By Place, Keel H.B. No. 2829
75R6206 GWK-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the disposition of restitution payments made to victims
1-3 of crime.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. (a) Sections 76.013(a) and (b), Government Code,
1-6 are amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) If a judge requires a defendant to make restitution to a
1-8 victim of the defendant's offense, and a payment is received by a
1-9 department from the defendant for transmittal to a victim of the
1-10 offense, the department that receives the payment for disbursement
1-11 to the victim shall immediately deposit the payment in an
1-12 interest-bearing account in the county treasury as required by
1-13 Section 140.003(f), Local Government Code [department having
1-14 original jurisdiction. The department shall transmit the payment
1-15 to the victim as soon as practicable].
1-16 (b) If an initial restitution payment is received by a
1-17 department, [a victim cannot be located, immediately after
1-18 receiving a final payment in satisfaction of an order of
1-19 restitution for the victim] the department immediately shall
1-20 [attempt to] notify the victim of that fact by certified mail,
1-21 mailed to the last known address of the victim. If a victim then
1-22 makes a claim for payment, the department promptly shall remit the
1-23 payment to the victim. A department is obligated to make a good
1-24 faith effort to locate and notify a victim that an unclaimed
2-1 payment exists. The department satisfies the good faith
2-2 requirement under this subsection by sending to the victim by
2-3 certified mail on any one occasion during the period the defendant
2-4 is required to make payments a notice that the victim is entitled
2-5 to an unclaimed payment. Not earlier than the fifth anniversary of
2-6 the date on which the department mails notice under this
2-7 subsection, if the victim has not made a claim for payment, the
2-8 department shall transfer [the payment] from the interest-bearing
2-9 account to the comptroller all payments received. After making an
2-10 initial transfer of payments to the comptroller under this
2-11 subsection, the department, not later than the 121st day after the
2-12 date the department receives a subsequent payment, shall transfer
2-13 the subsequent payment to the comptroller. The department shall
2-14 deduct[, after deducting] five percent of the payment or subsequent
2-15 payment as a collection fee and deduct [deducting] any interest
2-16 accrued on the payment or subsequent payment before transferring
2-17 the payment to the comptroller under this subsection. The
2-18 comptroller shall deposit the payment in the state treasury to the
2-19 credit of the compensation to victims of crime auxiliary fund.
2-20 (b) In addition to substantive changes made by this section,
2-21 this section conforms Section 76.013, Government Code, to Section
2-22 3.014, Chapter 321, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,
2-23 1995.
2-24 (c) Section 3.014, Chapter 321, Acts of the 74th
2-25 Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is repealed.
2-26 (d) To the extent of any conflict, this section prevails
2-27 over another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
3-1 relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
3-2 codes.
3-3 SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
3-4 to the distribution of a restitution payment made on or after the
3-5 effective date of this Act. The distribution of a restitution
3-6 payment made before the effective date of this Act is covered by
3-7 the law in effect when the payment was made, and the former law is
3-8 continued in effect for that purpose.
3-9 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
3-10 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.