Tex. Fam. Code § 53.045 · Chapter 53. PROCEEDINGS PRIOR TO JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS
OFFENSES ELIGIBLE FOR DETERMINATE SENTENCE.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(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 constitutes habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031 or that included the violation of any of the following provisions:
(1) Section 19.02, Penal Code (murder);
(2) Section 19.03, Penal Code (capital murder);
(3) Section 19.04, Penal Code (manslaughter);
(4) Section 20.04, Penal Code (aggravated kidnapping);
(5) Section 22.011, Penal Code (sexual assault) or Section 22.021, Penal Code (aggravated sexual assault);
(6) Section 22.02, Penal Code (aggravated assault);
(7) Section 29.03, Penal Code (aggravated robbery);
(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;
(9) Section 22.05(b), Penal Code (felony deadly conduct involving discharging a firearm);
(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);
(11) Section 15.03, Penal Code (criminal solicitation);
(12) Section 21.11(a)(1), Penal Code (indecency with a child);
(13) Section 15.031, Penal Code (criminal solicitation of a minor);
(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;
(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;
(16) Section 49.08, Penal Code (intoxication manslaughter); or
(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 Subdivisions (1) through (16).
(b) A grand jury may approve a petition submitted to it under this section by a vote of nine members of the grand jury in the same manner that the grand jury votes on the presentment of an indictment.
(c) The grand jury has all the powers to investigate the facts and circumstances relating to a petition submitted under this section as it has to investigate other criminal activity but may not issue an indictment unless the child is transferred to a criminal court as provided by Section 54.02 of this code.
(d) If the grand jury approves of the petition, the fact of approval shall be certified to the juvenile court, and the certification shall be entered in the record of the case. For the purpose of the transfer of a child to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as provided by Section 152.00161(c) or 245.151(c), Human Resources Code, as applicable, a juvenile court petition approved by a grand jury under this section is an indictment presented by the grand jury.
(e) The prosecuting attorney may not refer a petition that alleges the child engaged in conduct that violated Section 22.011(a)(2), Penal Code, or Sections 22.021(a)(1)(B) and (2)(B), Penal Code, unless the child is more than three years older than the victim of the conduct.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 385, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 574, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 262, Sec. 26, 27, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1297, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 908 (H.B. 2884), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 85 (S.B. 653), Sec. 3.006, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1299 (H.B. 2862), Sec. 14, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 770 (H.B. 2299), Sec. 2.31, eff. January 1, 2017.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 854 (S.B. 1149), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2015.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.53.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 7381e12854e1b0447e7ab6f05c722fa05c73ade4ab3310d811cf2724c9bfbe56
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Code of Criminal Procedure
Family Code
Health and Safety Code
Human Resources Code
Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 15.01CRIMINAL ATTEMPT.Printed as Section 15.01, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 15.02CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY.Printed as Section 15.02, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 15.03CRIMINAL SOLICITATION.Printed as Section 15.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 15.031CRIMINAL SOLICITATION OF A MINOR.Printed as Section 15.031, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 19.02MURDER.Printed as Section 19.02, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 19.03CAPITAL MURDER.Printed as Section 19.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 19.04MANSLAUGHTER.Printed as Section 19.04, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 20.04AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING.Printed as Section 20.04, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 21.11INDECENCY WITH A CHILD.Printed as Section 21.11(a)(1), Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 22.011SEXUAL ASSAULT.Printed as Section 22.011(a)(2), Penal Code | Section 22.011, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 22.02AGGRAVATED ASSAULT.Printed as Section 22.02, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 22.021AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT.Printed as Section 22.021, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 22.04INJURY TO A CHILD, ELDERLY INDIVIDUAL, OR DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.Printed as Section 22.04, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 22.05DEADLY CONDUCT.Printed as Section 22.05(b), Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 28.02ARSON.Printed as Section 28.02, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 29.03AGGRAVATED ROBBERY.Printed as Section 29.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.08INTOXICATION MANSLAUGHTER.Printed as Section 49.08, Penal Code
Cited by 13 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Fam. Code § 53.045. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Family Code
- Tex. Fam. Code § 51.04JURISDICTION.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 51.095ADMISSIBILITY OF A STATEMENT OF A CHILD.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 53.035GRAND JURY REFERRAL.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 54.03ADJUDICATION HEARING.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 54.04DISPOSITION HEARING.Printed as Section 53.045 | Section 53.045(a)
- Tex. Fam. Code § 54.041ORDERS AFFECTING PARENTS AND OTHERS.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 54.05HEARING TO MODIFY DISPOSITION.Printed as Section 53.045 | Section 53.045(a)
- Tex. Fam. Code § 55.19DISCRETIONARY TRANSFER TO CRIMINAL COURT ON 18TH BIRTHDAY.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 55.44DISCRETIONARY TRANSFER TO CRIMINAL COURT ON 18TH BIRTHDAY OF CHILD.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 55.55REPORT THAT CHILD DOES NOT HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS OR INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY; HEARING ON OBJECTION.Printed as Section 53.045 | Section 53.045(a)
- Tex. Fam. Code § 56.03APPEAL BY STATE IN CASES OF OFFENSES ELIGIBLE FOR DETERMINATE SENTENCE.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 58.256APPLICATION FOR SEALING RECORDS.Printed as Section 53.045
- Tex. Fam. Code § 59.003SANCTION LEVEL ASSIGNMENT MODEL.Printed as Section 53.045
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.