1-1 By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1276 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 11, 1999; March 11, 1999, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; 1-4 April 19, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6, 1-5 Nays 0; April 19, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to a misdemeanant's liability for the cost of confinement 1-9 in a county jail. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 1-12 amended by adding Article 42.038 to read as follows: 1-13 Art. 42.038. REIMBURSEMENT FOR CONFINEMENT EXPENSES. 1-14 (a) In addition to any fine, cost, or fee authorized by law, a 1-15 court that sentences a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor to 1-16 serve a term of confinement in county jail and orders execution of 1-17 the sentence may require the defendant to reimburse the county for 1-18 the defendant's confinement at a rate of $30 a day. 1-19 (b) A court that requires a defendant convicted of a 1-20 misdemeanor or placed on deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor to 1-21 submit to a period of confinement in county jail as a condition of 1-22 community supervision may also require as a condition of community 1-23 supervision that the defendant reimburse the county for the 1-24 defendant's confinement, with the amount of reimbursement 1-25 determined as if the defendant were serving an executed sentence. 1-26 (c) A court that requires reimbursement under this article 1-27 may require the defendant to reimburse the county only for those 1-28 days the defendant is confined after the date of conviction or on 1-29 which a plea of guilty or nolo contendere was entered. The court 1-30 may not require a defendant to reimburse the county for those days 1-31 the defendant was confined after arrest and before the date of 1-32 conviction or on which the plea of guilty or nolo contendere was 1-33 entered. 1-34 (d) The court, in determining whether to order reimbursement 1-35 under this article, shall consider: 1-36 (1) the defendant's employment status, earning 1-37 ability, and financial resources; and 1-38 (2) any other special circumstances that may affect 1-39 the defendant's ability to pay, including any financial 1-40 responsibilities owed by the defendant to dependents or restitution 1-41 payments owed by the defendant to a victim. 1-42 (e) On the day on which a defendant who is required to 1-43 reimburse the county under this article discharges an executed 1-44 sentence of confinement or completes the period of confinement 1-45 required as a condition of community supervision, the sheriff shall 1-46 present to the defendant a bill computed by multiplying the daily 1-47 rate of $30 times the number of days the defendant was confined in 1-48 the county jail, not counting the day on which the execution of the 1-49 sentence or the period of confinement began. For purposes of this 1-50 subsection, a defendant who is confined in county jail for only a 1-51 portion of a day is nonetheless considered to have been confined 1-52 for the whole day. 1-53 (f) The court may require a defendant to reimburse the 1-54 county under this article by paying to the sheriff the bill 1-55 presented by the sheriff within a specified period or in specified 1-56 installments. The end of the period or the last installment may 1-57 not be later than: 1-58 (1) the end of the period of community supervision, if 1-59 community supervision is ordered; or 1-60 (2) the fifth anniversary of the last day of the term 1-61 of confinement, if the court does not order community supervision. 1-62 SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 2, Article 42.22, Code of 1-63 Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: 1-64 (b) The state also has a restitution lien to secure the: 2-1 (1) amount of fines or costs entered against a 2-2 defendant in the judgment in a felony criminal case; and 2-3 (2) amount of reimbursement for costs of confinement 2-4 ordered under Article 42.038. 2-5 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies 2-6 only to reimbursement for a day on or after the effective date of 2-7 this Act during which a defendant is confined in county jail. 2-8 (b) Reimbursement for a day before the effective date of 2-9 this Act during which the defendant is confined in county jail is 2-10 covered by the law in effect on the day of confinement, and the 2-11 former law is continued in effect for that purpose. 2-12 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 2-13 * * * * *