SRC-BWC S.B. 1247 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1247
77R8752 JMC-FBy: Gallegos
Criminal Justice
4/5/2001
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, public hospitals and districts provide emergency and other
medical care to thousands of crime victims, but often do not receive
compensation for these services.  The Texas attorney general's office
presently makes direct appropriation of funds to other providers such as
children's assessment centers, but direct appropriations are not made to
public hospitals or hospital districts.  As proposed, S.B. 1247 allows
public hospitals and hospital districts to receive direct appropriations
from the attorney general.  It also provides that any excess funds sent by
a county to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund which are not used to
compensate a victim are to be returned to the county. Finally, the bill
allows a public hospital or hospital district to receive grants from the
Crime Victims Compensation Fund. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Articles 56.541(c), (d), and (e), Code of Criminal
Procedure, to authorize the legislature, for a state fiscal biennium, to
appropriate from the compensation to victims of crime fund the amount of
excess money in the fund certified for the biennium under Subsection (b) to
the attorney general for distribution to public hospitals or hospital
districts that provide victim-related services or assistance.  Requires the
attorney general and the comptroller to cooperate in determining the proper
allocation of the various sources of revenue deposited to the credit of the
compensation to victims of crime fund for purposes of this article.
Requires the attorney general to distribute the excess amount to the public
hospital or hospital district in the county for use in providing
victim-related services or assistance, if the amount of money that the
attorney general receives during a state fiscal year from deposits made
under this subchapter to the credit of the compensation to victims of crime
fund by a county that has a public hospital or hospital district that
provides victim-related services or assistance exceeds the amount of money
paid from the fund during that fiscal year to victims located in the
county. Authorizes the attorney general to use money appropriated from the
compensation to victims of crime fund for grants supporting victim-related
services or assistance provided by public hospitals or hospital districts.

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 2001.