88R3795 CJD-F
 
  By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 49
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to crime victims' compensation.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Articles 56B.003(2), (6), (7), and (10), Code of
  Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
               (2)  "Claimant" means any of the following individuals,
  other than a service provider, who is entitled to file or has filed
  a claim for compensation under this chapter:
                     (A)  an authorized individual acting on behalf of
  a victim;
                     (B)  an individual who legally assumes the
  obligation or who voluntarily pays medical or burial expenses of a
  victim incurred as a result of the criminally injurious conduct of
  another;
                     (C)  a dependent of a victim who died as a result
  of the criminally injurious conduct;
                     (D)  a [an immediate] family member or [a]
  household member of a victim who, as a result of the criminally
  injurious conduct:
                           (i)  requires psychiatric care or
  counseling;
                           (ii)  incurs expenses for traveling to and
  attending a deceased victim's funeral; or
                           (iii)  suffers wage loss from bereavement
  leave taken in connection with the death of the victim; or
                     (E)  an authorized individual acting on behalf of
  a child described by Paragraph (C) or (D).
               (6)  "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 71.004 [71.004(1)], Family Code.
               (7)  "Household member" means an individual who[:
                     [(A)  is related by consanguinity or affinity to
  the victim; and
                     [(B)]  resided in the same permanent household as
  the victim at the time that the criminally injurious conduct
  occurred.
               (10)  "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of the 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; or
                           (iii)  participation in or attendance at
  investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes or any
  postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to
  criminally injurious conduct;
                     (C)  care of a child or dependent, including
  specialized care for a child who is a victim;
                     (D)  funeral and burial expenses, including, for a
  [an immediate] family member or [a] household member of the victim,
  the necessary expenses of traveling to and attending the funeral;
                     (E)  loss of support to a dependent, consistent
  with Article 56B.057(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;
                     (H)  reasonable and necessary costs for
  relocation and housing rental assistance payments as provided by
  Articles [Article] 56B.106(c) and (c-1);
                     (I)  for a [an immediate] family member or [a]
  household member of a deceased victim, bereavement leave [of not
  more than 10 work days]; and
                     (J)  reasonable and necessary costs of traveling
  to and from a place of execution to witness the execution, including
  [one night's] lodging near the place where the execution is
  conducted.
         SECTION 2.  Subdivision (8), Article 56B.003, Code of
  Criminal Procedure, is redesignated as Subdivision (5-a), Article
  56B.003, Code of Criminal Procedure, and amended to read as
  follows:
               (5-a) "Family [(8)  "Immediate family] member" means an
  individual who is related to a victim [within the second degree] by
  consanguinity or affinity.
         SECTION 3.  Article 56B.057(d), Code of Criminal Procedure,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (d)  Except as provided by rules adopted by the attorney
  general to prevent the unjust enrichment of an offender, the
  attorney general may not deny an award otherwise payable to a
  claimant or victim because the claimant or victim:
               (1)  is a [an immediate] family member of the offender;
  or
               (2)  resides in the same household as the offender.
         SECTION 4.  Article 56B.106, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsections
  (c-1), (c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows:
         (c)  A victim of stalking, family violence, or trafficking of
  persons, a victim of sexual assault who is assaulted in the victim's
  place of residence, or a child who is a victim of a murder attempt in
  the child's place of residence may receive a one-time assistance
  payment for [in an amount not to exceed]:
               (1)  [$2,000 to be used for] relocation expenses,
  including expenses for rental deposit, utility connections,
  expenses relating to moving belongings, motor vehicle mileage
  expenses, temporary or emergency lodging, and for an out-of-state
  move, expenses for transportation, lodging, and meals; and
               (2)  [$1,800 to be used for] housing rental expenses.
         (c-1)  Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), a victim other
  than a victim described by Subsection (c), a dependent of any
  victim, or a family member or household member of any victim may
  receive a one-time assistance payment for:
               (1)  relocation expenses, including expenses for
  rental deposit, utility connections, expenses relating to moving
  belongings, motor vehicle mileage expenses, temporary or emergency
  lodging, and for an out-of-state move, expenses for transportation,
  lodging, and meals; and
               (2)  housing rental expenses.
         (c-2)  The attorney general may not award more than two
  assistance payments under Subsection (c-1) with respect to the same
  criminally injurious conduct, regardless of whether the payments
  are awarded to the victim or other claimants, unless the attorney
  general determines that it is necessary to award more than two
  assistance payments because of the extraordinary health or safety
  needs of the victim or claimants.
         (c-3)  The attorney general by rule may establish a
  limitation on the amount of an award a victim or claimant may
  receive under Subsection (c) or (c-1), except that the limitation
  for:
               (1)  relocation expenses as provided by Subsection
  (c)(1) or (c-1)(1) may not be less than $2,000; and
               (2)  housing rental expenses as provided by Subsection
  (c)(2) or (c-1)(2) may not be less than $1,800.
         (d)  The attorney general by rule may establish a limitation
  on an award a [An immediate] family member or household member of a
  deceased victim may [not] receive for [more than $1,000 in] lost
  wages as a result of bereavement leave taken by the family or
  household member, except that the limit may not be less than the
  lesser of:
               (1)  $1,000; or 
               (2)  an amount equal to 10 days of lost wages.
         SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to compensation for criminally injurious conduct occurring on or
  after the effective date of this Act.  Compensation for criminally
  injurious conduct occurring before the effective date of this Act
  is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred,
  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For
  purposes of this section, criminally injurious conduct occurred
  before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
  underlying the conduct occurred before that date.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.