HB 5630

relating to the authority of a court to order a defendant to engage
in certain alternatives to confinement as part of the defendant's
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 42.024 to read as follows:
Art. 42.024.  COURT MAY ORDER ALTERNATIVES AS PART OF
SENTENCE.  A court may order a defendant to serve all or part of a
sentence of confinement, or to serve all or part of a period of
confinement required as a condition of community supervision, by
engaging in an educational program, counseling, treatment,
community service, or any other alternative to confinement that is
determined reasonable by the court if the court determines that
requiring the defendant to engage in the alternative to confinement
instead of being confined would:
SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.