H.B. No. 144
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to a mental examination of a child subject to the juvenile
  justice system.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 51.20(a), (b), (c), and (d), Family
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  At any stage of the proceedings under this title,
  including when a child is initially detained in a pre-adjudication
  secure detention facility or a post-adjudication secure
  correctional facility, the juvenile court may, at its discretion or
  at the request of the child's parent or guardian, order a child who
  is referred to the juvenile court or who is alleged by a petition or
  found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a
  need for supervision to be examined by a disinterested expert,
  including a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist, qualified by
  education and clinical training in mental health or mental
  retardation and experienced in forensic evaluation, to determine
  whether the child has a mental illness as defined by Section
  571.003, Health and Safety Code, [or] is a person with mental
  retardation as defined by Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code,
  or suffers from chemical dependency as defined by Section 464.001,
  Health and Safety Code. If the examination is to include a
  determination of the child's fitness to proceed, an expert may be
  appointed to conduct the examination only if the expert is
  qualified under Subchapter B, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, to examine a defendant in a criminal case, and the
  examination and the report resulting from an examination under this
  subsection must comply with the requirements under Subchapter B,
  Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure, for the examination and
  resulting report of a defendant in a criminal case.
         (b)  If, after conducting an examination of a child ordered
  under Subsection (a) and reviewing any other relevant information,
  there is reason to believe that the child has a mental illness or
  mental retardation or suffers from chemical dependency, the
  probation department shall refer the child to the local mental
  health or mental retardation authority or to another appropriate
  and legally authorized agency or provider for evaluation and
  services, unless the prosecuting attorney has filed a petition
  under Section 53.04.
         (c)  If, while a child is under deferred prosecution
  supervision or court-ordered probation, a qualified professional
  determines that the child has a mental illness or mental
  retardation or suffers from chemical dependency and the child is
  not currently receiving treatment services for the mental illness, 
  [or] mental retardation, or chemical dependency, the probation
  department shall refer the child to the local mental health or
  mental retardation authority or to another appropriate and legally
  authorized agency or provider for evaluation and services.
         (d)  A probation department shall report each referral of a
  child to a local mental health or mental retardation authority or
  another agency or provider made under Subsection (b) or (c) to the
  Texas Juvenile Justice Department [Texas Juvenile Probation
  Commission] in a format specified by the department [commission].
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 144 was passed by the House on March
  27, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 149, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 144 was passed by the Senate on May
  15, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor