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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to compensation under the Crime Victims' Compensation Act |
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for forensic medical examinations performed with respect to victims |
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of family violence. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subdivision (9), Subsection (a), Article 56.32, |
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Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: |
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(9) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of expense |
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reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of personal injury |
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or death for: |
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(A) medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric |
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care or counseling, or physical therapy; |
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(B) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated |
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loss of future earnings and necessary travel expenses because of: |
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(i) a disability resulting from the |
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personal injury; |
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(ii) the receipt of medically indicated |
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services related to the disability resulting from the personal |
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injury; or |
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(iii) participation in or attendance at |
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investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes related to the |
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criminally injurious conduct and participation in or attendance at |
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any postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to |
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criminally injurious conduct; |
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(C) care of a child or dependent; |
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(D) funeral and burial expenses, including, for |
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an immediate family member or household member of the victim, the |
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necessary expenses of traveling to and attending the funeral; |
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(E) loss of support to a dependent, consistent |
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with Article 56.41(b)(5); |
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(F) reasonable and necessary costs of cleaning |
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the crime scene; |
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(G) reasonable replacement costs for clothing, |
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bedding, or property of the victim seized as evidence or rendered |
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unusable as a result of the criminal investigation; |
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(H) reasonable and necessary costs, as provided |
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by Article 56.42(d), incurred by a victim of family violence or a |
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victim of sexual assault who is assaulted in the victim's place of |
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residence for relocation and housing rental assistance payments; |
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(I) for an immediate family member or household |
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member of a deceased victim, bereavement leave of not more than 10 |
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work days; [and] |
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(J) reasonable and necessary costs of traveling |
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to and from a place of execution for the purpose of witnessing the |
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execution, including one night's lodging near the place at which |
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the execution is conducted; and |
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(K) a forensic medical examination performed |
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with respect to a victim of family violence. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a victim of a criminal offense committed or a violation that |
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occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A criminal |
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offense committed or a violation that occurs before the effective |
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date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the |
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offense was committed or the violation occurred, and the former law |
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is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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section, a criminal offense was committed or a violation occurred |
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before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense |
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or violation occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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