83R4546 MAW-F
By: Lozano H.B. No. 1713
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reimbursing property owners for certain damages caused
by criminal activities; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 18.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k)(1) This subsection applies to any property described by
Subsection (a) that is seized by a peace officer during the
investigation of an offense under Section 20.05 or 38.04, Penal
Code, or any offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
article, the sale proceeds of property described by Subdivision (1)
shall be deposited, after deducting the reasonable expense of
keeping and disposing of the property, in a fund in the treasury of
the county in which the offense occurred.
(3) A county may use money in the fund only to
reimburse a property owner in the county for all or any portion of
damages to a gate or fence located on property owned by the person
if:
(A) the property is located in the county; and
(B) the damage was the result of the commission
of an offense listed in Subdivision (1).
(4) A county may require a property owner to submit an
application and provide information requested by the county in
order to be eligible for reimbursement under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Article 18.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (f) and (g) and adding Subsections
(f-1), (f-2), and (f-3) to read as follows:
(f) If a person timely appears to show cause why the
property or proceeds should not be destroyed or forfeited, the
magistrate shall conduct a hearing on the issue and determine the
nature of property or proceeds and the person's interest
therein. Unless the person proves by a preponderance of the
evidence that the property or proceeds is not gambling equipment,
altered gambling equipment, gambling paraphernalia, gambling
device, gambling proceeds, prohibited weapon, obscene device or
material, child pornography, criminal instrument, scanning device
or re-encoder, or dog-fighting equipment and that the person [he]
is entitled to possession, the magistrate shall dispose of the
property or proceeds in accordance with Subsection [Paragraph] (a),
(f-1), or (f-2) [of this article].
(f-1) If the property is used in an offense under Section
20.05 or 38.04, Penal Code, or any offense under Chapter 20A, Penal
Code, and the property is a motor vehicle, the magistrate shall
order the property be delivered to the purchasing agent of the
county in which the offense occurred, or the sheriff of the county
if the county has no purchasing agent. The county purchasing agent
or sheriff shall sell the property and deposit the sale proceeds,
after deducting the reasonable expense of keeping and disposing of
the property, in a fund in the treasury of the county in which the
offense occurred. When offering the property for sale, if the
purchasing agent or sheriff considers any bid to be insufficient,
the agent or sheriff may decline the bid and reoffer the property
for sale.
(f-2) Any proceeds or money seized under this article shall
be deposited in a fund described by Subsection (f-1) in the county
in which the offense occurred.
(f-3)(1) A county may use money in the fund described by
Subsection (f-1) only to reimburse a property owner in the county
for all or any portion of damages to a gate or fence located on
property owned by the person if:
(A) the property is located in the county; and
(B) the damage was the result of an offense under
Section 20.05 or 38.04, Penal Code, or any offense under Chapter
20A, Penal Code.
(2) A county may require a property owner to submit an
application and provide information requested by the county in
order to be eligible for reimbursement under this subsection.
(g) For purposes of this article:
(1) "criminal instrument" has the meaning defined in
the Penal Code;
(2) "gambling device or equipment, altered gambling
equipment or gambling paraphernalia" has the meaning defined in the
Penal Code;
(3) "prohibited weapon" has the meaning defined in the
Penal Code;
(4) "dog-fighting equipment" means:
(A) equipment used for training or handling a
fighting dog, including a harness, treadmill, cage, decoy, pen,
house for keeping a fighting dog, feeding apparatus, or training
pen;
(B) equipment used for transporting a fighting
dog, including any automobile, or other vehicle, and its
appurtenances which are intended to be used as a vehicle for
transporting a fighting dog;
(C) equipment used to promote or advertise an
exhibition of dog fighting, including a printing press or similar
equipment, paper, ink, or photography equipment; or
(D) a dog trained, being trained, or intended to
be used to fight with another dog;
(5) "obscene device" and "obscene" have the meanings
assigned by Section 43.21, Penal Code;
(6) "re-encoder" has the meaning assigned by Section
522.001, Business & Commerce Code;
(7) "scanning device" has the meaning assigned by
Section 522.001, Business & Commerce Code; [and]
(8) "obscene material" and "child pornography"
include digital images and the media and equipment on which those
images are stored; and
(9) "motor vehicle" has the meaning assigned by
Section 501.002, Transportation Code.
SECTION 3. Section 19, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) If a judge grants community supervision to a defendant
convicted of an offense under Section 20.05 or 38.04, Penal Code, or
any offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code, the judge may require the
defendant to pay a fee of $15. The judge shall deposit any fee
received under this subsection in the fund described by Article
18.17(k) in the treasury of the county in which the offense
occurred, to be used as provided by that article.
SECTION 4. Section 102.021, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 102.021. COURT COSTS ON CONVICTION: CODE OF CRIMINAL
PROCEDURE. A person convicted of an offense shall pay the
following under the Code of Criminal Procedure, in addition to all
other costs:
(1) court cost on conviction of any offense, other
than a conviction of an offense relating to a pedestrian or the
parking of a motor vehicle (Art. 102.0045, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $4;
(2) a fee for services of prosecutor (Art. 102.008,
Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $25;
(3) fees for services of peace officer:
(A) issuing a written notice to appear in court
for certain violations (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure)
. . . $5;
(B) executing or processing an issued arrest
warrant, capias, or capias pro fine (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal
Procedure) . . . $50;
(C) summoning a witness (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(D) serving a writ not otherwise listed (Art.
102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $35;
(E) taking and approving a bond and, if
necessary, returning the bond to courthouse (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $10;
(F) commitment or release (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(G) summoning a jury (Art. 102.011, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $5;
(H) attendance of a prisoner in habeas corpus
case if prisoner has been remanded to custody or held to bail (Art.
102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $8 each day;
(I) mileage for certain services performed (Art.
102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $0.29 per mile; and
(J) services of a sheriff or constable who serves
process and attends examining trial in certain cases (Art. 102.011,
Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . not to exceed $5;
(4) services of a peace officer in conveying a witness
outside the county (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . .
$10 per day or part of a day, plus actual necessary travel expenses;
(5) overtime of peace officer for time spent
testifying in the trial or traveling to or from testifying in the
trial (Art. 102.011, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . actual cost;
(6) court costs on an offense relating to rules of the
road, when offense occurs within a school crossing zone (Art.
102.014, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $25;
(7) court costs on an offense of passing a school bus
(Art. 102.014, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $25;
(8) court costs on an offense of truancy or
contributing to truancy (Art. 102.014, Code of Criminal Procedure)
. . . $20;
(9) cost for visual recording of intoxication arrest
before conviction (Art. 102.018, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . .
$15;
(10) cost of certain evaluations (Art. 102.018, Code
of Criminal Procedure) . . . actual cost;
(11) additional costs attendant to certain
intoxication convictions under Chapter 49, Penal Code, for
emergency medical services, trauma facilities, and trauma care
systems (Art. 102.0185, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $100;
(12) additional costs attendant to certain child
sexual assault and related convictions, for child abuse prevention
programs (Art. 102.0186, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $100;
(13) court cost for DNA testing for certain felonies
(Art. 102.020(a)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $250;
(14) court cost for DNA testing for the offense of
public lewdness or indecent exposure (Art. 102.020(a)(2), Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $50;
(15) court cost for DNA testing for certain felonies
(Art. 102.020(a)(3), Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $34;
(16) if required by the court, a restitution fee for
costs incurred in collecting restitution installments and for the
compensation to victims of crime fund (Art. 42.037, Code of
Criminal Procedure) . . . $12;
(17) if directed by the justice of the peace or
municipal court judge hearing the case, court costs on conviction
in a criminal action (Art. 45.041, Code of Criminal Procedure)
. . . part or all of the costs as directed by the judge; [and]
(18) costs attendant to convictions under Chapter 49,
Penal Code, and under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, to help
fund drug court programs established under Chapter 469, Health and
Safety Code (Art. 102.0178, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $60;
and
(19) a fee to reimburse property owners for damage
resulting from an offense under Section 20.05 or 38.04, Penal Code,
or any offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code (Sec. 19(h), Art.
42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure) . . . $15.
SECTION 5. Section 19(h), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as added by this Act, applies only to a defendant
initially placed on community supervision on or after the effective
date of this Act. A defendant initially placed on community
supervision before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.