78R3051 EMT-D

By:  Farrar                                                       H.B. No. 478



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to including certain victims of arson as victims who are 
eligible to receive crime victims' compensation.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Article 56.32(a)(11), Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
		(11)  "Victim" means[, except as provided by Subsection 
(c)]:
			(A)  an individual who:                                                      
				(i)  suffers personal injury or death as a 
result of criminally injurious conduct or as a result of actions 
taken by the individual as an intervenor, if the conduct or actions 
occurred in this state;  and
				(ii)  is a resident of this state, another 
state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a possession or territory of the 
United States;
			(B)  an individual who:                                                      
				(i)  suffers personal injury or death as a 
result of criminally injurious conduct or as a result of actions 
taken by the individual as an intervenor, if the conduct or actions 
occurred in a state or country that does not have a crime victims' 
compensation program that meets the requirements of Section 
1403(b), Crime Victims Compensation Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. Section 
10602(b));
				(ii)  is a resident of this state;  and                                     
				(iii) would be entitled to compensation 
under this subchapter if the criminally injurious conduct or 
actions had occurred in this state;  [or]
			(C)  an individual who:                                                      
				(i)  suffers personal injury or death as a 
result of criminally injurious conduct caused by an act of 
international terrorism as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 2331 
committed outside of the United States;  and
				(ii)  is a resident of this state; or                                
			(D) an individual who:                                                
				(i)  suffers loss of the individual's place 
of residence as a result of the commission of the offense of arson 
by another person; and
				(ii)  is a resident of this state.                                   
	SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                      
	(b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to the 
victim of a criminal offense committed on or after the effective 
date of this Act.  For purposes of this Act, a criminal offense is 
committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of 
the offense occurs before that date.  The victim of a criminal 
offense committed  before the effective date of this Act is covered 
by the law in effect when the criminal offense was committed, and 
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.