By: Patterson, Thierry, Leach H.B. No. 844

(Senate Sponsor - Paxton)

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2023; May 8, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; May 17, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 17, 2023, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE VOTE

YeaNayAbsentPNV

WhitmireX

FloresX

BettencourtX

HinojosaX

HuffmanX

KingX

MilesX

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to crime victims' compensation for criminally injurious conduct in connection with trafficking of persons.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 56B, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 56B.0035 to read as follows:

Art. 56B.0035. CRIMINALLY INJURIOUS CONDUCT. (a) For purposes of this chapter, criminally injurious conduct includes the solicitation or patronization of forced labor or services, including sexual conduct, by any person if the solicitation or patronization occurs in connection with a scheme or course of conduct that constitutes the trafficking of persons.

(b) A victim of criminally injurious conduct described by Subsection (a) is a trafficking victim for the purposes of grant programs administered by the office of the governor.

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only to compensation for criminally injurious conduct occurring on or after the effective date of this Act. Compensation for criminally injurious conduct occurring before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, criminally injurious conduct occurred before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense underlying the conduct occurred before that date.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

* * * * *