By: Metcalf (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 1221
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 2023;
  April 26, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Criminal Justice; May 11, 2023, reported favorably by the
  following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 11, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
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.
 
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