By:  Wentworth, Moncrief                              S.B. No. 1276
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                       AN ACT
 1-1     relating to a misdemeanant's liability for the cost of confinement
 1-2     in a county jail.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
 1-5     amended by adding Article 42.038 to read as follows:
 1-6           Art. 42.038.  REIMBURSEMENT FOR CONFINEMENT EXPENSES.
 1-7     (a)  In addition to any fine, cost, or fee authorized by law, a
 1-8     court that sentences a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor to
 1-9     serve a term of confinement in county jail and orders execution of
1-10     the sentence may require the defendant to reimburse the county for
1-11     the defendant's confinement at a rate of $30 a day.
1-12           (b)  A court that requires a defendant convicted of a
1-13     misdemeanor or placed on deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor to
1-14     submit to a period of confinement in county jail as a condition of
1-15     community supervision may also require as a condition of community
1-16     supervision that the defendant reimburse the county for the
1-17     defendant's confinement, with the amount of reimbursement
1-18     determined as if the defendant were serving an executed sentence.
1-19           (c)  A court that requires reimbursement under this article
1-20     may require the defendant to reimburse the county only for those
1-21     days the defendant is confined after the date of conviction or on
1-22     which a plea of guilty or nolo contendere was entered.  The court
1-23     may not require a defendant to reimburse the county for those days
1-24     the defendant was confined after arrest and before the date of
 2-1     conviction or on which the plea of guilty or nolo contendere was
 2-2     entered.
 2-3           (d)  The court, in determining whether to order reimbursement
 2-4     under this article, shall consider:
 2-5                 (1)  the defendant's employment status, earning
 2-6     ability, and financial resources; and
 2-7                 (2)  any other special circumstances that may affect
 2-8     the defendant's ability to pay, including child support obligations
 2-9     and including any financial responsibilities owed by the defendant
2-10     to dependents or restitution payments owed by the defendant to a
2-11     victim.
2-12           (e)  On the day on which a defendant who is required to
2-13     reimburse the county under this article discharges an executed
2-14     sentence of confinement or completes the period of confinement
2-15     required as a condition of community supervision, the sheriff shall
2-16     present to the defendant a bill computed by multiplying the daily
2-17     rate of $30 times the number of days the defendant was confined in
2-18     the county jail, not counting the day on which the execution of the
2-19     sentence or the period of confinement began.  For purposes of this
2-20     subsection, a defendant who is confined in county jail for only a
2-21     portion of a day is nonetheless considered to have been confined
2-22     for the whole day.
2-23           (f)  The court may require a defendant to reimburse the
2-24     county under this article by paying to the sheriff the bill
2-25     presented by the sheriff within a specified period or in specified
2-26     installments.  The end of the period or the last installment may
 3-1     not be later than:
 3-2                 (1)  the end of the period of community supervision, if
 3-3     community supervision is ordered; or
 3-4                 (2)  the fifth anniversary of the last day of the term
 3-5     of confinement, if the court does not order community supervision.
 3-6           SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 2, Article 42.22, Code of
 3-7     Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
 3-8           (b)  The state also has a restitution lien to secure the:
 3-9                 (1)  amount of fines or costs entered against a
3-10     defendant in the judgment in a felony criminal case; and
3-11                 (2)  amount of reimbursement for costs of confinement
3-12     ordered under Article 42.038.
3-13           SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
3-14     only to reimbursement for a day on or after the effective date of
3-15     this Act during which a defendant is confined in county jail.
3-16           (b)  Reimbursement for a day before the effective date of
3-17     this Act during which the defendant is confined in county jail is
3-18     covered by the law in effect on the day of confinement, and the
3-19     former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-20           SECTION 4.  The governing body of a county must first
3-21     authorize reimbursement for confinement expenses by defendants.
3-22           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.