable for damages arising from an act or | ||
failure to act in connection with an activity performed by a | ||
defendant under this article if the act or failure to act: | ||
(1) was performed pursuant to court order; and | ||
(2) was not intentional, grossly negligent, or | ||
performed with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for the | ||
safety of others. | ||
(i) A community supervision and corrections department or a | ||
court-related services office may provide the administrative and | ||
other services necessary for supervision of a defendant required to | ||
perform community service under this article. | ||
SECTION 2. Article 45.051(a-1), Code of Criminal Procedure, | ||
is amended to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, as an | ||
alternative to requiring a defendant charged with one or more | ||
offenses to make payment of all court costs as required by | ||
Subsection (a), the judge may: | ||
(1) allow the defendant to enter into an agreement for | ||
payment of those costs in installments during the defendant's | ||
period of probation; | ||
(2) require an eligible defendant to discharge all or | ||
part of those costs by performing community service or attending a | ||
tutoring program under Article 45.049 or 45.0492; or | ||
(3) take any combination of actions authorized by | ||
Subdivision (1) or (2). | ||
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
an offense committed or conduct that occurs on or after the | ||
effective date of this Act. An offense committed or conduct that | ||
occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law | ||
in effect when 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 is committed or conduct occurs | ||
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense | ||
or conduct occurs before the effective date. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |