1-1     By:  Place, Keel (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh)         H.B. No. 2829

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 1997;

 1-3     April 29, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Criminal Justice; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the disposition of restitution payments made to victims

 1-9     of crime.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  (a)  Sections 76.013(a) and (b), Government Code,

1-12     are amended to read as follows:

1-13           (a)  If a judge requires a defendant to make restitution to a

1-14     victim of the defendant's offense, and a payment is received by a

1-15     department from the defendant for transmittal to a victim of the

1-16     offense, the department that receives the payment for disbursement

1-17     to the victim shall immediately deposit the payment in an

1-18     interest-bearing account in the county treasury as required by

1-19     Section 140.003(f), Local Government Code [department having

1-20     original jurisdiction.  The department shall transmit the payment

1-21     to the victim as soon as practicable].

1-22           (b)  If an initial restitution payment is received by a

1-23     department, [a victim cannot be located, immediately after

1-24     receiving a final payment in satisfaction of an order of

1-25     restitution for the victim] the department immediately shall

1-26     [attempt to] notify the victim of that fact by certified mail,

1-27     mailed to the last known address of the victim.  If a victim then

1-28     makes a claim for payment, the department promptly shall remit the

1-29     payment to the victim.  A department is obligated to make a good

1-30     faith effort to locate and notify a victim that an unclaimed

1-31     payment exists.  The department satisfies the good faith

1-32     requirement under this subsection by sending to the victim by

1-33     certified mail on any one occasion during the period the defendant

1-34     is required to make payments a notice that the victim is entitled

1-35     to an unclaimed payment.  Not earlier than the fifth anniversary of

1-36     the date on which the department mails notice under this

1-37     subsection, if the victim has not made a claim for payment, the

1-38     department shall transfer [the payment] from the interest-bearing

1-39     account to the comptroller all payments received.  After making an

1-40     initial transfer of payments to the comptroller under this

1-41     subsection, the department, not later than the 121st day after the

1-42     date the department receives a subsequent payment, shall transfer

1-43     the subsequent payment to the comptroller.  The department shall

1-44     deduct[, after deducting] five percent of the payment or subsequent

1-45     payment as a collection fee and deduct [deducting] any interest

1-46     accrued on the payment or subsequent payment before transferring

1-47     the payment to the comptroller under this subsection.  The

1-48     comptroller shall deposit the payment in the state treasury to the

1-49     credit of the compensation to victims of crime auxiliary fund.

1-50           (b)  In addition to substantive changes made by this section,

1-51     this section conforms Section 76.013, Government Code, to Section

1-52     3.014, Chapter 321, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,

1-53     1995.

1-54           (c)  Section 3.014, Chapter 321, Acts of the 74th

1-55     Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is repealed.

1-56           (d)  To the extent of any conflict, this section prevails

1-57     over another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,

1-58     relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted

1-59     codes.

1-60           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only

1-61     to the distribution of a restitution payment made on or after the

1-62     effective date of this Act.  The distribution of a restitution

1-63     payment made before the effective date of this Act is covered by

1-64     the law in effect when the payment was made, and the former law is

 2-1     continued in effect for that purpose.

 2-2           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-3           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-4     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-5     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-6     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-7     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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