JLC C.S.S.J.R. 33 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS APPROPRIATIONS C.S.S.J.R. 33 By: Moncrief (Gallego) 5-9-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND The Texas Crime Victims' Compensation Fund was created in 1979 to serve as a financial safety net for victims of crime. The primary purpose of the fund is to reimburse victims for any out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of crime. The money in the fund comes directly from convicted offenders in the form of court costs and other fees. Administration of the Fund is governed by the Subchapter B, Code of Criminal Procedure, the Crime Victim's Compensation Act. PURPOSE The purpose of this legislation is to propose a constitutional amendment permanently dedicating the monies in the fund to be used only for assisting victims of crime. A constitutional dedication of the fund would protect the monies from any attempts to statutorily remove the dedication temporarily or permanently in order to spend the monies for purposes not related to the Crime Victims' Compensation Act. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Article 1 of the Texas Constitution by adding Section 31. Sec. 31 dedicates the compensation to Victims of Crime Fund and the Compensation to Victims of Crime Auxiliary Fund in the state treasury and mandates that these funds may only be expended for compensating victims of crime and providing services to victims of crime, as provided by law. In the event of an episode of mass violence, the Legislative Budget Board is authorized to spend money from these funds if all other sources of emergency assistance, as authorized under state law, are depleted first. (d) Effective date: January 1, 1998 SECTION 2. Submission clause. The constitutional amendment will be submitted to voters on the November 4, 1997 elections. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE SECTION 1. (b) has revised language with no substantive change. The substitute adds a subsection (c) allowing money to be spent on victims of episodes of mass violence. The substitute revises SECTION 2. into subsection (d) and changes the expiration date from January 1, 1998 to January 2, 1998.