| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to crime victims' compensation. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Articles 56B.003(10) and (14), Code of Criminal |
|
|
Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(10) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of the expense |
|
|
reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of personal injury |
|
|
or death for: |
|
|
(A) medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric |
|
|
care or counseling, or physical therapy; |
|
|
(B) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated |
|
|
loss of future earnings and necessary travel expenses because of: |
|
|
(i) a disability resulting from the |
|
|
personal injury; |
|
|
(ii) the receipt of medically indicated |
|
|
services related to the disability; or |
|
|
(iii) participation in or attendance at |
|
|
investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes or any |
|
|
postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to |
|
|
criminally injurious conduct; |
|
|
(C) care of a child or dependent, including |
|
|
specialized care for a child who is a victim; |
|
|
(D) funeral and burial expenses, including, for |
|
|
an immediate family member or [a] household member of the victim, |
|
|
the necessary expenses of traveling to and attending the funeral; |
|
|
(E) loss of support to a dependent, consistent |
|
|
with Article 56B.057(b)(5); |
|
|
(F) reasonable and necessary costs of cleaning |
|
|
the crime scene; |
|
|
(G) reasonable replacement costs for clothing, |
|
|
bedding, or property of the victim seized as evidence or rendered |
|
|
unusable as a result of the criminal investigation; |
|
|
(H) reasonable and necessary costs for |
|
|
relocation and housing rental assistance payments for a victim of |
|
|
stalking, family violence, trafficking of persons, or sexual |
|
|
assault or a child who is a victim of a murder attempt [as provided |
|
|
by Article 56B.106(c)]; |
|
|
(I) for an immediate family member or a household |
|
|
member of a deceased victim, bereavement leave [of not more than 10 |
|
|
work days]; and |
|
|
(J) reasonable and necessary costs of traveling |
|
|
to and from a place of execution to witness the execution, including |
|
|
one night's lodging near the place where the execution is |
|
|
conducted. |
|
|
(14) "Victim" means: |
|
|
(A) an individual who: |
|
|
(i) suffers personal injury or death as a |
|
|
result of criminally injurious conduct or as a result of actions |
|
|
taken by the individual as an intervenor, if the conduct or actions |
|
|
occurred in this state; and |
|
|
(ii) is a resident of this state or another |
|
|
state of the United States; |
|
|
(B) an individual who: |
|
|
(i) suffers personal injury or death as a |
|
|
result of criminally injurious conduct or as a result of actions |
|
|
taken by the individual as an intervenor, if the conduct or actions |
|
|
occurred in a state or country that does not have a crime victims' |
|
|
compensation program that meets the requirements of Section |
|
|
1403(b), Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. Section 20102(b)); |
|
|
(ii) is a resident of this state; and |
|
|
(iii) would be entitled to compensation |
|
|
under this chapter if the criminally injurious conduct or actions |
|
|
had occurred in this state; [or] |
|
|
(C) an individual who: |
|
|
(i) suffers personal injury or death as a |
|
|
result of criminally injurious conduct caused by an act of |
|
|
international terrorism as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 2331 |
|
|
committed outside of the United States; and |
|
|
(ii) is a resident of this state; or |
|
|
(D) an individual who: |
|
|
(i) is a child enrolled in a public or |
|
|
private primary or secondary school where criminally injurious |
|
|
conduct for which the governor issued a disaster declaration under |
|
|
Section 418.014, Government Code, has occurred, but who was not |
|
|
present at the time of the conduct; and |
|
|
(ii) is a resident of this state. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Articles 56B.102(a) and (c), Code of Criminal |
|
|
Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) The [Before acting on an application for compensation |
|
|
under this chapter, the] attorney general by rule may establish a |
|
|
process to make an emergency award if it appears likely that[: |
|
|
[(1) a final award will be made; and |
|
|
[(2)] the claimant or victim will suffer undue |
|
|
hardship if immediate economic relief is not obtained. |
|
|
(c) The rules may provide that the amount of an emergency |
|
|
award [must] be: |
|
|
(1) deducted from the final award; or |
|
|
(2) repaid by and recoverable from the claimant or |
|
|
victim to the extent the emergency award exceeds the final award. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 56B, Code of Criminal |
|
|
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 56B.1035 to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
Art. 56B.1035. COMPENSATION FOR PECUNIARY LOSS LIMITED IN |
|
|
CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. Notwithstanding any other law, |
|
|
compensation for pecuniary loss with respect to a victim described |
|
|
by Article 56B.003(14)(D) is limited to: |
|
|
(1) psychiatric care or counseling for the victim; and |
|
|
(2) for an immediate family member or household member |
|
|
of the victim, the necessary expenses of traveling to and attending |
|
|
the funeral of another victim of the criminally injurious conduct. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 552.132(c), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(c) If the crime victim or claimant is awarded compensation |
|
|
under Article 56B.103 or 56B.104, Code of Criminal Procedure, as of |
|
|
the date of the award of compensation, [the name of the crime victim |
|
|
or claimant and] the amount of compensation awarded to that crime |
|
|
victim or claimant is [are] public information and is [are] not |
|
|
excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021. |
|
|
SECTION 5. The following provisions of the Code of Criminal |
|
|
Procedure are repealed: |
|
|
(1) Article 56B.102(b); and |
|
|
(2) Articles 56B.106(c) and (d). |
|
|
SECTION 6. Chapter 56B, Code of Criminal Procedure, as |
|
|
amended 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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |