78R6809 KCR-D

By:  Dukes                                                        H.B. No. 1876



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to ordering criminal defendants to pay restitution on 
conviction of certain offenses involving the making of a false 
statement or report.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is 
amended by adding Article 42.0372 to read as follows:
	Art. 42.0372.  MANDATORY RESTITUTION FOR STATE AGENCIES 
INVESTIGATING FALSE STATEMENTS OR REPORTS.  (a)  The court shall 
order a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 37.08 or 
37.081, Penal Code, or Section 261.107, Family Code, to pay 
restitution to the agency or department that investigated the 
statement or report on which the conviction was based in an amount 
equal to the cost the agency or department incurred in conducting 
the investigation.
	(b)  The court shall, after considering the financial 
circumstances of the defendant, specify in a restitution order 
issued under Subsection (a) the manner in which the defendant must 
pay the restitution.
	(c)  A restitution order issued under Subsection (a) may be 
enforced by the state or by the agency or department named in the 
order to receive the restitution in the same manner as a judgment in 
a civil action.
	(d)  The court may hold a hearing, make findings of fact, and 
amend a restitution order issued under Subsection (a) if the 
defendant fails to pay the agency or department named in the order 
in the manner specified by the court.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                      
	(b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an 
offense committed on or after September 1, 2003. An offense 
committed before September 1, 2003, is covered by the law in effect 
when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in 
effect for that purpose.  For the purposes of this subsection, an 
offense was committed before September 1, 2003, if any element of 
the offense was committed before that date.