| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
| |
|
|
relating to authorizing the comptroller to release a reported |
|
|
owner's unclaimed property to the owner's crime victim in certain |
|
|
circumstances and payment by the Texas Department of Criminal |
|
|
Justice of certain amounts owed by an inmate. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Section 493.035 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 493.035. UNCLAIMED PROPERTY CLAIMS FILED ON BEHALF OF |
|
|
CRIME VICTIMS. (a) The department shall file a claim for unclaimed |
|
|
property under Section 74.501, Property Code, on behalf of a victim |
|
|
of a criminal offense if the reported owner of the unclaimed |
|
|
property: |
|
|
(1) was finally convicted of the criminal offense in |
|
|
this state; and |
|
|
(2) based on the final conviction: |
|
|
(A) was ordered to pay criminal restitution to |
|
|
the victim; and |
|
|
(B) on the date the claim is submitted, is |
|
|
confined in a facility operated by or under contract with the |
|
|
department. |
|
|
(b) The department shall quarterly send to the comptroller a |
|
|
data set regarding confined inmates to initiate the filing and |
|
|
facilitate the approval of the claims submitted under Subsection |
|
|
(a). |
|
|
(c) The department must file a claim under this section only |
|
|
if the department has: |
|
|
(1) received notification from a court under Section |
|
|
501.014(e); and |
|
|
(2) confirmed with the county the amount of |
|
|
outstanding restitution owed before filing the claim if the |
|
|
department finds the confirmation to be necessary. |
|
|
(d) The department may adopt rules necessary to administer |
|
|
this section. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 501.014, Government Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(e) On notification by a court, the department shall |
|
|
withdraw from an inmate's account any amount the inmate is ordered |
|
|
to pay by order of the court under this subsection. On receipt of a |
|
|
valid court order requiring an inmate to pay child support, the |
|
|
department shall withdraw the appropriate amount from the inmate's |
|
|
account under this subsection, regardless of whether the court |
|
|
order is provided by the court or another person. The department |
|
|
shall make a payment under this subsection [as ordered by the court] |
|
|
to either the court or the party specified in the court order. The |
|
|
department is not liable for withdrawing or failing to withdraw |
|
|
money or making payments or failing to make payments under this |
|
|
subsection. The department shall make withdrawals and payments |
|
|
from an inmate's account under this subsection according to the |
|
|
following schedule of priorities: |
|
|
(1) as payment in full for all orders for child |
|
|
support; |
|
|
(2) as payment in full for all orders for restitution; |
|
|
(3) as payment in full for all orders for |
|
|
reimbursement of the Health and Human Services Commission for |
|
|
financial assistance provided for the child's health needs under |
|
|
Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, to a child of the inmate; |
|
|
(4) as payment in full for all orders for court fees |
|
|
and costs; |
|
|
(5) as payment in full for all orders for fines; and |
|
|
(6) as payment in full for any other court order, |
|
|
judgment, or writ. |
|
|
(e-1) Notification from a court under Subsection (e) of an |
|
|
order for restitution must specify the amount of restitution owed |
|
|
on the date of notification. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 74.501, Property Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (g) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (d)(7), [or] (f), or |
|
|
(g) or Section 551.051, Estates Code, the comptroller may not pay to |
|
|
the following persons a claim to which this section applies: |
|
|
(1) a creditor, a judgment creditor, a lienholder, or |
|
|
an assignee of the reported owner or of the owner's heirs; |
|
|
(2) a person holding a power of attorney from the |
|
|
reported owner or the owner's heirs; or |
|
|
(3) a person attempting to make a claim on behalf of a |
|
|
corporation that was previously forfeited, dissolved, or |
|
|
terminated, if the comptroller finds that: |
|
|
(A) the corporation was revived for the purpose |
|
|
of making a claim under this section; and |
|
|
(B) the person submitting the claim was not an |
|
|
authorized representative of the corporation at the time of the |
|
|
corporation's forfeiture, dissolution, or termination. |
|
|
(g) The comptroller may approve a claim for unclaimed |
|
|
property that complies with Section 493.035, Government Code. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
|
|
amended by adding Subsection (x) to read as follows: |
|
|
(x) A county shall accept a restitution payment received |
|
|
from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under Section |
|
|
493.035, Government Code, and forward the payment to the victim or |
|
|
other person eligible for restitution under this article, including |
|
|
the compensation to victims of crime fund. The county shall return |
|
|
to the department any amount in excess of the balance owed to the |
|
|
victim. |
|
|
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to a claim filed under Section 74.501, Property Code, on or after |
|
|
the effective date of this Act. A claim filed under that section |
|
|
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in |
|
|
effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that |
|
|
law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * |