1-1 By: Gallego (Senate Sponsor - Carona) H.B. No. 3255
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 1999;
1-3 May 10, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
1-4 Justice; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to compensation to certain victims of domestic violence
1-9 from the compensation to victims of crime fund.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Article 56.32(9), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-12 amended to read as follows:
1-13 (9) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of expense
1-14 reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of personal injury
1-15 or death for:
1-16 (A) medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric
1-17 care or counseling, or physical therapy;
1-18 (B) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated
1-19 loss of future earnings and necessary travel expenses because of:
1-20 (i) a disability resulting from the
1-21 personal injury;
1-22 (ii) the receipt of medically indicated
1-23 services related to the disability resulting from the personal
1-24 injury; or
1-25 (iii) participation in or attendance at
1-26 investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes related to the
1-27 criminally injurious conduct and participation in or attendance at
1-28 any postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to
1-29 criminally injurious conduct;
1-30 (C) care of a child or dependent;
1-31 (D) funeral and burial expenses;
1-32 (E) loss of support to a dependent, consistent
1-33 with Article 56.41(b)(5);
1-34 (F) reasonable and necessary costs of cleaning
1-35 the crime scene; [and]
1-36 (G) reasonable replacement costs for clothing,
1-37 bedding, or property of the victim seized as evidence or rendered
1-38 unusable as a result of the criminal investigation; and
1-39 (H) reasonable and necessary costs, as provided
1-40 by Article 56.42(d), incurred by a victim of domestic violence for
1-41 relocation and housing rental assistance payments.
1-42 SECTION 2. Article 56.42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-43 amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
1-44 (d) A victim who is a victim of domestic violence may
1-45 receive a onetime-only assistance payment in an amount not to
1-46 exceed:
1-47 (1) $2,000 to be used for relocation expenses,
1-48 including expenses for rental deposit, utility connections,
1-49 expenses relating to the moving of belongings, motor vehicle
1-50 mileage expenses, and for out-of-state moves, transportation,
1-51 lodging, and meals; and
1-52 (2) $1,800 to be used for housing rental expenses.
1-53 SECTION 3. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
1-54 only to a victim of a criminal offense committed or a violation
1-55 that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. For the
1-56 purposes of this Act, a criminal offense is committed or a
1-57 violation occurs before the effective date of this Act if any
1-58 element of the offense or violation occurs before that date.
1-59 (b) A criminal offense committed or violation that occurs
1-60 before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
1-61 effect when the criminal offense was committed or the violation
1-62 occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for this
1-63 purpose.
1-64 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-5 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-6 passage, and it is so enacted.
2-7 * * * * *