By Talton                                             H.B. No. 2422
       74R4046 GWK-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the authority of a court to order a defendant convicted
    1-3  of a misdemeanor to pay restitution in lieu of a fine.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Article 42.037(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
    1-6  amended to read as follows:
    1-7        (a)  In addition to <or, in the case of a misdemeanor, in
    1-8  lieu of> any fine authorized by law, the court that sentences a
    1-9  defendant convicted of an offense may order the defendant to make
   1-10  restitution to any victim of the offense.  If the court does not
   1-11  order restitution or orders partial restitution under this
   1-12  subsection, the court shall state on the record the reasons for not
   1-13  making the order or for the limited order.
   1-14        SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
   1-15  only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
   1-16  Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
   1-17  the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
   1-18  before the effective date.
   1-19        (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
   1-20  Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
   1-21  and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
   1-22        SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   1-23        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-24  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    2-1  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    2-2  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    2-3  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.