Perry Bill Drops Adult Prison Transfer Age To 15

The text as introduced · 2,499 words

2025S0124-1 02/21/25

By: Perry, et al.
S.B. No. 1727

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the protection and detention of a juvenile who engages

in delinquent conduct or commits a felony offense while committed

to the custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; changing

the eligibility for community supervision; redefining habitual

felony conduct.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Article 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. Notwithstanding any other

provision of this chapter, a defendant is not eligible for

community supervision under this chapter, including deferred

adjudication community supervision, if the defendant is charged

with or convicted of a felony allegedly committed when the

defendant was at least 17 years of age and while the defendant was:

(1) committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice

Department;

(2) residing in a halfway house operated by or under

contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or

(3) placed in a secure correctional facility or

secure detention facility as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code.

SECTION 2. Section 51.031(a), Family Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Habitual felony conduct is conduct violating a penal law

of the grade of felony, other than a state jail felony, if:

(1) the child who engaged in the conduct has at least

one [ two ] previous final adjudication [ adjudications ] as having

engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of

felony; and

(2) [ the second previous final adjudication is for

conduct that occurred after the date the first previous

adjudication became final; and ]

[ (3) ] all appeals relating to the previous

adjudication [ adjudications ] considered under Subdivision (1)

[ Subdivisions (1) and (2) ] have been exhausted.

SECTION 3. Section 53.045(a), Family Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the prosecuting

attorney may refer the petition to the grand jury of the county in

which the court in which the petition is filed presides if the

petition alleges that the child engaged in delinquent conduct that :

(1) constitutes habitual felony conduct as described

by Section 51.031 ;

(2) [ or that ] included the violation of any of the

following provisions:

(A) [ (1) ] Section 19.02, Penal Code (murder);

(B) [ (2) ] Section 19.03, Penal Code (capital

murder);

(C) [ (3) ] Section 19.04, Penal Code

(manslaughter);

(D) [ (4) ] Section 20.04, Penal Code (aggravated

kidnapping);

(E) [ (5) ] Section 22.011, Penal Code (sexual

assault) or Section 22.021, Penal Code (aggravated sexual assault);

(F) [ (6) ] Section 22.02, Penal Code (aggravated

assault);

(G) [ (7) ] Section 29.03, Penal Code (aggravated

robbery);

(H) [ (8) ] Section 22.04, Penal Code (injury to a

child, elderly individual, or disabled individual), if the offense

is punishable as a felony, other than a state jail felony;

(I) [ (9) ] Section 22.05(b), Penal Code (felony

deadly conduct involving discharging a firearm);

(J) [ (10) ] Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and

Safety Code, if the conduct constitutes a felony of the first degree

or an aggravated controlled substance felony (certain offenses

involving controlled substances);

(K) [ (11) ] Section 15.03, Penal Code (criminal

solicitation);

(L) [ (12) ] Section 21.11(a)(1), Penal Code

(indecency with a child);

(M) [ (13) ] Section 15.031, Penal Code (criminal

solicitation of a minor);

(N) [ (14) ] Section 15.01, Penal Code (criminal

attempt), if the offense attempted was an offense under Section

19.02, Penal Code (murder), or Section 19.03, Penal Code (capital

murder), or an offense listed by Article 42A.054(a), Code of

Criminal Procedure;

(O) [ (15) ] Section 28.02, Penal Code (arson), if

bodily injury or death is suffered by any person by reason of the

commission of the conduct;

(P) [ (16) ] Section 49.08, Penal Code

(intoxication manslaughter); or

(Q) [ (17) ] Section 15.02, Penal Code (criminal

conspiracy), if the offense made the subject of the criminal

conspiracy includes a violation of any of the provisions referenced

in Paragraphs (A) through (P); or

(3) constitutes a felony of the first, second, or

third degree committed while the child was committed to the Texas

Juvenile Justice Department, was residing in a halfway house

operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice

Department, or was placed in a secure correctional facility or

secure detention facility as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code

[ Subdivisions (1) through (16) ].

SECTION 4. Section 54.05, Family Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (j) and adding Subsections (k) and (k-1) to

read as follows:

(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 :

(1) 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 ; or

(2) if the court finds the violation occurred on or

after the child's 18th birthday, in accordance with Subsection (k),

modify the disposition to transfer the child to the Texas

Department of Criminal Justice for a term that does not exceed the

original sentence assessed by the court or jury; or

(3) if the court finds the violation occurred on or

after the child's 18th birthday, transfer the child to an

appropriate district court. If the court orders such a transfer,

the provisions of Section 54.051 apply except that the date of

transfer may be before the child's 19th birthday.

(k) In imposing a disposition described by Subsection

(j)(2), the court may consider the experiences and character of the

person before and after disposition to probation, the nature of the

penal offense that the person was found to have committed and the

manner in which the offense was committed, the ability of the person

to contribute to society, the protection of the victim of the

offense or any member of the victim's family, the recommendations

of the juvenile probation department and prosecuting attorney, the

best interests of the person, and any other factor relevant to the

issue to be decided.

(k-1) A hearing conducted to consider the disposition

described by Subsection (j)(2) must be recorded by a court reporter

or by audio or video tape recording, and the record of the hearing

must be retained by the court for at least two years after the date

of the court's order in the hearing .

SECTION 5. Section 54.051 Family Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (b), (d), (f), and (i) and adding Subsection

(f-1) 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) 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 , unless the transfer is

ordered under Subsection (f-1) .

(f) 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). Any alleged violations of a condition of

probation that were known to the juvenile court before the transfer

may not be addressed by the district court except as provided by

Subsection (f-1).

(f-1) If the motion filed under Subsection (a) includes an

allegation that the person violated a condition of probation

ordered under Section 54.04(q) when the person was age 18 or older,

the juvenile court, after providing notice and an opportunity to be

heard, may:

(1) upon a finding of probable cause to believe the

person violated a condition of probation, immediately

transfer the case to the appropriate district court, which

will have jurisdiction to address any probation violations;

or

(2) retain the jurisdiction of the case.

(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 6. Section 54.052, Family Code, is amended to read

as follows:

Sec. 54.052. CREDIT FOR TIME SPENT IN DETENTION FACILITY

FOR CHILD WITH DETERMINATE SENTENCE. (a) This section applies only

to a child who is committed to[ :

[ (1) ] the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under

a determinate sentence under Section 54.04(d)(3) or (m) or Section

54.05(f)[ ; or

[ (2) a post-adjudication secure correctional

facility under a determinate sentence under Section

54.04011(c)(2) ].

(b) The judge of the court in which a child is adjudicated

shall give the child credit on the child's sentence for the time

spent by the child, in connection with the conduct for which the

child was adjudicated, in a secure detention facility before the

child's transfer to a Texas Juvenile Justice Department facility .

The judge may not order credit for any other time [ or a

post-adjudication secure correctional facility, as applicable ].

(c) If a child appeals the child's adjudication or

disposition and is retained in a secure detention facility pending

the appeal, the judge of the court in which the child was

adjudicated shall give the child credit on the child's sentence for

the time spent by the child in a secure detention facility pending

disposition of the child's appeal. The court shall endorse on both

the commitment and the mandate from the appellate court all credit

given the child under this subsection.

(d) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department [ or the juvenile

board or local juvenile probation department operating or

contracting for the operation of the post-adjudication secure

correctional facility under Section 152.0016, Human Resources

Code, as applicable, ] shall grant any credit under this section in

computing the child's eligibility for [ parole and ] discharge for

completion of the sentence. Credit may not be given toward

computing the completion of the minimum period of confinement

assigned under Section 245.051, Human Resources Code .

SECTION 7. Subchapter E, Chapter 41, Government Code, is

amended by adding Section 41.3021 to read as follows:

Sec. 41.3021. ADDITIONAL FUNCTION OF SPECIAL PROSECUTION

UNIT WITH REGARD TO TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. (a) At the

request of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the unit may

participate in a hearing regarding the possible return to an

institution of a youth who has been released under supervision and

alleged to have violated the terms of the conditions of that

release, as authorized under Section 245.051(f), Human Resources

Code.

(b) The unit may serve in any role in the hearing other than

defense attorney, as agreed between the unit and the Texas Juvenile

Justice Department.

SECTION 8. Section 244.014(a), Human Resources Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) After a child sentenced to commitment under Section

54.04(d)(3), 54.04(m), or 54.05(f), Family Code, becomes 15 [ 16 ]

years of age but before the child becomes 19 years of age, the

department may refer the child to the juvenile court that entered

the order of commitment for approval of the child's transfer to the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice for confinement if:

(1) the child has not completed the sentence; and

(2) the child's conduct, regardless of whether the

child was released under supervision under Section 245.051,

indicates that the welfare of the community requires the transfer.

SECTION 9. Section 245.102, Human Resources Code, is

amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to

read as follows:

(a) A panel may extend the length of the child's stay as

provided by Section 245.101(a)(3) only if the panel determines by

majority vote and on the basis of a preponderance of the [ clear and

convincing ] evidence that:

(1) the child is in need of additional rehabilitation

from the department; and

(2) the department will provide the most suitable

environment for that rehabilitation.

(a-1) The department shall extend the length of the child's

stay in the custody of the department if the child:

(1) is alleged by a pending petition to have engaged in

delinquent conduct during the child's commitment to the department;

or

(2) is under indictment for a felony committed during

the child's commitment to the department.

SECTION 10. Section 245.151, Human Resources Code, is

amended by adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows:

(f) Except as provided by Subsection (g), the department may

not discharge a child committed to the department if the child:

(1) is alleged by a pending petition to have engaged in

delinquent conduct constituting a felony that occurred while the

child was committed to the department; or

(2) is under indictment for a felony allegedly

committed while the child was committed to the department.

(g) The department may discharge a child to whom Subsection

(f) applies if the child has been sentenced to or transferred to the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

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, juvenile

probation, Texas Juvenile Justice Department release under

supervision, Texas Juvenile Justice Department placement at a

halfway house, parole, mandatory supervision, or release on bail

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. Section 51.031(c), Family Code, is repealed.

SECTION 13. 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

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.