HBA-CBW, LJP H.B. 822 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 822 By: Giddings Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 2/11/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a justice or municipal court may defer proceedings, and a juvenile court may defer adjudication proceedings, against certain teen defendants for 90 days on successful completion of a teen court program. The teen court program is an alternative system of justice, which offers young offenders an opportunity to make restitution for their offenses. A youth referred to a teen court appears before a jury of peers, consisting of teenage volunteers from local secondary schools. Teen court keeps the offense off of the teen's record. House Bill 822 authorizes a justice or a municipal court and a juvenile court to defer proceedings against such youth until the 90th day after the date the teen court hearing to determine punishment is held. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 822 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a justice or a municipal court to defer proceedings against a defendant who is under the age of 18 or enrolled full time in an accredited secondary school in a program leading toward a high school diploma until the 90th day after the date of a teen court hearing to determine punishment is held. The bill also amends the Family Code to authorize a juvenile court to defer adjudication proceedings against a child for the same period of time. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.