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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the denial or reduction of an award otherwise payable |
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under the Crime Victims' Compensation Act. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 56B.107, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) Except as otherwise provided by this article, the [The] |
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attorney general may deny or reduce an award otherwise payable: |
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(1) if the claimant or victim has not substantially |
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cooperated with an appropriate law enforcement agency; |
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(2) if, as a result of the claimant's or victim's |
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behavior, the claimant or victim bears a share of the |
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responsibility for the act or omission giving rise to the claim; |
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(3) to the extent that pecuniary loss is recouped from |
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a collateral source; or |
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(4) if the claimant or victim was engaging in an |
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activity that at the time of the criminally injurious conduct was |
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prohibited by law, including a rule. |
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(c) The attorney general may not deny or reduce an award |
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under Subsection (a)(1) based on the interactions of the claimant |
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or victim with a law enforcement agency at the crime scene or |
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hospital unless the attorney general finds that the claimant or |
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victim, subsequent to the claimant's or victim's interactions at |
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the crime scene or hospital, failed or refused to substantially |
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cooperate with the law enforcement agency. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to compensation for criminally injurious conduct occurring on or |
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after the effective date of this Act. Compensation for criminally |
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injurious conduct occurring before the effective date of this Act |
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is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, criminally injurious conduct occurred |
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before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense |
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underlying the conduct occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |