Punishment That Treats the Cause: A Behavioral Health Alternative Sentence for Texas

Executive Summary

When a person commits a crime, that person should be held accountable. But when a diagnosed mental illness, drug addiction, or alcohol-use disorder materially contributed to the crime, putting the offender in a jail or prison without treating that underlying condition may leave the public facing the same danger when the sentence ends.

The proposed Texas Behavioral Health Alternative Sentencing and Record Restoration Act would create a new post-conviction sentencing option for selected lower-level offenses. An eligible defendant would still be convicted, sentenced, confined, supervised, and required to comply with the orders of the court. The difference is that the person could serve the sentence in a qualified mental-health or substance-abuse treatment facility rather than serving the entire term in an ordinary jail or prison without treatment.

Accountability, not acquittal

This is not pretrial diversion. It is not an acquittal. It is not a finding that the defendant lacked responsibility for the crime. It is a criminal punishment imposed after guilt has been established.

The proposed sentence would be limited to Class A and Class B misdemeanors, state-jail felonies, nonviolent third-degree felonies, and carefully defined nonaggravated assaultive offenses. A diagnosis alone would not qualify someone. The court would have to find that the diagnosed condition significantly contributed to the criminal behavior and that a qualified facility could manage the offender without creating an unreasonable risk to victims or the public.

The proposal would exclude offenses involving death, serious bodily injury, deadly weapons, strangulation, sexual offenses, stalking, kidnapping, human trafficking, injury to a child or vulnerable person, commercial drug dealing, felony intoxication offenses, and other aggravated conduct.

If a jury assesses punishment, the jury would have three choices: order conventional confinement, order the behavioral-health alternative sentence, or allow the judge to make that decision. A judge could not disregard a binding decision made by the jury.

A person sentenced under the proposal would remain under court authority for the same term of confinement assessed by the judge or jury. The sentence could move through secure treatment, residential treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, ordinary outpatient treatment, aftercare, and supervised reentry. A participant would not receive unrestricted release merely because inpatient treatment ended.

Eligibility for parole, mandatory supervision, or another form of release would occur on the ordinary timetable. Before a person could leave secure or residential treatment, however, the attending professional and two additional qualified clinical professionals would have to unanimously recommend the move. At least one reviewer would have to be independent of the treatment facility. The judge, juvenile court, or parole authority would retain the final legal decision.

For a first eligible offense, the mental-health, controlled-substance, and alcohol-use-disorder tracks would be available. Successful completion could result in dismissal and expunction. A second alternative sentence would be available only when an independent qualifying mental illness significantly contributed to the second offense. A third qualifying offense would not receive the special alternative sentence.

For children and teenagers, the proposal creates a parallel juvenile disposition. The objective is to hold young offenders accountable while preventing a treatable drug problem or mental-health crisis from automatically placing them on a path toward repeated incarceration and a permanent public record.

Texas data show that behavioral-health needs are common among young people entering the juvenile justice system. In fiscal year 2022, Texas juvenile probation departments reported 42,485 formal referrals. A known substance-use disorder was reported in 16 percent of referrals, with another 10 percent showing a suspected need for services. Those are referrals rather than unique children, and they do not establish that every referred child would qualify for this proposal, but they demonstrate the scale of the treatment need ( Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 2024b ).

Federal investigators also found that serious behavioral-health needs were widespread among children confined in Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities. The investigation reported substantial gaps between identified needs and documented treatment planning. That finding shows why changing a sentence on paper is not enough: Texas must fund qualified staff, secure treatment capacity, oversight, and continuity of care if this policy is to work ( U.S. Department of Justice, 2024 ).

The evidence does not justify promising that every treatment program will succeed or that this bill will reduce crime by a predetermined percentage. Research concerning mental-health courts is encouraging, while juvenile drug-court results are more mixed. The proposal therefore requires statewide data collection, independent evaluation, and reporting of failures as well as successful completions.

This legislation rests on a straightforward principle: punishment should protect the public, enforce accountability, and address the condition that materially contributed to the crime whenever treatment can do so safely.

Video

Punishment That Treats the Cause: A Behavioral Health Alternative Sentence for Texas

Will Campbell - Candidate for Texas House, HD109

The Problem We Need to Address

Families in southern Dallas County want safe neighborhoods. They also want young people to have a meaningful opportunity to correct a serious mistake before that mistake controls the rest of their lives.

Those goals do not have to conflict.

Texas should be firm with people who commit crimes. A person who steals, possesses illegal drugs, drives while intoxicated, assaults another person, or otherwise violates the law should face consequences. Victims should be heard, restitution should be enforced, and the safety of the community should remain the court’s first responsibility.

Accountability alone, however, does not answer every public-safety question.

If a person’s criminal conduct was materially driven by untreated schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, another serious mental illness, drug addiction, or alcoholism, the condition does not necessarily disappear while the person sits in a jail cell. If the person eventually returns to the community with the same untreated illness or addiction, the sentence may have punished the past offense without adequately reducing the danger of another one.

This proposal asks Texas to do both: punish the offense and treat the condition that contributed to it.

That is particularly important for children, teenagers, and young adults. A young person who develops a drug problem, possesses a controlled substance, shares a small amount with another user, or commits a lower-level offense while affected by addiction should not be excused. But neither should Texas ignore the opportunity to intervene before that person progresses into repeated offending, more dangerous drug activity, or a lifetime cycling through correctional institutions.

The proposal offers a structured opportunity to change that path. It is not unlimited, and it is not repeatedly available.

Treatment Is the Sentence

The proposed law would establish a behavioral-health alternative sentence after conviction.

That distinction matters. Most specialty-court programs operate through voluntary diversion, deferred prosecution, or community supervision. Under this proposal, the person has already been found guilty. The treatment placement is the court-ordered manner in which the punishment is served.

The court would first determine the term of confinement that would ordinarily apply. If the sentencing authority selects the alternative sentence, the person would remain under criminal-justice authority for that same period, subject to the ordinary maximum sentence and release rules.

The sentence could include:

Secure psychiatric stabilization.
Inpatient mental-health treatment.
Residential substance-abuse treatment.
Intensive outpatient treatment.
Ordinary outpatient treatment.
Medication management when medically appropriate.
Alcohol and controlled-substance testing.
Education and vocational services.
Restitution.
Victim-protection conditions.
Electronic monitoring or geographic restrictions.
Structured aftercare.
Supervised reentry.

A person could not simply walk away from the program. Refusing treatment, absconding, falsifying drug tests, assaulting staff or participants, introducing contraband, or repeatedly violating material requirements could result in tighter restrictions, loss of noncustodial sentence credit, termination from the program, and return to conventional confinement.

Mandatory participation in a court-ordered treatment sentence would not automatically authorize forced medication, surgery, electroconvulsive treatment, or another invasive medical procedure. Those interventions would remain governed by existing constitutional and Texas medical-consent laws.

The court could require the offender to participate. Licensed medical professionals would retain control over medical decisions.

Who Could Qualify?

The proposal would make the following offense levels potentially eligible:

Class B misdemeanors.
Class A misdemeanors.
State-jail felonies.
Nonviolent third-degree felonies.
Limited Class A or third-degree assault offenses meeting heightened requirements.
Misdemeanor driving while intoxicated when a diagnosed alcohol-use disorder significantly contributed to the offense.
Limited noncommercial sharing of a controlled substance between adults when addiction significantly contributed to the conduct.

Being charged with an offense on that list would not guarantee alternative sentencing.

The court would have to find that:

The defendant has a qualifying mental illness, substance-use disorder, alcohol-use disorder, or co-occurring condition.
The condition was diagnosed by a professional authorized under Texas law.
The condition significantly contributed to the criminal conduct.
Treatment is reasonably expected to reduce the risk of repeated criminal behavior.
A qualified facility can safely manage the person.
The sentence can be administered consistently with victim and public safety.
Funded treatment capacity is available, or the person can remain in conventional custody until placement becomes available.

Diagnosis alone is not enough

Intoxication by itself would not qualify someone. Anger by itself would not qualify someone. Jealousy, ordinary bad judgment, or a diagnosis unrelated to the offense would not qualify someone.

The proposal requires a clinically supportable connection between the diagnosed condition and the criminal behavior.

Limited Assault Eligibility

Mental illness does not excuse an assault. It also does not mean that every assault should be handled in exactly the same way.

Consider a person who experiences a documented psychiatric breakdown in public and becomes involved in a fight. If the other person suffers bodily injury but not serious bodily injury, no deadly weapon is used, and a qualified assessment establishes that the psychiatric condition significantly contributed to the conduct, a court could consider secure mental-health treatment as the place where the sentence is served.

That option would not apply to offenses involving:

Death.
Serious bodily injury.
A deadly weapon.
Strangulation or obstruction of breathing.
Sexual conduct.
Kidnapping.
Stalking.
Continuous family violence.
Repeated protective-order violations.
Other conduct presenting an unmanageable danger.

Selected family-violence misdemeanors could qualify, but only under heightened protections. The court would have to receive a specialized family-violence and lethality assessment, adopt a victim-safety plan, enforce appropriate no-contact or geographic restrictions, and find that the proposed placement and release conditions can reasonably protect the victim and any affected child.

A substance-use disorder, intoxication, anger, or jealousy would not be enough to qualify a family-violence assault. The defendant would need an independent qualifying mental illness that significantly contributed to the incident.

Family violence is serious. The proposal does not minimize it. It recognizes only that, in a narrowly screened case involving an acute and treatable psychiatric condition, secure treatment may sometimes protect a family more effectively than confinement that provides no adequate treatment.

Drug and Alcohol Offenses

Texas already recognizes the value of combining judicial supervision with substance-abuse treatment. Current law authorizes drug courts that integrate treatment, frequent testing, coordinated responses to compliance, judicial monitoring, and evaluation. Texas law also permits drug courts for juveniles and regional programs serving multiple counties ( Texas Legislature, n.d.-a ).

The proposed law would go further by creating a post-conviction treatment sentence rather than relying only on a voluntary specialty-court or probation model.

Illegal and controlled substances

A first eligible offense could enter the controlled-substance track when:

The person has a diagnosed substance-use disorder.
The disorder significantly contributed to the offense.
The offense falls within an eligible punishment category.
The conduct did not involve commercial distribution or another excluded circumstance.
The treatment and security plan can safely manage the person.

The bill also contains a narrow exception for noncommercial sharing between adults. “Delivery” under controlled-substance law can include transferring a drug without receiving money. The proposal would allow consideration of a low-level social-sharing case only when:

No money, property, service, or other benefit was received or expected.
The amount was within the lowest applicable punishment tier.
The amount and circumstances were consistent with personal use or social sharing.
No child participated in or received the transfer.
No death, overdose, or serious bodily injury resulted.
The conduct was not repeated or organized distribution.
The defendant did not manufacture the drug.
The defendant did not misrepresent fentanyl as another substance.
A diagnosed substance-use disorder significantly contributed to the conduct.

This provision is designed to distinguish addicted users from commercial dealers.

Alcohol-related offenses

Alcohol would have a separate treatment track.

Drinking alcohol would not, by itself, make a defendant eligible. The person would need a diagnosed alcohol-use disorder that significantly contributed to an eligible offense.

A misdemeanor DWI could qualify, but felony DWI, intoxication assault, intoxication manslaughter, and DWI with a child passenger would remain excluded. An eligible DWI sentence would include alcohol treatment, verified abstinence, testing, driving restrictions, and ignition-interlock requirements when authorized or required by law.

Who Would Not Qualify?

The proposal is not intended for the most serious crimes.

Excluded conduct would include:

An offense causing death.
An offense causing serious bodily injury.
Use or exhibition of a deadly weapon.
Sexual assault or another registerable sexual offense.
Strangulation or obstruction of breathing.
Stalking.
Kidnapping.
Human trafficking.
Continuous violence against the family.
Repeated violations of protective orders.
Injury to a child, elderly person, or disabled person.
Commercial drug delivery.
Manufacture of controlled substances.
Organized criminal activity.
Gang-related activity.
Child-passenger DWI.
Felony DWI.
Intoxication assault.
Intoxication manslaughter.
Conduct that a qualified facility cannot safely manage.
A third or subsequent qualifying criminal episode.

This is a targeted sentencing tool, not a general replacement for incarceration.

The Role of Judges and Juries

Texas permits a defendant in many cases to elect whether the judge or jury will assess punishment. The alternative-sentencing proposal respects that division of authority.

If the judge assesses punishment, the judge could decide whether the sentence will be served through conventional confinement or behavioral-health treatment.

If a jury assesses punishment, the jury would have three choices:

Order conventional confinement.
Order the behavioral-health alternative sentence.
Delegate the treatment-substitution decision to the judge.

A jury’s direct decision would be binding. The judge could not replace the jury’s selected form of punishment merely because the judge disagreed.

The judge would still administer the sentence. That would include selecting an approved facility, approving the treatment plan, ordering victim protections, reviewing compliance, imposing sanctions, deciding whether a violation occurred, and conducting completion or termination proceedings.

Neither a judge nor a jury would prescribe medication or direct medical treatment. Those decisions would remain with professionals legally authorized to make them.

Release Would Require More Than Time Served

The proposal would not create automatic early release.

The person would become eligible for parole, mandatory supervision, local early release, or step-down on the same timetable that would have applied to the conventional sentence. Before the person could leave secure or residential treatment, however, a three-professional clinical release panel would have to unanimously recommend the change.

The panel would include:

The attending physician, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, or other authorized lead treating professional.
Two additional qualified professionals.
At least one professional independent of the treatment facility.

The panel would review:

Diagnosis and current symptoms.
Treatment participation and response.
Conduct within the facility.
Medication compliance when applicable.
Drug and alcohol testing.
Signs of relapse.
Remaining risk factors.
Victim-safety concerns.
Housing.
Continuing treatment.
Crisis planning.
Proposed supervision conditions.

If a panel member opposed release, that professional would have to explain the clinical and factual reasons in writing. The explanation would be provided to the participant, counsel, attending professional, court, and release authority, subject to the protection of confidential victim information. The decision could then be reconsidered or reviewed through the applicable legal process.

Even a unanimous clinical recommendation would not guarantee release. The judge, juvenile court, or parole authority would retain the final legal decision.

The sentence has a lawful limit

No person could remain in criminal custody beyond the maximum expiration of the sentence. If involuntary psychiatric treatment remained necessary after the criminal sentence ended, the state would have to use the separate civil-commitment process and satisfy the protections required by that law.

Consequences for Failure

Treatment will not work if participants can ignore the rules without consequences.

The proposal authorizes graduated responses, including:

Increased reporting.
More frequent testing.
Clinical reassessment.
More intensive treatment.
Electronic monitoring.
Curfews.
Geographic restrictions.
Community service.
Temporary custodial sanctions.
Transfer to a more restrictive treatment setting.
Termination and return to jail or prison.

Time spent in jail, prison, secure psychiatric stabilization, inpatient treatment, or residential treatment would receive day-for-day credit. That custodial credit could not be taken away later.

Compliant days in outpatient or community treatment would also count. After a first material violation, however, the court could deny credit from the date of the violation until the participant returned to compliance. After a second material violation, the court could forfeit all noncustodial credit accumulated during the affected treatment phase.

A forfeiture would require notice, counsel, a hearing, and written findings.

A single noncriminal relapse would not automatically end treatment. It would trigger clinical reassessment and sanctions. But relapse would not be treated as meaningless, and repeated unauthorized use could eliminate eligibility for record relief.

A Structured First Opportunity

For a first qualifying offense, the proposal would permit the mental-health, controlled-substance, alcohol-use-disorder, or co-occurring-disorder track.

Successful completion would require:

Completion of the sentence.
Completion of the clinically required treatment phases.
No new criminal offense during the sentence, except a fine-only traffic offense.
Compliance with testing.
No test falsification or intentional avoidance.
Substantial compliance with supervision.
Restitution or all payments the court determines the person had the ability to make.
An approved continuing-care plan.
No unmanaged unreasonable risk of serious harm.

A participant who completes a first alternative sentence without prohibited substance use could receive dismissal and automatic expunction.

If the person had one confirmed unauthorized-use violation but later completed the sentence, record relief could become available after two years of continuous, verified abstinence. Two or more confirmed unauthorized-use violations would disqualify the person from first-offense expunction under the proposal.

An expunged first disposition would remain visible only through a minimal, confidential eligibility indicator. That indicator would prevent someone from repeatedly claiming the benefits reserved for a first offense. It would not include therapy notes, medication records, detailed diagnoses, or other unnecessary clinical information.

A Narrower Second Opportunity

A second eligible criminal episode would be treated differently.

The controlled-substance and alcohol tracks would no longer be independently available. A second alternative sentence could be considered only when:

The person has a qualifying mental illness independent of substance use.
That mental illness significantly contributed to the second offense.
The offense is otherwise eligible.
Treatment and public-safety requirements are satisfied.
The judge or jury chooses the alternative sentence.

Successful completion of a second sentence would not result in expunction. The person could seek a special order of nondisclosure after a two-year crime-free period.

Record relief explained

Nondisclosure differs from expunction. It generally hides the record from public disclosure while preserving access for courts, prosecutors, law enforcement, corrections agencies, and other entities authorized by law. A second eligible family-violence case would remain public even after successful completion.

A third qualifying criminal episode would not be eligible for the special alternative sentence. The person could still receive treatment in jail, prison, community supervision, or parole, but the special sentencing and record-relief structure would no longer apply.

The proposal therefore provides an opportunity—not an unlimited cycle of second chances.

Protecting Young People

The bill includes a separate juvenile behavioral-health disposition.

A juvenile court could place an eligible child in clinically appropriate mental-health or substance-abuse treatment for the period the child would otherwise have served under probation, placement, or commitment, subject to the jurisdictional limits of Texas juvenile law.

A juvenile treatment plan would address:

School attendance.
Educational continuity.
Special-education services when applicable.
Age-appropriate treatment.
Family participation when safe and appropriate.
Housing.
Transportation.
Restitution.
Victim safety.
Reentry.
Continuing care.

Children would have to be placed separately from adults. A family’s inability to pay could not be the reason a child is denied treatment or record relief.

The first successfully completed juvenile episode could result in automatic sealing. A second episode would be restricted to a qualifying mental illness, and a third episode would not receive the special disposition.

Prior juvenile adjudications would count when determining whether a later adult case is a first, second, or third eligible episode. That confidential history is necessary to prevent repeated use of a one-time benefit.

At the same time, automatic first-episode sealing recognizes an important reality: a young person who completes treatment, obeys the court, remains free of new criminal conduct, and demonstrates recovery should have a meaningful opportunity to pursue education, employment, housing, military service, and family responsibilities without a lower-level youthful offense remaining publicly attached forever.

What Texas Data Show

Texas should not adopt this legislation based on slogans. The evidence must be examined carefully.

In fiscal year 2022, juvenile probation departments reported 42,485 formal referrals. A known substance-use disorder was reported in 16 percent of referrals, while another 10 percent showed a suspected need for services. Because one youth can generate more than one referral, these figures cannot be treated as a count of unique children who would qualify for the bill ( Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 2024b ).

Drug offenses are visible in the juvenile system but rarely account for most commitments to state youth facilities. TJJD reported that felony drug offenses represented 53 percent of nonviolent felony referrals in fiscal year 2023 but only 4 percent of new TJJD admissions. The department noted that local probation agencies frequently used deferred processing and other alternatives in those cases ( Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 2024a ).

That finding changes how the youth impact of this bill should be understood. Its largest effect may not be removing thousands of children from state youth prisons. Its effect may be seen more often in:

Court-ordered treatment.
Local residential placement.
Probation conditions.
Supervised reentry.
Reduced revocations.
Record sealing.
Earlier intervention before conduct becomes more serious.

National juvenile-court data provide additional context. Juvenile courts handled an estimated 25,300 petitioned drug cases in 2023. Forty-five percent were adjudicated delinquent; among adjudicated cases, 72 percent received probation and 22 percent received an out-of-home placement. These are national figures and should not be presented as Texas totals ( Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, n.d.-a ).

What the data cannot establish

The available data do not support claiming that a known number of Texas youths spent long prison terms solely for minor possession and would automatically have qualified under this proposal. Producing that number would require linked records showing each youth’s offense facts, adjudication, sentence, actual confinement, prior history, diagnosis, causal connection, treatment need, and release outcome.

That detailed retrospective study should be completed. Until it is, the case for this proposal should rest on what the evidence can establish—not on numbers Texas has not yet produced.

Table

Behavioral-health needs among Texas juvenile referrals

Fiscal year 2022 • Referrals, not a count of unique children

Reported measure	Value	Scope
Formal referrals	42,485	Texas juvenile probation departments
Known substance-use disorder	16%	Share of referrals
Suspected need for substance-use services	10%	Share of referrals

Source. (Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 2024b)

Note. A child may generate multiple referrals. These figures do not count people clinically and legally eligible under the proposal.

Texas Has Changed Course Before

Texas previously made a major change in the treatment of lower-level juvenile conduct.

In 2007, Senate Bill 103 prohibited juvenile courts from committing children to the Texas Youth Commission for misdemeanor conduct or violations of misdemeanor probation. The state shifted greater responsibility toward local supervision and alternatives ( Texas Legislature, 2007 ).

A subsequent analysis reported that between fiscal years 2007 and 2011, new admissions to state youth facilities fell by 59 percent, from more than 2,300 to 960, while the average daily secure-facility population fell by 62 percent. The analysis also reported that statewide juvenile arrests fell during the same period rather than increasing ( Pew Charitable Trusts, n.d. ).

Those trends do not prove that reduced confinement caused the decline in youth arrests. Crime patterns can change for many reasons. They do show, however, that Texas reduced reliance on state youth institutions for lower-level conduct without experiencing the automatic public-safety collapse that some critics might have predicted.

That history supports careful consideration of another targeted reform—one that retains confinement and court authority while placing suitable young offenders in treatment.

What Research Says

Mental-health courts

A meta-analysis of 30 adult and juvenile mental-health-court evaluations reported that participation was associated with substantially lower recidivism. The pooled odds ratio was 0.26, representing a strong association between mental-health-court participation and lower odds of reoffending across the studies examined ( Assessing the effect of mental health courts , 2021 ).

That result is encouraging, but it should not be overstated. Most mental-health courts differ from this proposal. They may be voluntary, community-based, pretrial, or tied to probation. They may also serve defendants selected for their likelihood of completing treatment.

The research supports the general proposition that closely supervised treatment can improve outcomes for appropriately selected participants. It does not prove that every provision in this bill will achieve the same result in Texas.

Juvenile drug courts

The evidence for juvenile drug courts is more mixed.

A federal performance report covering funded juvenile drug-court programs found that 59 percent of 143 youths exiting the programs during a six-month reporting period completed successfully. Among youths with reported follow-up measures, 82 percent showed a short-term reduction in a targeted substance-use measure, and 84 percent did not reoffend during the reported six-to-twelve-month period after exit ( Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, n.d.-b ).

Those results are promising, but the sample was limited, follow-up was relatively short, and grant-funded programs may differ from ordinary statewide practice. Completion statistics can also look better when unsuccessful participants are removed from the calculation.

For that reason, the Texas proposal requires reporting on all participants—not just graduates. The state should publish:

Admissions.
Denials.
Treatment placements.
Waiting times.
Completion.
Termination.
New arrests.
New convictions or adjudications.
Substance use.
Violent reoffending.
Education.
Employment.
Housing.
Overdose.
Mortality.
Victim-safety outcomes.
One-, three-, and five-year results.

A program should be judged by what happens to everyone admitted, including those who fail.

Lessons From Other Models

Texas and other states already use parts of this approach.

Texas drug courts integrate treatment, testing, judicial interaction, coordinated responses to compliance, and program evaluation. Current Texas law also permits regional drug-court programs and juvenile drug courts ( Texas Legislature, n.d.-a ).

California permits pretrial mental-health diversion when a qualifying mental disorder significantly contributed to the charged offense, the person is expected to respond to treatment, and treatment in the community would not create an unreasonable danger to public safety. California’s law also excludes several serious offenses and permits inpatient or outpatient treatment ( California Legislative Information, n.d. ).

California has also funded broader programs combining mental-health treatment, substance-use services, housing support, and other interventions. One state evaluation reported that a second cohort served 21,706 participants and recorded a 15.3 percent recidivism rate among enrolled participants. The evaluator cautioned that comparison with ordinary correctional populations was imperfect because criminal histories and definitions of recidivism differed ( California Board of State and Community Corrections, n.d. ).

The Texas proposal fills a different gap. It would:

Operate after conviction.
Treat treatment as the manner of serving punishment.
Preserve the confinement term.
Allow secure and residential placement.
Give a jury binding sentencing authority when the jury assesses punishment.
Limit repeat eligibility.
Preserve victim protections.
Require unanimous clinical review before release or step-down.
Return unsuccessful participants to conventional confinement.
Provide first-offense record restoration after successful completion.

No outside model proves that this exact structure will work. The proposal uses lessons from treatment courts while adding stronger accountability and release provisions.

Capacity Must Be Real

A treatment sentence cannot work if Texas does not have enough treatment beds, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, nurses, substance-abuse counselors, supervision officers, transportation, housing assistance, and aftercare.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported that most children in TJJD secure facilities had serious behavioral-health needs. Investigators also found substantial gaps in treatment planning and services for children identified with moderate or severe needs ( U.S. Department of Justice, 2024 ).

Capacity must be funded

The proposal therefore does not promise an immediate treatment bed that the Legislature has not funded.

If an appropriate placement is unavailable, the defendant would begin serving the ordinary sentence in jail, state jail, prison, detention, or another lawful correctional placement. The person would receive sentence credit and be placed on a priority transfer list. Transfer would occur when a funded, clinically appropriate placement became available.

Lack of capacity could not extend the sentence beyond its lawful maximum.

The legislation would require a statewide capacity assessment before implementation and would direct Texas agencies to identify:

Existing adult and juvenile capacity.
Geographic gaps.
Workforce needs.
Secure-treatment requirements.
Regional programs.
Transportation needs.
Housing needs.
Estimated referrals.
State and county costs.
Available insurance and federal funding.
Necessary appropriations.

The proposed statewide implementation date is September 1, 2028, allowing time for rulemaking, appropriations, facility certification, training, regional agreements, and data-system development.

Costs and Savings

Treatment is not free. Secure psychiatric care and residential substance-abuse treatment can be expensive.

Texas Legislative Budget Board data illustrate why placement type matters. The LBB reported a fiscal year 2024 total cost of $26.11 per juvenile per day for basic probation supervision, including state and local spending, with an average daily population of 19,114. Earlier LBB reporting placed the state residential youth-facility cost at $616.70 per day in fiscal year 2020, compared with $15.14 per day for juvenile probation supervision ( Texas Legislative Budget Board, n.d.-a ; Texas Legislative Budget Board, n.d.-b ).

Those figures do not mean that every person placed in treatment will save Texas the difference between probation and secure confinement. Treatment costs vary widely, and this proposal may require expensive secure care.

The responsible fiscal question is:

Does providing the right level of treatment reduce repeated offending, repeated incarceration, emergency hospitalization, overdose, victimization, and long-term correctional costs enough to justify the investment?

The fiscal question this proposal must answer

That question should be answered through a formal fiscal note and independent evaluation—not campaign arithmetic.

Table

Placement costs: context, not a savings estimate

Different settings and fiscal years must not be treated as interchangeable

Setting	Fiscal year	Reported cost per day
Basic juvenile probation supervision	2024	$26.11
State residential youth facility	2020	$616.70
Juvenile probation supervision	2020	$15.14

Source. (Texas Legislative Budget Board, n.d.-a) ; (Texas Legislative Budget Board, n.d.-b)

Note. These are the figures reported in the supplied article. They are not treatment-bed prices, a like-for-like comparison, or a projected saving from the proposal.

Safer Communities Through Managed Risk

This proposal should not be defended by claiming that people with mental illness are generally violent. It does not make that claim.

The bill addresses a narrower group: people who have been convicted of an eligible offense and for whom a professionally diagnosed condition significantly contributed to that specific criminal conduct.

The objective is to manage the risk presented by that individual.

The proposal can make communities safer by:

Removing the convicted offender from the street.
Placing the person in secure or supervised treatment.
Requiring testing and monitoring.
Addressing symptoms that contributed to the offense.
Protecting victims through no-contact and geographic restrictions.
Requiring clinical review before release.
Continuing treatment after residential placement.
Returning the person to conventional confinement after serious or repeated failure.
Collecting data to determine whether the program actually reduces reoffending.

No law can guarantee that a person will never offend again. The proper standard is whether the sentence manages the person’s risk more effectively than confinement without adequate treatment.

What This Means for Our Communities

Residents of Cedar Hill, Lancaster, DeSoto, Glenn Heights, Wilmer, Hutchins, Combine, Ferris, and Seagoville deserve a criminal-justice system that is firm, fair, and focused on public safety.

That means protecting victims.

It means holding offenders accountable.

It means recognizing when someone has used a mental-health diagnosis as an excuse rather than proving that the condition contributed to the crime.

It also means refusing to ignore a serious illness or addiction when treating it could prevent the next offense.

For young people, the proposal creates a demanding first opportunity. The child or young adult must complete the sentence, complete treatment, obey supervision, remain free of new criminal conduct, comply with testing, satisfy restitution requirements within the person’s ability to pay, and follow a continuing-care plan.

If the person does that, Texas should permit that individual to move forward without a lower-level first offense controlling every future application for work, education, housing, or opportunity.

If the person commits another qualifying offense, the available options narrow.

If the person reaches a third qualifying episode, the special sentence is no longer available.

That is not the removal of accountability. It is accountability with a purpose.

An Honest Standard

The available evidence supports continued development of this proposal, but it does not support exaggerated promises.

Texas cannot yet state precisely how many people would have qualified if this law had existed for the last 20 years. Existing public data do not connect every offense, sentence, prior record, diagnosis, clinical nexus, treatment need, and release outcome at the person level.

Texas also cannot promise that every treatment participant will succeed.

What the evidence does show is that:

Behavioral-health needs are substantial among young people reaching the juvenile justice system.
Texas has previously reduced reliance on state youth confinement for lower-level conduct without an accompanying increase in statewide youth arrests.
Court-supervised mental-health treatment has an encouraging evidence base.
Juvenile drug-treatment results vary and must be evaluated carefully.
Treatment capacity and quality are essential.
Record restoration can be limited to successful first-offense participants without erasing confidential information needed to enforce repeat-offense restrictions.
Public safety can remain central through exclusions, secure placement, judicial supervision, victim protections, testing, clinical review, and consequences for failure.

The choice is not between punishment and treatment.

For carefully screened cases, Texas can make treatment part of the punishment.

A person who committed a crime should serve the sentence. When a diagnosed mental illness or addiction materially contributed to that crime, the public is better served if the sentence also addresses the condition that helped produce the behavior.

That is the purpose of the Texas Behavioral Health Alternative Sentencing and Record Restoration Act: accountability, treatment, restored lives, protected victims, and safer communities.

Proposed Legislation

Read the complete proposal. This is proposed legislation, not current law; final statutory review and conforming amendments remain necessary before filing.

House Bill Behavioral Health Alternative Sentencing and Record Restoration Act

Proposed legislation • Not filed • Will Campbell, HD109 Candidate

By: ___________________ H.B. No. _____

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a behavioral health alternative sentence for certain defendants and a behavioral health alternative disposition for certain children whose criminal or delinquent conduct was significantly influenced by a mental illness, substance use disorder, or alcohol use disorder; providing for treatment, supervision, release review, dismissal, expunction, nondisclosure, and sealing of records; requiring interagency rulemaking and data reporting; authorizing grants and the use of appropriated funds.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

ARTICLE 1. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE

SECTION 1.01. CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CHAPTER 42B ADDED. Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Chapter 42B to read as follows:

CHAPTER 42B. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 42B.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the Texas Behavioral Health Alternative Sentencing Act.

Art. 42B.002. PURPOSE. The purposes of this chapter are to:

(1) hold an eligible defendant accountable through a sentence equal in duration to the term of confinement otherwise assessed;

(2) protect the public by addressing a mental illness or substance use disorder that significantly contributed to the defendant's criminal conduct;

(3) reduce repeated criminal conduct through clinically appropriate treatment, structured supervision, restitution, and continuing judicial oversight;

(4) preserve the punishment authority of a judge or jury while authorizing treatment as the place and manner in which the sentence is served;

(5) provide a one-time opportunity for dismissal and expunction following successful completion of a first eligible sentence; and

(6) preserve ordinary correctional treatment for a defendant who is not eligible for, or who is terminated from, an alternative sentence under this chapter.

Art. 42B.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) “Alcohol use disorder” means a disorder involving recurrent alcohol use that is diagnosed by a qualified clinical professional using professionally recognized diagnostic criteria and substantially impairs the person's health, judgment, or behavior.

(2) “Alternative sentence” means a behavioral health alternative sentence imposed under this chapter in place of confinement in a county jail, state jail, or institutional division facility.

(3) “Clinical release panel” means the three qualified clinical professionals required by Article 42B.202 to evaluate clinical readiness for release or step-down.

(4) “Clinical readiness report” means a written report prepared under Article 42B.202 concerning whether a participant may be safely managed in a less restrictive treatment or supervision setting.

(5) “Co-occurring disorder” means the simultaneous presence of a qualifying mental illness and a qualifying substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder.

(6) “Eligible criminal episode” means one or more eligible offenses committed pursuant to the same transaction or a common scheme or continuing course of conduct and disposed of in the same criminal proceeding.

(7) “Eligible offense” means an offense described by Article 42B.051 that is not excluded by Article 42B.052.

(8) “Family violence” has the meaning assigned by Section 71.004, Family Code.

(9) “First eligible offense” means an eligible criminal episode committed by a defendant who has not previously been convicted of or adjudicated for another eligible criminal episode in this state, another state, or a federal or foreign jurisdiction and who has not previously received an alternative sentence or disposition under this chapter or Chapter 54A, Family Code.

(10) “Material violation” means a wilful or knowing violation that materially impairs treatment, supervision, victim safety, or public safety, including absconding, refusal to participate, prohibited substance use, test falsification, abuse of staff or another participant, or intentional exploitation of program rules.

(11) “Participant” means a defendant serving an alternative sentence under this chapter.

(12) “Program” means the statewide behavioral health alternative sentencing program established under Chapter 131, Government Code.

(13) “Qualified clinical professional” means a person licensed or otherwise authorized under Texas law to perform the diagnosis, treatment, assessment, or clinical review assigned to that person and who acts within the lawful scope of the person's license or other authority.

(14) “Qualified treatment facility” means a public or private inpatient, residential, intensive outpatient, or outpatient facility certified by the Health and Human Services Commission to provide treatment under this chapter.

(15) “Qualifying mental illness” means a mental disease or disorder, other than a condition manifested solely by repeated criminal conduct or a substance use disorder, that:

(A) is diagnosed by a qualified clinical professional using professionally recognized diagnostic criteria;

(B) substantially impairs thought, perception of reality, emotional process, judgment, or behavior; and

(16) “Qualifying substance use disorder” means a disorder involving recurrent use or misuse of an illegal drug, prescription drug, inhalant, or other non-alcohol substance that:

(A) is diagnosed by a qualified clinical professional using professionally recognized diagnostic criteria; and

(B) substantially impairs the person's health, judgment, or behavior.

(17) “Second eligible offense” means an eligible criminal episode committed after the defendant was convicted of, adjudicated for, or placed under an alternative sentence or disposition for one prior eligible criminal episode.

(18) “Significantly contributed” means that a qualifying condition had a material and clinically supportable causal relationship to the conduct constituting the offense and was not merely incidental to the offense.

(19) “Successful completion” means completion of the requirements stated in Article 42B.251.

(20) “Third or subsequent eligible offense” means an eligible criminal episode committed by a defendant who has previously been convicted of, adjudicated for, or placed under an alternative sentence or disposition for two or more eligible criminal episodes.

(21) “Treatment phase” means an inpatient, residential, intensive outpatient, outpatient, aftercare, or community-based phase of an individualized treatment plan.

Art. 42B.004. NATURE OF SENTENCE; PARTICIPATION NOT VOLUNTARY.

(a) An alternative sentence is a criminal punishment imposed after conviction. It is not a pretrial diversion program, a defense to prosecution, an acquittal, or a voluntary exchange for dismissal.

(b) After conviction, the sentencing authority may impose an alternative sentence without the defendant's consent if the requirements of this chapter are satisfied.

(d) The treatment, placement, supervision, testing, restitution, and conduct requirements contained in the judgment are mandatory conditions of the sentence.

(e) This article does not independently authorize the involuntary administration of psychoactive medication, surgery, electroconvulsive treatment, or another invasive medical procedure. An involuntary medical intervention must be authorized under other applicable law and must include the process required by the United States Constitution, the Texas Constitution, and state law.

Art. 42B.005. CONSTRUCTION; OTHER PROCEEDINGS UNAFFECTED.

(a) This chapter does not alter or replace:

(1) a competency proceeding under Chapter 46B;

(2) an insanity proceeding under Chapter 46C;

(3) an emergency detention or civil commitment proceeding under the Health and Safety Code;

(4) a defendant's right to appeal;

(5) a crime victim's rights under Chapter 56A; or

(6) a court's authority to order restitution, a fine, court costs, or another lawful sanction not inconsistent with this chapter.

(b) A person may not be held in criminal custody, inpatient treatment, residential treatment, or supervision under this chapter beyond the maximum expiration date of the sentence.

(c) Continued involuntary treatment after the maximum expiration date may occur only under otherwise applicable civil law.

Art. 42B.006. RIGHT TO COUNSEL.

(a) A defendant is entitled to representation by counsel at:

(1) an eligibility or sentencing hearing under this chapter;

(2) a hearing that may materially increase the restrictiveness of the defendant's placement;

(3) a termination or revocation hearing;

(4) a release-review hearing; and

(5) a hearing concerning successful completion or record relief.

(b) The court shall appoint counsel for an indigent defendant as provided by other law.

(c) A waiver of counsel is effective only if made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily in accordance with otherwise applicable law.

SUBCHAPTER B. ELIGIBILITY

Art. 42B.051. ELIGIBLE OFFENSES.

(a) Subject to Article 42B.052, an offense is eligible if it is:

(1) a Class B misdemeanor;

(2) a Class A misdemeanor;

(3) a state jail felony; or

(4) a felony of the third degree.

(b) Multiple eligible offenses arising from the same eligible criminal episode shall be treated as one offense for purposes of determining whether the episode is a first, second, or third eligible offense.

(c) A fine-only misdemeanor does not qualify for an alternative sentence involving confinement but may be referred to voluntary services under another law.

(d) An assaultive offense punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or felony of the third degree may qualify only under Article 42B.056.

(e) An offense under Section 49.04, Penal Code, may qualify only under the alcohol use disorder track and Article 42B.057.

(f) A noncommercial transfer of a controlled substance may qualify only under Article 42B.058.

Art. 42B.052. EXCLUDED OFFENSES. An offense is not eligible if the judgment contains an affirmative finding or the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the criminal episode involved:

(1) death or serious bodily injury to another person;

(2) the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon;

(3) conduct for which registration is required under Chapter 62;

(4) a felony offense under Title 5, Penal Code, other than an assaultive offense expressly made eligible by Article 42B.056;

(5) trafficking of persons, compelling prostitution, kidnapping, or unlawful restraint of a child;

(6) stalking, continuous violence against the family, strangulation or obstruction of breathing or circulation, coercive control accompanied by violence or a threat of violence, or repeated violation of a protective order;

(7) injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual;

(8) an offense under Section 49.045, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code, or any felony offense under Chapter 49, Penal Code;

(9) manufacture of a controlled substance or delivery of a controlled substance other than a noncommercial transfer expressly made eligible by Article 42B.058;

(10) organized criminal activity, participation in a criminal street gang, or an offense committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang;

(11) a violation of a condition of bond, protective order, or court order intended to protect a specific person from the defendant;

(12) an offense for which judge-ordered community supervision is prohibited under Article 42A.054, except to the extent another provision of this chapter expressly makes the offense eligible; or

(13) conduct demonstrating a continuing and unreasonable risk of serious harm that cannot be adequately managed in an available qualified treatment facility.

Art. 42B.053. CLINICAL ELIGIBILITY.

(a) A defendant is clinically eligible only if the court finds that:

(1) the defendant has a qualifying mental illness, qualifying substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, or co-occurring disorder;

(2) the condition significantly contributed to the eligible offense;

(3) clinically appropriate treatment is reasonably expected to reduce the risk of repeated criminal conduct;

(4) the proposed facility or treatment setting can safely manage the defendant; and

(5) a clinically appropriate treatment setting can be identified, although immediate placement is not required if funded capacity is unavailable as provided by Article 42B.105.

(b) A diagnosis alone is insufficient. The court must make a separate finding concerning the relationship between the condition and the offense.

(c) Intoxication at the time of the offense, standing alone, does not establish a qualifying substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder.

Art. 42B.054. FIRST, SECOND, AND SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES.

(a) For a first eligible offense, the court may impose an alternative sentence based on a qualifying mental illness, a qualifying substance use disorder, an alcohol use disorder, or a co-occurring disorder.

(b) For a second eligible offense, the court may impose an alternative sentence only if:

(1) the defendant has a qualifying mental illness independent of a substance use disorder;

(2) the qualifying mental illness significantly contributed to the second offense; and

(3) each other requirement of this chapter is satisfied.

(c) A defendant with a co-occurring disorder may qualify under Subsection (b) only if the qualifying mental illness independently satisfies Subsection (b)(1) and (2).

(d) A defendant charged with a third or subsequent eligible offense is not eligible for an alternative sentence under this chapter.

(e) Subsection (d) does not prohibit mental health or substance use treatment in jail, in prison, through a substance abuse felony punishment facility, as a condition of community supervision, or as a condition of parole or mandatory supervision.

Art. 42B.055. EFFECT OF PRIOR CASES.

(a) In determining whether an offense is a first, second, or subsequent eligible offense, the court shall consider:

(1) a prior Texas conviction or juvenile adjudication for conduct that would constitute an eligible offense;

(2) a substantially similar conviction or adjudication from another jurisdiction;

(3) a prior alternative sentence or juvenile alternative disposition, regardless of whether the related records were later sealed, expunged, dismissed, or set aside; and

(4) all offenses arising from one criminal episode as a single eligible offense.

(b) An arrest that did not result in a conviction, adjudication, or alternative sentence or disposition may not be used to increase the offense count under this article.

(c) A conviction or adjudication that has been reversed on appeal or pardoned on the basis of actual innocence may not be considered.

(d) In a proceeding to determine whether to impose an alternative sentence for a second eligible offense, the judge and, if applicable, the jury shall be informed that the defendant previously received an alternative sentence or disposition and thereafter committed the present eligible offense. The evidence may include the prior disposition, completion or termination status, and facts reasonably necessary to evaluate treatment response and public safety, but may not include privileged therapy notes or irrelevant confidential clinical communications.

Art. 42B.056. LIMITED ASSAULTIVE AND FAMILY-VIOLENCE OFFENSES.

(a) An offense under Section 22.01, Penal Code, punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or felony of the third degree is eligible if:

(1) no person suffered serious bodily injury;

(2) the defendant did not use or exhibit a deadly weapon;

(3) the conduct did not involve strangulation, suffocation, obstruction of breathing or circulation, sexual conduct, kidnapping, stalking, continuous violence against the family, or repeated violation of a protective order;

(4) the defendant has a qualifying mental illness, independent of intoxication or a substance use disorder, that significantly contributed to the assaultive conduct;

(5) an available qualified treatment facility can safely manage the defendant; and

(6) the sentencing authority makes the heightened findings required by this article.

(b) An offense is not ineligible solely because the grade of the offense is based on the status of the victim under Section 22.01(b), Penal Code, if each requirement of Subsection (a) is satisfied and the offense is not otherwise excluded by Article 42B.052.

(1) the offense satisfies Subsection (a);

(2) the court receives a specialized family-violence and lethality-risk assessment;

(3) the court adopts a written victim-safety plan, including separate housing, no-contact, geographic, firearm, protective-order, and release-notice conditions as appropriate;

(4) the victim is provided the notice and opportunity to be heard required by Chapter 56A and Article 42B.301; and

(5) the court finds in writing that the plan can reasonably protect the victim and any affected child.

(d) Anger, jealousy, voluntary intoxication, or a substance use disorder without an independently qualifying mental illness does not satisfy this article.

(e) Before the alternative-sentence issue is submitted to a jury or decided by the judge, the court shall determine as a matter of law whether the offense is eligible under this article. The sentencing authority shall then determine whether to impose the alternative sentence.

Art. 42B.057. MISDEMEANOR DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED; ALCOHOL TRACK.

(a) An offense under Section 49.04, Penal Code, is eligible only if:

(1) the offense is punishable as a misdemeanor;

(2) the defendant has a diagnosed alcohol use disorder;

(3) the alcohol use disorder significantly contributed to the offense;

(4) the episode did not involve a child passenger, death, serious bodily injury, or conduct constituting another felony under Chapter 49, Penal Code; and

(5) the sentencing authority makes written findings that treatment and the conditions imposed under this article adequately protect the public.

(b) Consumption of alcohol or intoxication at the time of the offense, standing alone, does not establish an alcohol use disorder.

(c) The individualized plan must require alcohol use disorder treatment, verified abstinence, testing, driving restrictions, and ignition-interlock use to the extent authorized or required by other law.

(d) Successful completion of a first eligible offense under this article qualifies for the same dismissal and expunction relief provided by Articles 42B.252 and 55A.007.

Art. 42B.058. NONCOMMERCIAL TRANSFER OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.

(a) An offense involving delivery of a controlled substance is eligible only if the court finds that:

(1) the transfer was between adults;

(2) the defendant received and expected no money, property, service, barter, or other economic benefit;

(3) the amount transferred was within the lowest applicable punishment tier and was consistent with personal use or social sharing rather than distribution;

(4) the defendant did not manufacture the substance or possess a quantity, packaging, records, weapons, or other evidence consistent with commercial distribution;

(5) no child participated in or received the transfer;

(6) the transfer did not cause death, overdose, or serious bodily injury;

(7) the defendant did not knowingly misrepresent fentanyl or a fentanyl-containing substance as another substance;

(8) the transfer was not part of organized, repeated, or commercial distribution; and

(9) a qualifying substance use disorder significantly contributed to the conduct.

(b) The defendant bears the burden of producing evidence that the transfer satisfies Subsection (a). The state retains the burden applicable to punishment issues under other law.

SUBCHAPTER C. ASSESSMENT AND SENTENCING

Art. 42B.101. REFERRAL.

(a) After conviction and before sentence is pronounced, the court may initiate consideration of an alternative sentence on its own motion or on the motion of:

(1) the attorney representing the state;

(2) the defendant or defense counsel;

(3) a supervision officer; or

(4) a person who prepared an assessment under Article 16.22.

(b) The court is not bound by a recommendation or objection of a party.

Art. 42B.102. CLINICAL AND RISK ASSESSMENT.

(a) The court shall order an independent assessment by one or more qualified clinical professionals before imposing an alternative sentence.

(b) The assessment must address:

(1) diagnosis and current symptoms;

(2) the degree to which the condition significantly contributed to the offense;

(3) competency concerns requiring action under Chapter 46B;

(4) risk of suicide, self-harm, violence, victim contact, absconding, and overdose;

(5) prior treatment and response to treatment;

(6) substance use history and the need for medication-assisted treatment;

(7) the least restrictive clinically appropriate treatment setting;

(8) anticipated treatment phases and continuity-of-care needs;

(9) housing, transportation, education, employment, and family or community supports;

(10) the ability of an available facility to manage identified risks; and

(11) any other matter prescribed by rule.

(d) A statement made by the defendant solely for an assessment or treatment under this chapter is not admissible to prove guilt of the underlying offense. The statement may be used in a proceeding under this chapter concerning eligibility, placement, compliance, release, termination, or completion, subject to applicable privileges and the rules of evidence.

Art. 42B.103. PRESENTENCE ELIGIBILITY HEARING.

(a) The court shall conduct an evidentiary hearing before imposing an alternative sentence.

(b) The state and defendant are entitled to notice, counsel, presentation of evidence, cross-examination of witnesses, and an opportunity to be heard.

(c) A victim is entitled to notice and an opportunity to provide information concerning safety, restitution, and the effect of the offense.

(d) The court shall make written findings concerning:

(1) offense eligibility;

(2) clinical eligibility;

(3) the offense count under Article 42B.054;

(4) the relationship between the condition and the offense;

(5) public safety and victim safety;

(6) the clinical appropriateness of the proposed placement and the current availability of funded capacity;

(7) the term of confinement assessed by the judge or jury; and

(8) each reason supporting or opposing the alternative sentence.

(e) Eligibility must be established by a preponderance of the evidence.

Art. 42B.104. IMPOSITION OF ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE.

(a) After the judge or jury assesses a definite term of confinement within the punishment range for the offense, the sentencing authority shall determine whether that term will be served conventionally or as an alternative sentence under this chapter.

(b) If punishment is assessed by the judge, the judge shall make the determination under Subsection (a).

(1) the term shall be served in conventional confinement;

(2) the term shall be served as an alternative sentence under this chapter; or

(3) the jury delegates to the judge the determination of whether the term shall be served as an alternative sentence.

(d) A finding under Subsection (c)(1) or (2) is binding on the judge. The judge may not substitute a different manner of service but retains authority over placement, the individualized treatment plan, review, sanctions, release, and termination as provided by this chapter.

(e) The alternative sentence is the manner of carrying the assessed punishment into execution. The judge may not increase or decrease the term assessed by the sentencing authority except as otherwise authorized by law.

(f) The judgment must state:

(1) the underlying term of confinement;

(2) whether the judge or jury selected the alternative sentence or the jury delegated the decision to the judge;

(3) that the term shall be served through treatment and supervision under this chapter as capacity becomes available;

(4) the initial treatment setting recommended;

(5) the maximum expiration date;

(6) the release eligibility rules applicable to the underlying sentence;

(7) the restitution, fine, and other lawful conditions imposed; and

(8) the conventional place of confinement in which the participant shall remain pending placement or to which the participant may be transferred if the alternative sentence is terminated.

(g) The court may order consecutive or concurrent service only as otherwise authorized by law.

Art. 42B.105. PLACEMENT SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATED CAPACITY.

(a) An alternative sentence does not create an entitlement to immediate placement or to a treatment bed beyond capacity funded by legislative appropriation and certified for the participant's clinical and security needs.

(b) If an appropriate funded placement is not immediately available, the participant shall:

(1) begin or continue serving the conventional sentence in the jail, state jail, or institutional division facility designated by law;

(2) receive all credit otherwise provided by law for that confinement;

(3) be placed on a statewide priority transfer list maintained under Chapter 131, Government Code; and

(4) receive interim mental health, substance use, or alcohol use disorder services in custody to the extent available.

(c) The participant shall be transferred to the first clinically appropriate funded placement that becomes available according to uniform priority rules. The sentencing authority's selection of alternative treatment remains binding notwithstanding delayed placement.

(d) Time spent awaiting placement does not extend the maximum expiration date or delay an ordinary release eligibility date.

(e) If no appropriate funded placement becomes available before the sentence expires, the person may complete the sentence in conventional custody. Lack of capacity does not authorize confinement beyond the maximum expiration date.

Art. 42B.106. INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT AND SUPERVISION PLAN.

(a) Not later than the 14th day after placement, the treatment provider and supervising department shall file a proposed individualized plan with the court.

(b) The plan must include, as applicable:

(1) the diagnosis and treatment goals;

(2) inpatient, residential, intensive outpatient, outpatient, and aftercare phases;

(3) counseling, psychiatric care, medical care, and medication management;

(4) medication-assisted treatment when clinically indicated;

(5) alcohol and controlled substance testing;

(6) education, vocational training, employment, housing, and transportation services;

(7) restitution and victim-safety requirements;

(8) frequency of judicial review and supervision contacts;

(9) objective criteria for advancement, regression, and completion;

(10) a relapse-response protocol;

(11) a crisis and suicide-prevention plan;

(12) reentry and continuity-of-care requirements; and

(13) any other lawful requirement reasonably related to rehabilitation, accountability, or public safety.

(d) A judge, prosecutor, supervision officer, or facility administrator may require compliance with the approved plan but may not prescribe medication or dictate a clinical decision reserved by law to a licensed professional.

Art. 42B.107. COSTS; INABILITY TO PAY.

(a) A participant may be required to contribute toward treatment and supervision costs according to the participant's ability to pay.

(b) Inability to pay may not be used as the sole ground to:

(1) deny admission;

(2) impose a more restrictive placement;

(3) delay advancement;

(4) terminate the alternative sentence; or

(5) deny successful completion or record relief.

(c) Subject to legislative appropriation and available certified capacity, the state shall administer access to treatment required by the judgment in accordance with Article 42B.105.

SUBCHAPTER D. SERVICE, REVIEW, AND COMPLIANCE

Art. 42B.151. EQUIVALENT TERM; PHASES.

(a) The total period during which a participant is subject to treatment and supervision under this chapter equals the term of confinement assessed by the judge or jury, subject to the same lawful early-release mechanisms that would apply to the conventional sentence.

(b) The alternative sentence may be served in progressively less restrictive treatment phases.

(1) clinically indicated;

(2) authorized by the judgment or a subsequent court order; and

(3) within the unexpired sentence.

(d) When inpatient or residential treatment is no longer clinically indicated, the participant shall serve the remainder of the sentence in an appropriate outpatient, aftercare, or supervised community phase unless a lawful basis exists for a more restrictive placement.

(e) A participant is not entitled to unrestricted release merely because the inpatient or residential phase has ended.

Art. 42B.152. CREDIT.

(a) A participant is entitled to day-for-day credit against the sentence for each day spent:

(1) confined before or after sentencing in a jail, state jail, or institutional division facility;

(2) in secure psychiatric stabilization;

(3) in inpatient treatment;

(4) in residential treatment; or

(5) in another twenty-four-hour custodial facility designated by the court.

(b) Each compliant day in an outpatient, aftercare, or community treatment phase counts toward service of the alternative sentence unless forfeited under this article.

(c) After a first material violation, the court may deny credit beginning on the date of the violation and continuing through the date the court finds that the participant returned to material compliance. Credit earned before the first material violation may not be forfeited.

(d) After a second material violation, the court may forfeit all credit accumulated during the unsuccessfully completed outpatient, aftercare, or community treatment phase in which the violations occurred, including credit earned before either violation during that phase.

(e) Credit for conventional custody, secure stabilization, inpatient treatment, residential treatment, or another twenty-four-hour custodial placement may not be forfeited.

(f) Credit may be denied or forfeited only after notice, representation by counsel, an evidentiary hearing, and written findings identifying each material violation and the period affected.

(g) All credit not lawfully forfeited shall be applied to any conventional sentence subsequently executed. The sentence after termination may not exceed the original sentence less protected credit under Subsection (e).

Art. 42B.153. PERIODIC REVIEW.

(a) The court shall review the participant's status:

(1) not less than once every 30 days during the first 90 days;

(2) not less than once every 90 days during inpatient or residential treatment after the first 90 days; and

(3) not less than once every 180 days during an outpatient or community phase.

(b) The review must address treatment progress, public safety, victim safety, restitution, testing, placement level, and barriers to completion.

(c) Before materially increasing the restrictiveness of placement or imposing a custodial sanction, the court shall provide notice and an opportunity to be heard.

Art. 42B.154. GRADUATED RESPONSES; RELAPSE.

(a) A response to noncompliance must be proportional, reasonably related to the violation, and designed to promote accountability, treatment, and public safety.

(b) Authorized responses include:

(1) increased reporting or testing;

(2) clinical reassessment;

(3) modification of the treatment plan;

(4) increased treatment intensity;

(5) curfew, electronic monitoring, or geographic restrictions;

(6) community service;

(7) a brief custodial sanction otherwise authorized by law;

(8) transfer to a more restrictive clinically appropriate setting; or

(9) commencement of termination proceedings.

(c) A first confirmed noncriminal prohibited-use violation does not by itself require termination. The court shall impose a clinically appropriate response and determine credit under Article 42B.152.

(d) A second material violation may support termination and the forfeiture authorized by Article 42B.152(d).

(e) The court shall consider the participant's treatment history, honesty, risk, response to prior interventions, and willingness to continue treatment.

(f) Nothing in this article prevents immediate action necessary to protect the participant, a victim, or the public.

Art. 42B.155. MEDICAL DECISION-MAKING.

(a) A treatment provider retains authority over diagnosis, medication, and clinical treatment within the provider's lawful scope of practice.

(b) A medically appropriate decision to change or discontinue medication is not noncompliance.

(c) Refusal of a particular medication or invasive procedure does not authorize forced treatment under this chapter but may result in reassessment of whether the participant can comply with and safely remain in the alternative sentence.

(d) Before treating medical refusal as grounds for a more restrictive placement or termination, the court shall determine whether a clinically appropriate less intrusive alternative exists.

SUBCHAPTER E. RELEASE ELIGIBILITY AND REENTRY

Art. 42B.201. ORDINARY RELEASE RULES PRESERVED.

(a) A participant is eligible for movement from the custodial or residential portion of an alternative sentence to supervised community treatment on the date the participant would first have been eligible for parole, mandatory supervision, local early release, or another applicable form of release if the conventional sentence had been executed.

(b) The eligibility date and any good-conduct credit shall be calculated under the law applicable to the underlying offense. This chapter does not accelerate, delay, guarantee, or otherwise alter the eligibility date except by requiring the clinical readiness determination provided by this subchapter.

(c) The authority that would decide release from the conventional sentence shall decide release under this subchapter. For a sentence that would be served in county jail, the sentencing court is the release authority.

(d) Release under this subchapter is to a less restrictive treatment and supervision phase and is not an unconditional discharge.

Art. 42B.202. CLINICAL RELEASE PANEL; UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATION.

(a) Before release from or step-down from an inpatient, secure, or residential phase, a clinical release panel must unanimously recommend the proposed release or step-down.

(b) The panel consists of:

(1) the attending physician, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, or other lead treating professional authorized under existing law to evaluate the applicable condition; and

(2) two additional qualified clinical professionals authorized under existing law to evaluate the applicable condition, at least one of whom must be independent of the treatment facility.

(c) A panel member may not have a direct financial interest in unnecessarily extending the participant's confinement or treatment.

(d) The attending professional shall prepare a clinical readiness report. Each additional member shall review the complete clinical record and may interview and independently evaluate the participant.

(e) The report and recommendation must address, to a reasonable degree of clinical probability:

(1) diagnosis and current condition;

(2) treatment completed and response to treatment;

(3) institutional conduct;

(4) medication compliance when applicable;

(5) substance and alcohol testing history;

(6) whether acute symptoms are sufficiently stabilized;

(7) whether inpatient or residential treatment remains medically necessary;

(8) whether the participant can be safely managed in a less restrictive setting under specified conditions;

(9) whether a relapse-prevention and crisis-response plan is in place;

(10) whether housing, medication access, treatment appointments, and supervision have been arranged;

(11) whether identified risks to a victim or the public can be reasonably managed; and

(12) proposed release and continuing-care conditions.

(f) The report may not guarantee that the participant will never engage in harmful or criminal conduct.

(g) Each member shall sign the recommendation. Release or step-down may not occur unless all three members recommend it.

(h) A member who declines to recommend release or step-down shall provide a written statement of the clinical and factual reasons. The statement must be promptly provided to the participant, participant's counsel, attending professional, release authority, and court, subject to protection of confidential victim information.

(i) A denial by one or more panel members is subject to reconsideration and to the ordinary administrative or judicial review and appeal processes applicable to the release decision. The participant may submit an independent evaluation at the participant's expense or, if indigent and the interests of justice require, at public expense as authorized by law.

Art. 42B.203. RELEASE DECISION.

(a) The release authority may order movement to a less restrictive treatment phase only after receiving the unanimous written recommendation required by Article 42B.202.

(b) A unanimous clinical recommendation is necessary but does not guarantee release. The release authority shall consider:

(1) the report and each panel member's recommendation;

(2) treatment participation and progress;

(3) institutional conduct;

(4) testing results;

(5) the nature and circumstances of the offense;

(6) the safety of a victim and the public;

(7) restitution progress;

(8) the proposed supervision plan; and

(9) any other factor ordinarily considered for release from the underlying sentence.

(c) A denial by the release authority must be supported by written reasons and reconsidered at intervals applicable to the conventional sentence or, if no interval applies, not later than the 180th day after denial.

(d) A legal release decision remains with the release authority and may not be delegated to the clinical release panel.

(e) If unanimous clinical approval is withheld, the panel shall reconsider the participant not later than the 180th day after the most recent denial unless a shorter interval is clinically appropriate or required by other law.

(f) Nothing in this article authorizes criminal confinement beyond the maximum expiration date. Continued involuntary treatment after that date may occur only under otherwise applicable civil law.

Art. 42B.204. REENTRY CONDITIONS. A participant released to a less restrictive phase remains subject to:

(1) the unexpired sentence;

(2) continuing treatment and testing;

(3) supervision equivalent to parole, mandatory supervision, or local supervision applicable to the underlying sentence;

(4) victim-protection and no-contact conditions;

(5) restitution; and

(6) other lawful conditions imposed by the release authority.

SUBCHAPTER F. COMPLETION, TERMINATION, AND RECORD RELIEF

Art. 42B.251. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION.

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a participant successfully completes the alternative sentence when the court finds that the participant:

(1) has reached the maximum expiration date or has otherwise completed the term under applicable release law;

(2) has completed each clinically required treatment phase and an approved continuing-care plan;

(3) has not been convicted of or adjudicated for a new offense committed during the sentence, excluding a fine-only traffic offense;

(4) did not engage in any confirmed unauthorized use of an illegal drug, controlled prescription, inhalant, alcohol prohibited by the judgment, or other substance prohibited by the treatment plan during the sentence;

(5) complied with testing and did not tamper with, substitute, or intentionally avoid testing;

(6) substantially complied with supervision;

(7) has paid restitution in full or has made all payments the court determines the participant had the ability to pay; and

(8) does not present an unmanaged unreasonable risk of serious harm under the continuing-care plan.

(b) A participant with one confirmed unauthorized-use violation may be found to have successfully completed the sentence for purposes other than first-offense expunction if the court finds that the participant thereafter completed all treatment and sentence requirements. The participant becomes eligible for first-offense expunction only after remaining continuously and verifiably abstinent for two years after the confirmed use.

(c) A participant with two or more confirmed unauthorized-use violations is not eligible for first-offense expunction under this chapter.

(d) Prescribed medication lawfully used as directed and clinically supervised medication-assisted treatment do not constitute unauthorized use.

(e) Inability to pay fines, fees, or costs other than restitution does not prevent successful completion.

Art. 42B.252. FIRST-OFFENSE DISCHARGE; JUDGMENT SET ASIDE; DISMISSAL.

(a) On successful completion of an alternative sentence for a first eligible offense, the court shall:

(1) discharge the participant;

(2) set aside the judgment of conviction;

(3) dismiss the charging instrument with prejudice; and

(4) if the participant satisfies Article 42B.251(a), enter the findings and information required for automatic expunction under Chapter 55A; or

(5) if Article 42B.251(b) applies, retain limited jurisdiction solely to verify the two-year abstinence period and enter the expunction findings after that period is successfully completed.

(b) A dismissal under this article releases the person from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the conviction, except that a confidential eligibility indicator may be used only as provided by Article 42B.257.

(d) The limited jurisdiction authorized by Subsection (a)(5) does not extend the criminal sentence or authorize continued custody, treatment, or supervision after the sentence expires.

Art. 42B.253. SECOND-OFFENSE DISCHARGE; SPECIAL NONDISCLOSURE.

(a) On successful completion of an alternative sentence for a second eligible offense, the court shall discharge the participant from the sentence.

(b) The court may not set aside the judgment, dismiss the case, or order expunction under this chapter.

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the person is entitled to petition for an order of nondisclosure under Section 411.0741, Government Code, after the second anniversary of discharge if:

(1) the person has not been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for a new offense during the waiting period, excluding a fine-only traffic offense;

(2) restitution has been paid in full or the person made all payments the court found the person had the ability to make; and

(3) the court finds that issuance of the order is in the interest of justice and consistent with public safety.

(d) A second eligible offense involving family violence is not eligible for nondisclosure under this article and remains public as provided by other law.

(e) An order under this article does not prevent access by a court, prosecutor, law enforcement agency, corrections agency, juvenile justice agency, or other governmental entity authorized by Chapter 411. The record remains available to determine future sentencing and eligibility under this chapter.

Art. 42B.254. TERMINATION.

(a) The court may terminate an alternative sentence if the participant:

(1) commits a new offense that demonstrates the participant cannot be safely managed in the program;

(2) commits or credibly threatens violence;

(3) absconds;

(4) repeatedly and wilfully refuses to participate after reasonable interventions;

(5) materially falsified information used to establish eligibility;

(6) repeatedly commits serious violations despite graduated responses; or

(7) can no longer be safely or effectively treated in an available qualified facility.

(b) Termination requires written notice, counsel, an evidentiary hearing, and written findings.

(d) The court shall consider modification, transfer, or intensified treatment before termination unless immediate termination is necessary to protect another person or the public.

(e) On termination, the court shall order the participant to serve the unexpired portion of the conventional sentence in the place designated by law, with all credit required by Article 42B.152.

(f) The sentence after termination may not exceed the sentence originally assessed.

Art. 42B.255. THIRD OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE. A person convicted of a third or subsequent eligible offense:

(1) is not eligible for an alternative sentence;

(2) is not eligible for dismissal, expunction, or special nondisclosure under this chapter; and

(3) remains eligible for treatment otherwise available in jail, prison, a substance abuse felony punishment facility, community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

Art. 42B.256. CONFIDENTIALITY OF CLINICAL INFORMATION.

(a) A diagnostic report, treatment plan, therapy note, medication record, clinical readiness report, or other clinical record filed with the court is confidential and must be maintained separately from the public criminal file.

(b) The court may disclose only the information reasonably necessary to administer the sentence, protect a victim or the public, process benefits, or comply with another law.

(c) A public order should state findings in the least clinically specific terms sufficient to support the court's decision.

(d) This article does not limit a disclosure required to prevent an imminent threat, report abuse or neglect, investigate a new offense, or comply with another mandatory reporting law.

Art. 42B.257. CONFIDENTIAL ELIGIBILITY INDICATOR.

(a) The Office of Court Administration shall permanently maintain for the lifetime of the person a confidential indicator showing only the identity information necessary for a reliable match, the date of disposition, and whether the person has previously received:

(1) a first-offense alternative sentence or disposition;

(2) a second-offense alternative sentence or disposition; and

(3) a discharge, termination, dismissal, expunction, or sealing order associated with that sentence or disposition.

(b) The indicator may not contain the person's diagnosis, treatment records, underlying offense narrative, or other clinical information.

(1) a court determining eligibility under this chapter or Chapter 54A, Family Code;

(2) an attorney representing the state in the pending eligibility proceeding;

(3) defense counsel for the person in that proceeding;

(4) a juvenile probation department performing the same function; or

(5) the office for audit and system-security purposes.

(d) An indicator retained after expunction may be used only to prevent a person from receiving a first-offense or second-offense benefit more times than authorized by law. It may not be used to enhance punishment, establish guilt, deny employment or housing, determine licensing, or be disclosed to the public.

(e) The office may not destroy the indicator because an underlying case was dismissed, set aside, expunged, sealed, or made subject to nondisclosure.

(f) Unauthorized knowing disclosure is punishable in the same manner as knowing disclosure of expunged records under Article 55A.402.

SUBCHAPTER G. VICTIM RIGHTS

Art. 42B.301. NOTICE AND PARTICIPATION.

(a) A victim entitled to notice under Chapter 56A is entitled to reasonable notice of:

(1) an eligibility hearing;

(2) initial placement;

(3) a hearing to reduce a secure or residential placement;

(4) release to community treatment;

(5) termination proceedings;

(6) successful completion; and

(7) dismissal or expunction.

(b) The victim may provide information concerning safety, restitution, treatment-related conditions affecting the victim, and the impact of the offense.

(c) The victim's objection does not constitute an absolute bar to an alternative sentence, but the court must address a material safety concern in its written findings.

(d) A participant remains subject to restitution and lawful protective orders.

ARTICLE 2. PUNISHMENT PROCEDURE

SECTION 2.01. ARTICLE 37.07 AMENDED. Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Section 2A to read as follows:

Sec. 2A. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE.

(a) In an eligible case under Chapter 42B, the court shall determine before the punishment charge is submitted whether the defendant is legally and clinically eligible to be considered for a behavioral health alternative sentence.

(b) The judge or jury having responsibility for punishment shall assess the definite term of confinement that would apply without regard to Chapter 42B.

(c) If the judge assesses punishment, the judge shall decide whether the term will be served in conventional confinement or as a behavioral health alternative sentence.

(d) If the jury assesses punishment, the verdict form must permit the jury to select one of the following:

(1) conventional confinement;

(2) a binding behavioral health alternative sentence; or

(3) delegation to the judge of the decision whether to impose a behavioral health alternative sentence.

(e) A jury finding under Subsection (d)(1) or (2) is binding. The judge may not substitute the other manner of service. If the jury acts under Subsection (d)(3), the judge shall decide the issue at a separate hearing.

(f) The court shall instruct the jury that:

(1) the jury must assess the term of confinement without reducing or increasing the term based on the manner in which the sentence will be served;

(2) an alternative sentence requires treatment and supervision for the assessed term, subject to release laws applicable to the underlying sentence;

(3) the defendant may begin serving the sentence in conventional custody until an appropriate funded treatment placement becomes available; and

(4) the judge retains authority over facility selection, treatment conditions, review, sanctions, release, and termination but may not disregard a binding jury selection under Subsection (d).

(g) The defendant's consent is not required for imposition of the alternative sentence.

ARTICLE 3. STATEWIDE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

SECTION 3.01. GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 131 ADDED. Subtitle K, Title 2, Government Code, is amended by adding Chapter 131 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 131. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING PROGRAM

Sec. 131.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter, “alternative sentence,” “participant,” “program,” “qualified clinical professional,” and “qualified treatment facility” have the meanings assigned by Article 42B.003, Code of Criminal Procedure.

Sec. 131.002. PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.

(a) The Office of Court Administration shall establish and administer a statewide behavioral health alternative sentencing program in cooperation with the Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, local mental health and behavioral health authorities, community supervision and corrections departments, and juvenile probation departments.

(b) Beginning September 1, 2028, the program must operate statewide through certified county programs, multicounty regional programs, state-contracted placements, or a combination of those methods, subject to legislative appropriation and available certified capacity.

Sec. 131.003. OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION DUTIES. The Office of Court Administration shall:

(1) certify participating courts and regional programs;

(2) adopt uniform legal and operational standards;

(3) maintain the confidential eligibility indicator required by Article 42B.257, Code of Criminal Procedure;

(4) develop model forms and orders;

(5) coordinate judicial and interdisciplinary training;

(6) collect and publish de-identified performance data;

(7) monitor compliance and corrective action; and

(8) administer grants appropriated for the program.

Sec. 131.004. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION DUTIES. The Health and Human Services Commission shall:

(1) certify qualified treatment facilities;

(2) establish professional and facility standards;

(3) maintain a current statewide inventory of beds, outpatient capacity, and specialized services and a uniform statewide priority transfer list for persons awaiting funded placement;

(4) establish standards for co-occurring disorders and medication-assisted treatment;

(5) inspect providers and investigate complaints;

(6) coordinate Medicaid and other lawful reimbursement without making coverage a condition of access;

(7) establish patient-rights and grievance procedures; and

(8) ensure continuity of care following discharge or release.

Sec. 131.005. TDCJ AND PAROLE DUTIES. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Board of Pardons and Paroles shall:

(1) calculate felony release eligibility as though the conventional sentence were being served;

(2) provide supervision equivalent to the supervision applicable to the underlying sentence;

(3) adopt procedures for clinical readiness reports and release decisions;

(4) ensure that earned credit is accurately recorded; and

(5) coordinate transfer to conventional custody following termination.

Sec. 131.006. QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS; EXISTING SCOPE OF PRACTICE.

(a) A diagnosis, treatment recommendation, risk assessment, level-of-care recommendation, or clinical readiness determination under this chapter must be made by a person authorized under existing Texas law to perform that function for the applicable condition.

(b) Each professional must act within the lawful scope of the professional's license, certification, registration, or other authority.

(c) The Health and Human Services Commission may adopt rules implementing this section but may not expand or restrict a professional's scope of practice established by other law.

(d) Nothing in this chapter creates a new license or independent diagnostic authority.

Sec. 131.007. FACILITY STANDARDS. A qualified treatment facility must:

(1) be licensed or operated by an authorized governmental entity;

(2) provide evidence-based and clinically appropriate care;

(3) maintain adequate medical and behavioral health staffing;

(4) protect patient rights and confidentiality;

(5) provide medication-assisted treatment when clinically indicated;

(6) maintain emergency, suicide-prevention, and overdose-response capabilities;

(7) provide discharge and continuity-of-care planning;

(8) separate children from adults; and

(9) comply with inspection, reporting, and performance requirements.

Sec. 131.008. REGIONAL ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION.

(a) The office and commission shall prioritize regional arrangements for rural and smaller counties.

(b) Grants may be used for transportation, telehealth when clinically appropriate, mobile assessment, regional case management, transitional housing, and contracted treatment capacity.

(c) A participant should be placed reasonably near the participant's home community when clinically appropriate and consistent with victim and public safety.

Sec. 131.009. FUNDING; INABILITY TO PAY.

(a) The legislature may appropriate money to the office, commission, department, and juvenile justice department to implement this chapter.

(b) The office may award formula and competitive grants to counties and regional programs.

(d) A participant's inability to pay may not bar treatment or successful completion.

Sec. 131.010. REQUIRED DATA. For each referral and participant, the office shall collect de-identified data sufficient to evaluate:

(1) application, admission, denial, and reason for denial;

(2) offense level and criminal history;

(3) diagnosis category and co-occurring conditions;

(4) risk and needs level;

(5) treatment type, intensity, and duration;

(6) completion, termination, and reason for termination;

(7) new arrests, charges, convictions, or juvenile adjudications;

(8) substance use, overdose, emergency hospitalization, and mortality;

(9) housing, education, and employment outcomes;

(10) restitution;

(11) costs and avoided jail, prison, and juvenile-placement days; and

(12) outcomes one, three, and five years after admission and discharge.

Sec. 131.011. EVALUATION.

(a) The office shall contract with an independent Texas public university or other qualified research organization to evaluate the program.

(b) The evaluation must:

(1) report outcomes for all admitted participants and not only graduates;

(2) compare participants with similarly situated persons receiving ordinary sentencing;

(3) separately analyze adults, children, mental health cases, substance use cases, and co-occurring cases;

(4) identify differences by county, race, ethnicity, sex, age, disability, and economic status while protecting identities;

(5) examine public safety, health, fiscal, and record-restoration outcomes; and

(6) recommend statutory and operational changes.

Sec. 131.012. PUBLIC REPORT. The office shall publish an annual de-identified report and submit it to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and standing committees with jurisdiction over criminal justice, juvenile justice, public health, and appropriations.

Sec. 131.013. ADVISORY COUNCIL. The Specialty Courts Advisory Council shall advise the office and participating agencies concerning standards, funding, regional access, evaluation, and best practices under this chapter.

Sec. 131.014. RULEMAKING. Not later than March 1, 2028, the Office of Court Administration, Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Juvenile Justice Department, and Board of Pardons and Paroles shall adopt coordinated rules necessary to implement this chapter and Chapter 42B, Code of Criminal Procedure.

ARTICLE 4. PAROLE AND RELEASE CONFORMITY

SECTION 4.01. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 508.1456 ADDED. Subchapter E, Chapter 508, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 508.1456 to read as follows:

Sec. 508.1456. RELEASE OF PERSON SERVING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE.

(a) For purposes of calculating parole eligibility and making a release decision, a person serving a felony alternative sentence under Chapter 42B, Code of Criminal Procedure, is considered to be serving the underlying sentence of confinement.

(b) The person's parole eligibility date must be calculated under the law otherwise applicable to the offense, including applicable good-conduct time.

(c) In addition to each factor ordinarily considered by a parole panel, the panel must receive the unanimous clinical release-panel recommendation required by Article 42B.202, Code of Criminal Procedure, before ordering release from an inpatient, secure, or residential treatment phase.

(d) Release is to a less restrictive treatment and supervision phase for the unexpired portion of the sentence.

(e) This section does not:

(1) guarantee parole;

(2) change the date on which the person becomes eligible for parole;

(3) authorize confinement beyond the maximum expiration date; or

(4) limit the panel's authority to impose lawful conditions of release.

ARTICLE 5. FIRST-OFFENSE EXPUNCTION

SECTION 5.01. ARTICLE 55A.007 ADDED. Subchapter A, Chapter 55A, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 55A.007 to read as follows:

Art. 55A.007. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF FIRST BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE.

(a) A person is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest, prosecution, conviction, alternative sentence, setting aside of the judgment, and dismissal expunged if:

(1) the person successfully completed a first-offense alternative sentence under Chapter 42B;

(2) the judgment was set aside and the charging instrument dismissed under Article 42B.252; and

(3) the person has not previously received an expunction under this article; and

(4) the person satisfies the abstinence requirement of Article 42B.251(a) or has completed the two-year verified abstinence period required by Article 42B.251(b).

(b) The entitlement applies notwithstanding that the charge previously resulted in a final conviction, court-ordered supervision, or a sentence under Chapter 42B.

(d) An eligibility indicator maintained under Article 42B.257 is not a record or file subject to expunction under this chapter. The indicator may be retained and used only as authorized by that article.

SECTION 5.02. ARTICLE 55A.207 ADDED. Subchapter E, Chapter 55A, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 55A.207 to read as follows:

Art. 55A.207. AUTOMATIC ORDER AFTER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE.

(a) Not later than the 30th day after the court sets aside the judgment and dismisses the case under Article 42B.252, the court shall enter an expunction order on behalf of the person entitled to expunction under Article 55A.007.

(b) Prosecutorial consent is not required.

(d) The attorney representing the state shall prepare the order using information supplied by the court, the person, the Department of Public Safety, and other agencies. Failure of the person to provide information already reasonably available to a governmental entity does not defeat entitlement.

(e) An order under this article is governed by the notice, disposition, confidentiality, and effect provisions of this chapter.

SECTION 5.03. CONFORMING EXPUNCTION AMENDMENTS.

The Texas Legislative Council shall prepare conforming amendments to Articles 55A.201 through 55A.207, 55A.301, 55A.351 through 55A.357, and 55A.401 and 55A.402, Code of Criminal Procedure, necessary to implement Articles 55A.007 and 55A.207 as added by this Act.

ARTICLE 5A. SECOND-OFFENSE NONDISCLOSURE

SECTION 5A.01. GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 411.0741 ADDED. Subchapter E-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 411.0741 to read as follows:

Sec. 411.0741. SECOND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE.

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person who successfully completes a second-offense alternative sentence under Chapter 42B, Code of Criminal Procedure, may petition the court that placed the person under the sentence for an order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information after the second anniversary of discharge.

(b) A person is not eligible under this section if the second eligible offense involved family violence.

(c) The court shall issue the order if, after notice to the attorney representing the state and an opportunity for hearing, the court finds that:

(1) the petitioner satisfies Article 42B.253(c), Code of Criminal Procedure;

(2) issuance is in the interest of justice; and

(3) issuance is consistent with public safety.

(d) The order does not apply to the confidential eligibility indicator maintained under Article 42B.257, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(e) A record subject to the order remains available to criminal justice agencies and other governmental entities authorized by this chapter and may be used to determine eligibility, punishment, and public-safety conditions in a later criminal or juvenile proceeding.

(f) Except as provided by this section, an order under this section is governed by this subchapter.

ARTICLE 6. JUVENILE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE DISPOSITION

SECTION 6.01. FAMILY CODE CHAPTER 54A ADDED. Title 3, Family Code, is amended by adding Chapter 54A to read as follows:

CHAPTER 54A. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE DISPOSITION

Sec. 54A.001. PURPOSE; APPLICATION.

(a) This chapter establishes a behavioral health alternative disposition for a child adjudicated as having engaged in eligible delinquent conduct.

(b) The disposition is imposed after adjudication and is not voluntary diversion.

(c) Except as provided by this chapter, Chapter 42B, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies to the extent suitable to juvenile proceedings, with references to conviction, defendant, sentence, and expunction construed as references to adjudication, child, disposition, and sealing.

Sec. 54A.002. ELIGIBLE CONDUCT.

(a) Conduct is eligible if, had the child been prosecuted as an adult, the conduct would constitute an eligible offense under Article 42B.051, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(b) Conduct excluded by Article 42B.052, Code of Criminal Procedure, is not eligible.

(c) A child transferred for criminal prosecution under Section 54.02 is governed by Chapter 42B, Code of Criminal Procedure.

Sec. 54A.003. CLINICAL ELIGIBILITY.

(a) The juvenile court must find that:

(1) the child has a qualifying mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, qualifying substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, or co-occurring disorder;

(2) the condition significantly contributed to the conduct;

(3) treatment is reasonably expected to reduce repeated delinquent or criminal conduct;

(4) the proposed placement can safely manage the child; and

(5) the disposition is in the child's best interest and consistent with public safety.

(b) A serious emotional disturbance must be diagnosed under standards adopted by the Health and Human Services Commission and Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

Sec. 54A.004. FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD EPISODES.

(a) For a first eligible episode, the court may impose the disposition for a qualifying mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, or co-occurring disorder.

(b) For a second eligible episode, the court may impose the disposition only for a qualifying mental illness or serious emotional disturbance independent of a substance use disorder that significantly contributed to the conduct.

(d) An episode count under this section includes qualifying adult convictions and dispositions as provided by Article 42B.055, Code of Criminal Procedure.

Sec. 54A.005. ASSESSMENT AND HEARING.

(a) The court shall order a developmentally appropriate clinical, risk, educational, family, and treatment-needs assessment.

(b) The child is entitled to counsel at each material proceeding.

(c) The court shall provide the child, the child's attorney, the prosecuting attorney, and the parent, guardian, or custodian notice and an opportunity to be heard.

(d) The child's consent is not required after adjudication.

(e) Family participation must be encouraged when safe and clinically appropriate but may not be required when participation would endanger the child, undermine treatment, or be contrary to the child's best interest.

Sec. 54A.006. DISPOSITION ORDER.

(a) The court may place the child on probation and order the child to serve a behavioral health alternative disposition in lieu of commitment or placement otherwise authorized by Section 54.04.

(b) The court shall specify the period the child would otherwise have served under probation, placement, or commitment and shall impose an equivalent period of treatment and supervision, subject to the jurisdictional limits of Title 3.

(1) the initial level of care;

(2) school attendance and educational continuity;

(3) special education coordination when applicable;

(4) age-appropriate mental health or substance use treatment;

(5) family services when appropriate;

(6) housing, transportation, and community supports;

(7) victim safety and restitution;

(8) criteria for movement between treatment phases;

(9) a reentry and aftercare plan; and

(10) a maximum expiration date.

(d) A family may not be denied the disposition because of inability to pay.

Sec. 54A.007. PLACEMENT AND REVIEW.

(a) A residential placement must be licensed, developmentally appropriate, and separate from adult participants.

(b) The court shall use the least restrictive clinically appropriate placement consistent with public safety.

(d) The child is entitled to credit for time in detention, secure stabilization, inpatient care, or residential treatment as provided by law.

Sec. 54A.008. RELEASE AND STEP-DOWN.

(a) Eligibility for release or step-down must occur on the same timetable that would apply to the underlying juvenile disposition.

(b) Before release from secure or residential treatment, the court must receive a unanimous developmentally appropriate clinical release-panel recommendation addressing the matters stated in Article 42B.202, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(c) The juvenile court retains the legal release decision unless another agency has release authority under the underlying disposition.

(d) The child remains subject to treatment and supervision for the unexpired disposition period.

Sec. 54A.009. RELAPSE, NONCOMPLIANCE, AND CREDIT.

(a) A first confirmed noncriminal prohibited-use violation does not automatically require revocation but triggers developmentally appropriate graduated responses and the credit rules of Article 42B.152, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(b) After a first material violation, the court may deny credit only for time after the violation through restored compliance. After a second material violation, the court may forfeit all noncustodial credit accumulated in the affected treatment phase.

(d) The court shall consider treatment modification before termination unless immediate action is necessary for safety.

(e) A material increase in restriction, denial or forfeiture of credit, or termination requires notice, counsel, a hearing, and written findings.

Sec. 54A.010. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION.

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the court shall find successful completion if the child:

(1) completes the disposition and clinically required treatment;

(2) has no new adjudication or conviction for conduct occurring during the disposition, excluding a fine-only traffic offense;

(3) has no confirmed unauthorized use of an illegal drug, controlled prescription, inhalant, alcohol when prohibited by the applicable treatment track or order, or other prohibited substance during the entire disposition;

(4) substantially complies with education, supervision, treatment, and testing;

(5) completes restitution or all payments the court finds the child and family had the ability to make; and

(6) has an approved continuing-care plan.

(b) A child with one confirmed unauthorized-use violation who later completes the disposition and remains continuously and verifiably abstinent for two years after that use may receive first-episode sealing under Section 54A.011. The juvenile court retains limited jurisdiction solely to verify abstinence and enter the sealing order, but the limited jurisdiction does not authorize continued custody or supervision beyond the lawful disposition period.

(c) A child with two or more confirmed unauthorized-use violations is not eligible for automatic sealing under Section 54A.011.

Sec. 54A.011. FIRST-EPISODE DISCHARGE AND SEALING.

(a) On successful completion of a first-episode disposition, the court shall:

(1) discharge the child;

(2) dismiss the petition with prejudice;

(3) vacate the adjudication; and

(4) order all records relating to the taking into custody, referral, adjudication, disposition, treatment, dismissal, and discharge sealed without an application or fee.

(b) The sealing order has the effect provided by Chapter 58.

(c) A confidential eligibility indicator may be retained under Article 42B.257, Code of Criminal Procedure, solely to administer first-, second-, and third-episode eligibility.

Sec. 54A.012. SECOND-EPISODE DISCHARGE; RECORDS.

(a) On successful completion of a second-episode disposition, the court shall discharge the child.

(b) The adjudication may not be vacated under this chapter, and automatic sealing under Section 54A.011 is unavailable.

(c) Except for an adjudication involving family violence, the child may seek sealing after a two-year crime-free period under Chapter 58 and standards substantially equivalent to Article 42B.253, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(d) A second-episode adjudication involving family violence remains public to the extent provided by otherwise applicable juvenile-records law.

Sec. 54A.013. THIRD OR SUBSEQUENT EPISODE. A child adjudicated for a third or subsequent eligible episode is not eligible for a disposition under this chapter but remains eligible for clinically necessary treatment under other law.

Sec. 54A.014. CONFIDENTIALITY. Clinical records under this chapter are confidential and must be maintained separately from records open to inspection under another provision of Title 3.

Sec. 54A.015. RULES AND DATA. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department, Office of Court Administration, and Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt coordinated rules and include juvenile program data in the reporting and evaluation required by Chapter 131, Government Code.

SECTION 6.02. FAMILY CODE SECTION 58.2535 ADDED. Subchapter C-1, Chapter 58, Family Code, is amended by adding Section 58.2535 to read as follows:

Sec. 58.2535. AUTOMATIC SEALING AFTER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE DISPOSITION.

(a) A juvenile court shall order records sealed as required by Section 54A.011 without an application, hearing, fee, or certification from the Department of Public Safety.

(b) The clerk shall send the order to each entity known to possess a record not later than the 10th business day after entry.

(c) Except for the confidential eligibility indicator authorized by Section 54A.011(c), the order applies to all law enforcement, prosecutorial, court, probation, detention, treatment-disposition, and juvenile justice records relating to the episode.

(d) A person whose records are sealed under this section may deny the occurrence of the matter and the sealed adjudication except when disclosure is expressly required by state or federal law.

ARTICLE 7. INTERAGENCY IMPLEMENTATION

SECTION 7.01. IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE.

(a) The Office of Court Administration shall convene an implementation committee not later than December 1, 2027.

(b) The committee must include representatives of:

(1) the Office of Court Administration;

(2) the Health and Human Services Commission;

(3) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;

(4) the Texas Juvenile Justice Department;

(5) the Board of Pardons and Paroles;

(6) district and county court judges;

(7) prosecutors;

(8) criminal and juvenile defense attorneys;

(9) community supervision and corrections departments;

(10) juvenile probation departments;

(11) sheriffs and municipal law enforcement;

(12) local mental health and behavioral health authorities;

(13) licensed treatment providers;

(14) crime victims and victim advocates;

(15) former treatment-court or behavioral-health participants;

(16) rural counties; and

(17) persons with expertise in program evaluation and data privacy.

(c) The committee shall advise the responsible agencies concerning rules, forms, provider capacity, confidentiality, victim safety, fiscal needs, and phased implementation.

SECTION 7.02. MODEL FORMS.

The Office of Court Administration shall publish model forms for referral, assessment orders, eligibility findings, judgments, individualized treatment plans, status reports, clinical readiness reports, release decisions, termination orders, completion orders, expunction orders, and juvenile sealing orders not later than June 1, 2028.

SECTION 7.03. TRAINING.

A court may not impose an alternative sentence or disposition until the judge and designated program personnel complete training approved by the Office of Court Administration.

SECTION 7.04. CAPACITY REPORT.

Not later than December 1, 2027, the Health and Human Services Commission and Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall submit to the legislature a report identifying:

(1) existing adult and juvenile treatment capacity;

(2) geographic gaps;

(3) anticipated statewide referrals;

(4) workforce requirements;

(5) transportation and housing needs;

(6) estimated state and local costs;

(7) potential Medicaid, federal, insurance, and grant funding; and

(8) appropriations required for statewide implementation.

ARTICLE 8. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS AND LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL REVIEW

SECTION 8.01. REQUIRED CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

Before filing, this draft must be conformed to current law by express amendments, as necessary, to:

(1) Article 16.22, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning early identification and assessment;

(2) Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning punishment assessed by a judge or jury;

(3) Chapters 42 and 42A, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning judgments, sentences, community supervision, mental health treatment, and substance abuse felony punishment facilities;

(4) Chapters 46B and 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning competency and insanity proceedings;

(5) Chapter 55A, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning expunction;

(6) Chapter 56A, Code of Criminal Procedure, concerning crime victims' rights;

(7) Chapters 76, 121, 123, and 125, Government Code, concerning supervision departments and specialty courts;

(8) Chapters 493 and 508, Government Code, concerning correctional treatment, parole, and mandatory supervision;

(9) Chapters 51, 54, 58, and 59, Family Code, concerning juvenile proceedings, dispositions, records, and progressive sanctions;

(10) applicable Health and Safety Code provisions concerning facility licensing, behavioral health services, informed consent, and confidentiality; and

(11) applicable Occupations Code provisions concerning the scope of practice of qualified professionals.

SECTION 8.02. NO IMPLIED REPEAL.

This Act may not be construed to repeal or limit an existing treatment, specialty-court, community-supervision, juvenile-disposition, parole, or correctional-treatment option unless a provision of this Act expressly provides otherwise.

ARTICLE 9. TRANSITION, APPLICABILITY, AND EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 9.01. PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION.

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the changes in law made by this Act apply only to an offense or delinquent conduct committed on or after September 1, 2028.

(b) A court may apply this Act to a case pending on September 1, 2028, in which guilt or delinquent conduct has been adjudicated but sentence or disposition has not been imposed, if application does not impair a right protected by the Texas Constitution or United States Constitution.

SECTION 9.02. PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION DATE.

The statewide program shall begin operating on September 1, 2028. A court may impose an alternative sentence or disposition on or after that date if:

(1) the court or regional program has been certified;

(2) required personnel have completed training;

(3) statewide placement and transfer procedures are operational; and

(4) the applicable rules and forms are in effect.

SECTION 9.03. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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, 2027.

Proposed bill text • Not current law Will Campbell, Republican Candidate, Texas House District 109

References

Sources are grouped by their principal use in this article. Each entry includes the original source link and an explanation of its relevance and limitations.

Texas juvenile needs and fiscal context — Sections 1, 14, 18, and 19

Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (2024a). Texas Juvenile Justice Department board book: November 8, 2024. https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TJJD-Board-Book-11.08.24.pdf

This official TJJD board document includes agency information concerning juvenile referrals, offenses, admissions, and program administration. It was used for the comparison between felony drug offenses as a share of nonviolent felony referrals and their much smaller share of new TJJD admissions. That comparison helps explain why the proposed bill’s youth impact would likely extend beyond state commitments to local probation, treatment, supervision, and record sealing.

Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (2024b). Community juvenile justice appropriations, riders, and special diversion programs: Annual report to state leadership. https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2022_TJJD_Rider_Report_to_Governor_and_Legislative_Budget_Board.pdf

This official state report contains fiscal year 2022 information about juvenile referrals, supervision, programs, and identified service needs. It was used for the statewide formal-referral count and the reported known and suspected substance-use needs among referrals. Because referrals are events rather than necessarily unique children, the article expressly warns against converting these percentages into a count of individual youths who would have qualified for the proposed sentence.

Texas Legislative Budget Board. (n.d.-a). Biennial report on juvenile justice populations. https://www.lbb.texas.gov/Documents/Publications/Policy_Report/8746_Juvenile_Justice_report.pdf

This Legislative Budget Board report provides official Texas juvenile-justice population and cost information. It was used for the fiscal year 2024 total per-day cost of basic juvenile probation supervision and the reported average daily population. The figures establish the scale of current supervision expenditures but cannot, by themselves, determine the fiscal effect of the proposed bill. A valid fiscal estimate would also need treatment-bed prices, staffing, transportation, completion, waiting time, and avoided correctional costs.

Texas Legislative Budget Board. (n.d.-b). Overview of criminal and juvenile justice correctional population trends and costs. https://www.lbb.texas.gov/Documents/HAC_Summary_Recs/87R/6817_CJDA_HAC_Overview_M.pdf

This official LBB presentation contains earlier uniform cost-per-day information for Texas correctional and juvenile programs. It was used to contrast state residential youth-facility costs with juvenile probation supervision costs in fiscal year 2020. The comparison illustrates why placement type matters, but it is not presented as an estimate of automatic savings. Secure psychiatric and residential substance-abuse treatment may have materially different costs from either category.

U.S. Department of Justice. (2024). Investigation of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s five secure facilities. https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-07/2024_tjjd_findings_report.pdf

This federal investigation examines conditions in Texas’s five secure juvenile facilities, including mental-health needs, treatment planning, staffing, supervision, and safety. It was used to document the high level of behavioral-health need among confined youths and reported shortcomings in providing adequate treatment plans and services. The findings support the article’s warning that treatment sentencing cannot succeed through legal changes alone. Qualified staff, secure capacity, clinical oversight, and continuity of care must accompany implementation.

Treatment research and other state models — Sections 16 and 17

Assessing the effect of mental health courts on adult and juvenile recidivism: A meta-analysis. (2021). International Society of Substance Use Professionals. https://www.issup.net/knowledge-share/resources/2025-06/assessing-effect-mental-health-courts-adult-and-juvenile

This source summarizes a meta-analysis of 30 adult and juvenile mental-health-court evaluations. The reported pooled result associated mental-health-court participation with substantially lower odds of recidivism across the included studies. It was used to support the limited proposition that closely supervised treatment courts have an encouraging evidence base. The finding does not establish that every treatment-court design works, and it does not directly evaluate the mandatory, post-conviction, sentence-equivalent structure proposed in this article.

California Board of State and Community Corrections. (n.d.). Proposition 47 grant program evaluation shows recidivism cut. https://www.bscc.ca.gov/news/proposition-47-grant-program-evaluation-shows-recidivism-cut/

This state source reports results from California programs funded to provide mental-health treatment, substance-use services, housing assistance, and related interventions. It supplied the reported participation and recidivism figures used in the interstate discussion. The evaluator cautioned that comparisons with ordinary correctional populations were imperfect because criminal histories and recidivism definitions differed. That qualification is important because the reported rate should not be treated as proof that the California model—or the proposed Texas bill—caused a specific reduction in crime.

California Legislative Information. (n.d.). California Penal Code § 1001.36: Mental health diversion. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1001.36.&lawCode=PEN

This is the official text of California’s mental-health-diversion statute. It establishes diagnosis, causal-connection, treatment-responsiveness, and public-safety requirements and excludes several serious offenses. It was used to compare the proposed Texas post-conviction sentence with an existing state model. California’s program is principally pretrial diversion, while the Texas proposal would operate after conviction and preserve the punishment term assessed by the judge or jury.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (n.d.-a). Juvenile court statistics 2023. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.ojp.gov/publications/juvenile-court-statistics-2023.pdf

This federal statistical report provides national estimates of juvenile-court caseloads and dispositions. It was used for the number of petitioned juvenile drug cases and the reported shares resulting in delinquency adjudication, probation, and out-of-home placement. These figures describe the nation rather than Texas and are identified as national context in the article. They should not be used to calculate the number of Texas youths who would qualify under the proposed law.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (n.d.-b). Juvenile drug court performance report: July–December 2020. U.S. Department of Justice. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/grant-performance-measurement/pr/Juvenile-Drug-Court-July-December-2020-Performance-Report

This federal grant-performance report provides completion, substance-use, and short-term reoffending measures from funded juvenile drug-court programs. It was used to show that selected programs have reported encouraging results. The report covers a limited group, relies partly on short follow-up periods, and is not a statewide randomized evaluation. Those limitations are why the article does not treat the reported results as proof that all juvenile drug courts or all provisions of the proposed Texas bill will succeed.

Texas law and reform history — Sections 6, 15, and 17

Pew Charitable Trusts. (n.d.). Bending the curve: Juvenile corrections reform in Texas. https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/0001/01/01/bending-the-curve-juvenile-corrections-reform-in-texas

This policy analysis describes changes in Texas juvenile commitments, secure-facility populations, arrests, and reincarceration during the reform period following Senate Bill 103. It was used to provide historical context for Texas’s reduction in state youth confinement. The trends show that institutional use and youth arrests declined during overlapping years, but they do not independently prove that the policy change caused the decline in arrests. The article therefore uses the report as evidence against claims of an automatic public-safety collapse, not as proof of a single causal explanation.

Texas Legislature. (2007). Senate Bill 103, 80th Legislature, Regular Session: Criminal justice impact statement. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/80R/impactstmts/html/SB00103FB.htm

This official legislative impact statement describes Senate Bill 103’s prohibition against committing juveniles to the Texas Youth Commission for misdemeanor offenses or misdemeanor probation violations. It was used to document the legal foundation of Texas’s 2007 juvenile correctional reforms. Later outcome trends are sourced separately because the impact statement describes the bill and its anticipated effects rather than proving the long-term results.

Texas Legislature. (n.d.-a). Texas Government Code, Chapter 123: Drug court programs. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.123.htm

This is the official Texas statute governing drug-court programs. It identifies core program features such as treatment integration, early identification, testing, judicial interaction, coordinated responses to compliance, and evaluation. It was used to explain that Texas already recognizes treatment-oriented judicial programs for adults and juveniles. The proposed legislation differs by establishing a post-conviction sentence rather than relying exclusively on voluntary diversion, community supervision, or locally established specialty-court participation.

Punishment That Treats the Cause: A Behavioral Health Alternative Sentence for Texas

Punishment That Treats the Cause: A Behavioral Health Alternative Sentence for Texas

Executive Summary

The Problem We Need to Address

Treatment Is the Sentence

Who Could Qualify?

Limited Assault Eligibility

Drug and Alcohol Offenses

Illegal and controlled substances

Alcohol-related offenses

Who Would Not Qualify?

The Role of Judges and Juries

Release Would Require More Than Time Served

Consequences for Failure

A Structured First Opportunity

A Narrower Second Opportunity

Protecting Young People

What Texas Data Show

Texas Has Changed Course Before

What Research Says

Mental-health courts

Juvenile drug courts

Lessons From Other Models

Capacity Must Be Real

Costs and Savings

Safer Communities Through Managed Risk

What This Means for Our Communities

An Honest Standard

Proposed Legislation

References

Texas juvenile needs and fiscal context — Sections 1, 14, 18, and 19

Treatment research and other state models — Sections 16 and 17

Texas law and reform history — Sections 6, 15, and 17

Texas House of Representatives District 109

Will Campbell for Texas

Punishment That Treats the Cause: A Behavioral Health Alternative Sentence for Texas

Punishment That Treats the Cause: A Behavioral Health Alternative Sentence for Texas

Executive Summary

The Problem We Need to Address

Treatment Is the Sentence

Who Could Qualify?

Limited Assault Eligibility

Drug and Alcohol Offenses

Illegal and controlled substances

Alcohol-related offenses

Who Would Not Qualify?

The Role of Judges and Juries

Release Would Require More Than Time Served

Consequences for Failure

A Structured First Opportunity

A Narrower Second Opportunity

Protecting Young People

What Texas Data Show

Texas Has Changed Course Before

What Research Says

Mental-health courts

Juvenile drug courts

Lessons From Other Models

Capacity Must Be Real

Costs and Savings

Safer Communities Through Managed Risk

What This Means for Our Communities

An Honest Standard

Proposed Legislation

References

Texas juvenile needs and fiscal context — Sections 1, 14, 18, and 19

Treatment research and other state models — Sections 16 and 17

Texas law and reform history — Sections 6, 15, and 17

Protecting Families From Abuse - Modernizing Laws to Protect Victims and The Wrongfully Accused

Misleading Posts - Did Governor Abbott Raise Your Property Taxes?

Texas House of Representatives District 109

Will Campbell for Texas