HBA-SEB H.B. 3346 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3346
By: Turner, Bob
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
4/9/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a juvenile may not be held in a criminal justice
facility which does not provide a visual and sound barrier from adult
inmates.  In rural areas, few of these facilities exist.  As a result, a
juvenile may need to be transported between a juvenile detention center and
the rural county where the juvenile's hearing takes place.  The process of
transporting a juvenile in such a situation may be costly and may cover a
great distance.  As an alternative, a juvenile hearing could be held
through video conferencing.  The Texas Department of Criminal Justice uses
video conferencing for hearings involving inmate litigation.  H.B. 3346
authorizes a court to hold a juvenile hearing with video communications
technology.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Title 3, Family Code, by adding Section 51.20, as
follows: 

Sec. 51.20.  HEARING.  Authorizes a court to hold a hearing under this
title (Juvenile Justice Code) at a jail or a facility operated by or under
contract with the local law enforcement agency.  Authorizes the court to
conduct the hearing with video communications technology that permits the
court to see and hear the defendant and permits the defendant to see and
hear the court and any other witnesses.  Requires a hearing conducted by
video communications technology to be recorded on videotape.  Establishes
that the recording is sufficient to serve as a permanent record of the
hearing.   

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.