Tex.
Fam. Code Section 53.045
Offenses Eligible for Determinate Sentence
(a)
Except as provided by Subsection (e), the prosecuting attorney may refer the petition to the grand jury of the county in which the court in which the petition is filed presides if the petition alleges that the child engaged in delinquent conduct that constitutes habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031 (Habitual Felony Conduct) or that included the violation of any of the following provisions:(1)
Section 19.02 (Murder), Penal Code (murder);(2)
Section 19.03 (Capital Murder), Penal Code (capital murder);(3)
Section 19.04 (Manslaughter), Penal Code (manslaughter);(4)
Section 20.04 (Aggravated Kidnapping), Penal Code (aggravated kidnapping);(5)
Section 22.011 (Sexual Assault), Penal Code (sexual assault) or Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault), Penal Code (aggravated sexual assault);(6)
Section 22.02 (Aggravated Assault), Penal Code (aggravated assault);(7)
Section 29.03 (Aggravated Robbery), Penal Code (aggravated robbery);(8)
Section 22.04 (Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual), Penal Code (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual), if the offense is punishable as a felony, other than a state jail felony;(9)
Section 22.05 (Deadly Conduct)(b), Penal Code (felony deadly conduct involving discharging a firearm);(10)
Subchapter D (Criminal Classification), Chapter 481 (Texas Controlled Substances Act), Health and Safety Code, if the conduct constitutes a felony of the first degree or an aggravated controlled substance felony (certain offenses involving controlled substances);(11)
Section 15.03 (Criminal Solicitation), Penal Code (criminal solicitation);(12)
Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child)(a)(1), Penal Code (indecency with a child);(13)
Section 15.031 (Criminal Solicitation of a Minor), Penal Code (criminal solicitation of a minor);(14)
Section 15.01 (Criminal Attempt), Penal Code (criminal attempt), if the offense attempted was an offense under Section 19.02 (Murder), Penal Code (murder), or Section 19.03 (Capital Murder), Penal Code (capital murder), or an offense listed by Article 42A.054 (Limitation on Judge-ordered Community Supervision)(a), Code of Criminal Procedure;(15)
Section 28.02 (Arson), Penal Code (arson), if bodily injury or death is suffered by any person by reason of the commission of the conduct;(16)
Section 49.08 (Intoxication Manslaughter), Penal Code (intoxication manslaughter); or(17)
Section 15.02 (Criminal Conspiracy), Penal Code (criminal conspiracy), if the offense made the subject of the criminal conspiracy includes a violation of any of the provisions referenced in Subdivisions (1) through (16).(b)
A grand jury may approve a petition submitted to it under this section by a vote of nine members of the grand jury in the same manner that the grand jury votes on the presentment of an indictment.(c)
The grand jury has all the powers to investigate the facts and circumstances relating to a petition submitted under this section as it has to investigate other criminal activity but may not issue an indictment unless the child is transferred to a criminal court as provided by Section 54.02 (Waiver of Jurisdiction and Discretionary Transfer to Criminal Court) of this code.(d)
If the grand jury approves of the petition, the fact of approval shall be certified to the juvenile court, and the certification shall be entered in the record of the case. For the purpose of the transfer of a child to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as provided by Section 152.00161 (Termination of Control)(c) or 245.151 (Termination of Control)(c), Human Resources Code, as applicable, a juvenile court petition approved by a grand jury under this section is an indictment presented by the grand jury.(e)
The prosecuting attorney may not refer a petition that alleges the child engaged in conduct that violated Section 22.011 (Sexual Assault)(a)(2), Penal Code, or Sections 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault)(a)(1)(B) and (2)(B), Penal Code, unless the child is more than three years older than the victim of the conduct.
Source:
Section 53.045 — Offenses Eligible for Determinate Sentence, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.53.htm#53.045 (accessed May 26, 2025).
