By Gallego H.B. No. 3255
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to compensating from money deposited to the credit of the
1-3 Victims of Crime Compensation Fund victims of domestic violence for
1-4 relocation and housing rental costs incurred.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Article 56.32(9), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-7 amended to read as follows:
1-8 (9) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of expense
1-9 reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of person injury or
1-10 death for:
1-11 (A) medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric
1-12 care or counseling, or physical therapy;
1-13 (B) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated
1-14 loss of future earnings and necessary travel expenses because of:
1-15 (i) a disability resulting from the
1-16 personal injury;
1-17 (ii) the receipt of medically indicated
1-18 services related to the disability resulting from the personal
1-19 injury; or
1-20 (iii) participation in or attendance at
1-21 investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes related to the
2-1 criminally injurious conduct and participation in or attendance at
2-2 any postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to
2-3 criminally injurious conduct;
2-4 (C) care of a child or dependent;
2-5 (D) funeral and burial expenses;
2-6 (E) loss of support to a dependent, consistent
2-7 with Article 56.41(b)(5);
2-8 (F) reasonable and necessary costs of cleaning
2-9 the crime scene; [and]
2-10 (G) reasonable replacement costs for clothing,
2-11 bedding, or property of the victim seized as evidence or rendered
2-12 unusable as a result of the criminal investigation; and
2-13 (H) reasonable and necessary costs, as provided
2-14 by Article 56.42(d), incurred by victims of domestic violence for
2-15 relocation and housing rental assistance payments.
2-16 SECTION 2. Article 56.42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
2-17 amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
2-18 (d) (1) A claimant who is a victim of domestic violence may
2-19 receive a one-time only assistance payment in an amount to exceed
2-20 $2,000 to be used for relocation expenses, including expenses for a
2-21 rental deposit, utility hook-ups, moving van, labor, packing, and
2-22 private vehicle mileage, and, for out-of-state moves,
2-23 transportation fare, lodging, and meals.
2-24 (2) A claimant who is a victim of domestic violence
2-25 may receive a one-time only assistance payment for housing rental
3-1 expenses in an amount not to exceed $1,800.
3-2 (3) A claimant who is a victim of domestic violence
3-3 will qualify for payments under this subsection only if:
3-4 (A) the alleged offender was living with the
3-5 victim at the time of the crime;
3-6 (B) the alleged offender was assisting in or was
3-7 solely or partly responsible for making the housing rental
3-8 payments; and
3-9 (C) the victim has sought a court order barring
3-10 the alleged offender from entering onto the premises and the order
3-11 has been issued or the victim agrees not to permit the alleged
3-12 offender to enter onto the premises.
3-13 SECTION 2. CRIMINAL OFFENSES OR VIOLATIONS. (a) The
3-14 changes in law made by this Act apply only to a victim of a
3-15 criminal offense committed or a violation that occurs on or after
3-16 the effective date of this Act. For the purposes of this Act, a
3-17 criminal offense is committed or a violation occurs before the
3-18 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
3-19 violation occurs before that date.
3-20 (b) A criminal offense committed or violation that occurs
3-21 before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
3-22 effect when the criminal offense was committed or the violation
3-23 occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for this
3-24 purpose.
3-25 SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September
4-1 1, 1999.
4-2 SECTION 4. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
4-3 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.