HBA-RBT C.S.H.B. 3324 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3324 By: Gallego Criminal Jurisprudence 5/3/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Victims of crime frequently need civil legal services in order to protect themselves or family members from additional violence, to receive protections, benefits, or services to which they are entitled, or to assist in negotiations with landlords or creditors to avoid financial collapse while they recover from the impact of the crime. While the Victims of Crime Compensation Fund will reimburse crime victims or family members for certain expenses and may be used to fund state agencies that deliver or fund certain victim services, the fund currently is not specifically authorized to pay for civil legal service desperately needed by many crime victims. C.S.H.B. 3324 authorizes the attorney general to use money appropriated from the compensation to victims of crime fund for grants or contracts supporting victim-related services or assistance, including support for private Texas nonprofit corporations that provide victim-related civil legal services directly to victims, immediate family members of victims, or claimants. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Article 56.541(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, to authorize the attorney general to use money appropriated from the compensation to victims of crime fund for grants or contracts supporting victim-related services or assistance, including support for private Texas nonprofit corporations that provide victim-related civil legal services directly to victims, immediate family members of victims, or claimants. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute differs from the original in the caption to accurately reflect the content of the substitute. The substitute differs from the original in SECTION 1 by amending Subsection (e) to authorize the attorney general to use money appropriated from the compensation to victims of crime fund for grants or contracts supporting victim-related services or assistance, including support for private Texas nonprofit corporations that provide victim-related civil legal services directly to victims, immediate family members of victims, or claimants. The original bill amended Subsection (c), to authorize the legislature to appropriate funds to the Supreme Court of Texas for the funding of private Texas nonprofit corporations that provide civil legal services that are directly related to the prevention of or the amelioration of the effects of crime), of Article 56.541, Code of Criminal Procedure.