By: Turner of Harris	H.B. No. 2888

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to establishing the juvenile first offender program.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Sec. 52.031.  FIRST OFFENDER PROGRAM. (a) A
	juvenile board may establish a first offender program under this
	section for the referral and disposition of children taken into
	custody for:
	(1)  conduct indicating a need for supervision; or
	(2)  delinquent conduct other than conduct that
	constitutes:
	(A)  a felony of the first, second, or third
	degree, an aggravated controlled substance felony, or a capital
	felony; or
	(B)  a state jail felony or misdemeanor involving
	violence to a person or the use or possession of a firearm, illegal
	knife, or club, as those terms are defined by Section 46.01, Penal
	Code, or a prohibited weapon, as described by Section 46.05, Penal
	Code.
	(b)  Each juvenile board in the county in which a first
	offender program is established shall designate one or more law
	enforcement officers and agencies, or a juvenile probation
	department [which may be law enforcement agencies,] to process a
	child under the first offender program.
	(c)  The disposition of a child under the first offender
	program may not take place until guidelines for the disposition
	have been adopted by the juvenile board of the county in which the
	disposition is made as required by Section 52.032.
	(d)  A law enforcement officer taking a child into custody
	may refer the child to the law enforcement officer or agency, or a
	juvenile probation department designated under Subsection (b) for
	disposition under the first offender program and not refer the
	child to juvenile court only if:
	(1)  the child has not previously been adjudicated as
	having engaged in delinquent conduct;
	(2)  the referral complies with guidelines for
	disposition under Subsection (c); and
	(3)  the officer reports in writing the referral to the
	agency, identifying the child and specifying the grounds for taking
	the child into custody.
	(e)  A child referred for disposition under the first
	offender program may not be detained in law enforcement, or
	juvenile probation department custody.
	(f)  The parent, guardian, or other custodian of the child
	must receive notice that the child has been referred for
	disposition under the first offender program. The notice must:
	(1)  state the grounds for taking the child into
	custody;
	(2)  identify the law enforcement officer or agency, or
	juvenile probation department to which the child was referred;
	(3)  briefly describe the nature of the program; and
	(4)  state that the child's failure to complete the
	program will result in the child being referred to the juvenile
	court.
	(g)  The child and the parent, guardian, or other custodian
	of the child must consent to participation by the child in the first
	offender program.
	(h)  Disposition under a first offender program may include:
	(1)  voluntary restitution by the child or the parent,
	guardian, or other custodian of the child to the victim of the
	conduct of the child;
	(2)  voluntary community service restitution by the
	child;
	(3)  educational, vocational training, counseling, or
	other rehabilitative services; and
	(4)  periodic reporting by the child to the law
	enforcement officer or agency, or the juvenile probation department
	to which the child has been referred.
	(i)  The case of a child who successfully completes the first
	offender program is closed and may not be referred to juvenile
	court, unless the child is taken into custody under circumstances
	described by Subsection (j)(3).
	(j)  The case of a child referred for disposition under the
	first offender program shall be referred to juvenile court if:
	(1)  the child fails to complete the program;
	(2)  the child or the parent, guardian, or other
	custodian of the child terminates the child's participation in the
	program before the child completes it; or
	(3)  the child completes the program but is taken into
	custody under Section 52.01 before the 90th day after the date the
	child completes the program for conduct other than the conduct for
	which the child was referred to the first offender program.
	(k)  A statement made by a child to a person giving advice or
	supervision or participating in the first offender program may not
	be used against the child in any proceeding under this title or any
	criminal proceeding.
	(l)  The law enforcement agency, or the juvenile probation
	department must report to the juvenile board in December of each
	year the following:
	(1)  the last known address of the child, including the
	census tract;
	(2)  the gender and ethnicity of the child referred to
	the program; and
	(3)  the offense committed by the child.
	(m)  The law enforcement agency, juvenile probation
	department, or other agency is prohibited from sending information
	about the arrest or referral of a child who completes the program to
	the statewide Juvenile Justice Information System, unless the child
	is taken into custody under (j)(3).
	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.