HB31 - 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.

  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 &#xA [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]