Amend CSHB 3765 as follows:
(1) In the heading to SECTION 2 of the bill (House
Committee Report, page 1,
line 12), between "amended" and "by adding", insert
"amending Subsections
(a) and (b) and".
(2) At the end of the heading to SECTION 2 of the bill
(House Committee
Report, page 1, between lines 12 and 13), insert the
following:
(a) A victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of
a deceased victim is
entitled to the following rights within the criminal
justice system:
(1) the right to receive from law enforcement agencies
adequate protection
from harm and threats of harm arising from cooperation
with prosecution
efforts;
(2) the right to have the magistrate take the safety of
the victim or his family
into consideration as an element in fixing the amount of
bail for the accused;
(3) the right, if requested, to be informed by the
attorney representing the
state of relevant court proceedings, including appellate
proceedings, and to be
informed if those court proceedings have been canceled
or rescheduled prior
to the event;
(4) the right to be informed, when requested, by a peace
officer concerning the
defendant's right to bail and the procedures in criminal
investigations and by
the district attorney's office concerning the general
procedures in the criminal
justice system, including general procedures in guilty
plea negotiations and
arrangements, restitution, and the appeals and parole
process;
(5) the right to provide pertinent information to a
probation department
conducting a presentencing investigation concerning the
impact of the offense
on the victim and his family by testimony, written
statement, or any other
manner prior to any sentencing of the offender;
(6) the right to receive information regarding
compensation to victims of crime
as provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 56 , including
information related to
the costs that may be compensated under that subchapter
Act and the
amount of compensation, eligibility for compensation, and
procedures for
application for compensation under that subchapter Act
, the payment for a
medical examination under Article 56.06 of this code
for a victim of a sexual
assault, and when requested, to referral to available
social service agencies
that may offer additional assistance;
(7) the right to be informed, upon request, of parole
procedures, to participate
in the parole process, to be notified, if requested, of
parole proceedings
concerning a defendant in the victim's case, to provide
to the Board of
Pardons and Paroles for inclusion in the defendant's file
information to be
considered by the board prior to the parole of any
defendant convicted of any
crime subject to this Act, and to be notified, if
requested, of the defendant's
release;
(8) the right to be provided with a waiting area,
separate or secure from other
witnesses, including the offender and relatives of the
offender, before testifying
in any proceeding concerning the offender; if a separate
waiting area is not
available, other safeguards should be taken to minimize
the victim's contact
with the offender and the offender's relatives and
witnesses, before and during
court proceedings;
(9) the right to prompt return of any property of the
victim that is held by a law
enforcement agency or the attorney for the state as
evidence when the
property is no longer required for that purpose;
(10) the right to have the attorney for the state notify
the employer of the
victim, if requested, of the necessity of the victim's
cooperation and testimony
in a proceeding that may necessitate the absence of the
victim from work for
good cause; and
(11) the right to counseling, on request, regarding
acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infection and
testing for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS),
human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, antibodies to
HIV, or infection with any
other probable causative agent of AIDS, if the offense is
an offense under
Section 21.11(a)(1), 22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code;
(12) the right to request victim-offender mediation
coordinated by the victim
services division of the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice; and
(13) the right to be informed of the uses of a victim
impact statement and the
statement's purpose in the criminal justice system, to
complete the victim
impact statement, and to have the victim impact statement
considered:
(A) by the attorney representing the state and the judge
before sentencing or
before a plea bargain agreement is accepted; and
(B) by the Board of Pardons and Paroles before an inmate
is released on
parole.
(b) A victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of
a deceased victim
is entitled to the right to be present at all public
court proceedings related to
the offense, subject to the approval of the judge in the
case.
(3) In SECTION 4 of the bill, in proposed Section
57.002(a)(6), Family Code
(House Committee Printing, page 3, lines 20 and 22),
strike each reference to
"Act" and substitute "subchapter Act".
(4) In SECTION 4 of the bill, in proposed Section
57.002(a)(7), Family Code
(House Committee Printing, page 4, line 5), strike "of
release or transfer" and
substitute "of the person's release, escape, or
transfer".
(5) In SECTION 4 of the bill, at the end of proposed
Section 57.002(b), Family
Code (House Committee Printing, page 5, between lines 11
and 12), insert
the following:
(c) In notifying a victim of the release or escape of a
person, the Texas Youth
Commission shall use the same procedure established for
the notification of
the release or escape of an adult offender under Article
56.11, Code of
Criminal Procedure.
(6) Add appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill to
read as follows and
renumber the existing SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ___. Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended by
adding Subsection (n) to read as follows:
(n) The pardons and paroles division may waive a
supervision fee or an
administrative fee imposed on an inmate under Section
508.182, Government
Code, during any period in which the inmate is required
to pay restitution
under this article.
SECTION ___. Article 56.03(e), Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) Prior to the imposition of a sentence by the court in
a criminal case, the
court, if it has received a victim impact statement,
shall consider the
information provided in the statement. Before sentencing
the defendant, the
court shall permit the defendant or his counsel a
reasonable time to read the
statement, excluding the victim's name, address, and
telephone number,
comment on the statement, and, with the approval of the
court, introduce
testimony or other information alleging a factual
inaccuracy in the statement.
If the court sentences the defendant to a term of
community supervision
probation , the court shall forward any victim's impact
statement received in
the case to the community supervision and corrections
probation
department supervising the defendant, along with the
papers in the case.
SECTION ___. Article 56.12, Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read
as follows:
Art. 56.12. NOTIFICATION OF ESCAPE OR TRANSFER. (a) The
Texas
Department of Criminal Justice shall immediately make a
reasonable attempt
to notify the victim of an offense, the victim's
guardian, or the victim's close
relative, if the victim is deceased, whenever the
offender escapes from a
facility operated by the institutional division of the
Texas Department of
Criminal Justice , if the victim, victim's guardian, or
victim's close relative has
notified the institutional division as provided by
Subsection (b) of this article,
whenever the offender:
(1) escapes from a facility operated by the institutional
division; or
(2) is transferred from the custody of the institutional
division to the custody of
a peace officer under a writ of attachment or a bench
warrant. An attempt by
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to give notice
to the victim, the
guardian of the victim, or a close relative of a deceased
victim at the victim's,
the guardian of the victim's, or a close relative of a
deceased victim's last
known telephone number or address as shown on the records
of the
department constitutes a reasonable attempt to give
notice under this
subsection.
(b) It is the responsibility of the victim, guardian, or
close relative desiring
notification of an offender's escape or transfer from
custody under a writ of
attachment or bench warrant to notify the Texas
Department of Criminal
Justice of the desire for notification and any change of
address.
(c) In providing notice under Subsection (a)(2), the
institutional division shall
include the name, address, and telephone number of the
peace officer
receiving the inmate into custody. On returning the
inmate to the custody of
the institutional division, the victim services division
of the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice shall notify the victim, the victim's
guardian, or the victim's
close relative if the victim is deceased, of that fact.
SECTION ___. Subchapter A, Chapter 56, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is
amended by adding Articles 56.13 and 56.14 to read as
follows:
Art. 56.13. VICTIM-OFFENDER MEDIATION. The victim
services division of
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall:
(1) train volunteers to act as mediators between victims,
guardians of victims,
and close relatives of deceased victims and offenders
whose criminal conduct
caused bodily injury or death to victims; and
(2) provide mediation services through referral of a
trained volunteer, if
requested by a victim, guardian of a victim, or close
relative of a deceased
victim.
Art. 56.14. CLEARINGHOUSE ANNUAL CONFERENCE. (a) The
Texas
Crime Victim Clearinghouse may conduct an annual
conference to provide to
participants in the criminal justice system training
containing information on
crime victims' rights.
(b) The clearinghouse may charge fees to persons
attending the conference
described by Subsection (a).
SECTION ___. Section 76.016, Government Code, is amended
to read as
follows:
Sec. 76.016. VICTIM NOTIFICATION. (a) A department, using
the name and
address provided by the attorney representing the state
under Article 56.08(d),
Code of Criminal Procedure, shall immediately make a
reasonable effort to
notify a victim of the defendant's crime or, if the
victim has a guardian or is
deceased, to notify the guardian of the victim or
close relative of the
deceased victim of:
(1) the fact that the defendant has been placed on
community supervision;
(2) the conditions of community supervision imposed on
the defendant by the
court; and
(3) the date, time, and location of any hearing or
proceeding at which the
conditions of the defendant's community supervision may
be
modified or the defendant's placement on community
supervision may be
revoked or terminated.
(b) An attempt by the department to give notice to the
victim, the guardian of
the victim, or a close relative of a deceased victim at
the victim's, the guardian
of the victim's, or a close relative of a deceased
victim's last known telephone
number or address as shown on the records of the
department constitutes a
reasonable attempt to give notice under this section.
(c) In this section, "close relative of a deceased
victim," "guardian of a
victim," and "victim" have the meanings assigned by
Article 56.01, Code of
Criminal Procedure.
SECTION ___. Section 415.032(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as
follows:
(b) In establishing requirements under this section, the
commission shall
require courses and programs to provide training in:
(1) the investigation and documentation of cases that
involve the following:
(A) child abuse;
(B) child neglect;
(C) family violence; and
(D) sexual assault; and
(2) issues concerning sex offender characteristics; and
(3) crime victims' rights under Chapter 56, Code of
Criminal Procedure, and
Chapter 57, Family Code, and the duty of law enforcement
agencies to ensure
that a victim is afforded those rights.
SECTION ___. Section 493.001, Government Code, is amended
to read as
follows:
Sec. 493.001. DEPARTMENT MISSION. The mission of the
department is to
provide public safety, assist victims of crime, promote
positive change in
offender behavior, and reintegrate offenders into
society.
SECTION ___. Subchapter B, Chapter 508, Government Code,
is amended by
adding Section 508.0481 to read as follows:
Sec. 508.0481. VICTIM'S RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION. (a) If a
victim, close
relative of a deceased victim, or guardian of a victim is
required by a subpoena
issued under Section 508.048 to appear at a hearing, the
victim, relative, or
guardian is entitled to representation by counsel at the
hearing.
(b) This section does not require the state to provide
representation by
counsel to a victim, close relative of a deceased victim,
or guardian of a
victim.
(c) In this section, "victim," "close relative of a
deceased victim," and
"guardian of a victim" have the meanings assigned by
Section 508.117.
SECTION ___. Section 2008.053(a), Government Code, as
added by Chapter
934, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A state agency may appoint a governmental officer or
employee or a
private individual to serve as an impartial third party
in an alternative dispute
resolution procedure. The agency's appointment of the
impartial third party is
subject to the approval of the parties, except that:
(1) when a State Office of Administrative Hearings
administrative law judge
has issued an order referring a case to an alternative
dispute resolution
procedure under Section 2003.042(5), the administrative
law judge may
appoint the impartial third party for the parties if they
cannot agree on an
impartial third party within a reasonable period; and
(2) if the procedure is a victim-offender mediation
described by Article 56.13,
Code of Criminal Procedure, approval of the parties is
not required.
SECTION ___. (a) Section 154.023(a), Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Mediation is a forum in which an impartial person,
the mediator, facilitates
communication between parties to promote reconciliation,
settlement, or
understanding among them. Mediation includes
victim-offender mediation
described by Article 56.13, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) The amendment by this section to Section 154.023(a),
Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, granting victim-offender mediation
provided by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice the same status as other
forms of mediation
authorized by Chapter 154, applies to a victim-offender
mediation procedure
provided by the department before, on, or after the