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S.B. No. 1015
AN ACT
relating to the confidentiality of certain information regarding,
and to the compensation of, a crime victim.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 552.1325 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.1325. CRIME VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT: CERTAIN
INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL. (a) In this section:
(1) "Crime victim" means a person who is a victim as
defined by Article 56.32, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(2) "Victim impact statement" means a victim impact
statement under Article 56.03, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) The following information that is held by a governmental
body or filed with a court and that is contained in a victim impact
statement or was submitted for purposes of preparing a victim
impact statement is confidential:
(1) the name, social security number, address, and
telephone number of a crime victim; and
(2) any other information the disclosure of which
would identify or tend to identify the crime victim.
SECTION 2. Subdivision (9), Subsection (a), Article 56.32,
Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(9) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of expense
reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of personal injury
or death for:
(A) medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric
care or counseling, or physical therapy;
(B) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated
loss of future earnings and necessary travel expenses because of:
(i) a disability resulting from the
personal injury;
(ii) the receipt of medically indicated
services related to the disability resulting from the personal
injury; or
(iii) participation in or attendance at
investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes related to the
criminally injurious conduct and participation in or attendance at
any postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to
criminally injurious conduct;
(C) care of a child or dependent;
(D) funeral and burial expenses;
(E) loss of support to a dependent, consistent
with Article 56.41(b)(5);
(F) reasonable and necessary costs of cleaning
the crime scene;
(G) reasonable replacement costs for clothing,
bedding, or property of the victim seized as evidence or rendered
unusable as a result of the criminal investigation; [and]
(H) reasonable and necessary costs, as provided
by Article 56.42(d), incurred by a victim of family violence or a
victim of sexual assault who is assaulted in the victim's place of
residence for relocation and housing rental assistance payments;
and
(I) reasonable and necessary costs of traveling
to and from a place of execution for the purpose of witnessing the
execution, including one night's lodging near the place at which
the execution is conducted.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in amending
Subdivision (9), Subsection (a), Article 56.32, Code of Criminal
Procedure, applies only to compensation for costs incurred on or
after the effective date of this Act. Compensation for costs
incurred before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law
in effect on the date the costs were incurred, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1015 passed the Senate on
April 16, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0;
May 29, 2003, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 30, 2003, House
granted request of the Senate; May 31, 2003, Senate adopted
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 30,
Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1015 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 25, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 117,
Nays 0, two present not voting; May 30, 2003, House granted request
of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
May 31, 2003, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor