1-1 By: Gallego (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 519
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House March 26, 2001;
1-3 March 27, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Criminal Justice; April 3, 2001, reported favorably by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 3, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the compensation to victims of family violence or
1-9 sexual assault for relocation and housing rental expenses.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Article 56.32(a)(9), Code of Criminal Procedure,
1-12 is 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;
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 family [domestic]
1-41 violence or a victim of sexual assault who is assaulted in the
1-42 victim's place of residence for relocation and housing rental
1-43 assistance payments.
1-44 SECTION 2. Article 56.32(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-45 amended by adding Subdivision (12) to read as follows:
1-46 (12) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
1-47 Section 71.004(1), Family Code.
1-48 SECTION 3. Article 56.42(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-49 amended to read as follows:
1-50 (d) A victim who is a victim of family [domestic] violence
1-51 or a victim of sexual assault who is assaulted in the victim's
1-52 place of residence may receive a onetime-only assistance payment in
1-53 an amount not to exceed:
1-54 (1) $2,000 to be used for relocation expenses,
1-55 including expenses for rental deposit, utility connections,
1-56 expenses relating to the moving of belongings, motor vehicle
1-57 mileage expenses, and for out-of-state moves, transportation,
1-58 lodging, and meals; and
1-59 (2) $1,800 to be used for housing rental expenses.
1-60 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001. The
1-61 changes in law made by this Act apply only to a victim of a
1-62 criminal offense committed or a violation that occurs on or after
1-63 the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this Act, a
1-64 criminal offense is committed or a violation occurs before the
2-1 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
2-2 violation occurs before that date. A criminal offense committed or
2-3 a violation that occurs before the effective date of this Act is
2-4 covered by the law in effect when the criminal offense was
2-5 committed or the violation occurred, and the former law is
2-6 continued in effect for that purpose.
2-7 * * * * *