H.B. No. 1446
AN ACT
relating to reimbursement of certain medical costs for victims of
certain sex offenses, compensation to victims of stalking for
relocation and housing rental expenses, and the creation of a
governor's program for victims of child sex trafficking.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Article 56.06, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Art. 56.06. FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT
VICTIM WHO HAS REPORTED ASSAULT; COSTS.
SECTION 2. Article 56.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) and adding
Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(a) If a sexual assault is reported to a law enforcement
agency within 96 hours of the assault, the law enforcement agency,
with the consent of the victim, a person authorized to act on behalf
of the victim, or an employee of the Department of Family and
Protective Services, shall request a forensic medical examination
of the victim of the alleged assault for use in the investigation or
prosecution of the offense. A law enforcement agency may decline to
request a forensic medical examination under this subsection only
if the person reporting the sexual assault has made one or more
false reports of sexual assault to any law enforcement agency and if
there is no other evidence to corroborate the current allegations
of sexual assault.
(b) If a sexual assault is not reported within the period
described by Subsection (a), on receiving the consent described by
that subsection the law enforcement agency may request a forensic
medical examination of a victim of an alleged sexual assault as
considered appropriate by the agency.
(c) A law enforcement agency that requests a forensic
medical examination of a victim of an alleged sexual assault for use
in the investigation or prosecution of the offense shall pay all
costs of the examination. On application to the attorney general,
the law enforcement agency is entitled to be reimbursed for the
reasonable costs of that examination if the examination was
performed by a physician or by a sexual assault examiner or sexual
assault nurse examiner, as defined by Section 420.003, Government
Code.
(d) A law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney's
office may pay all costs related to the testimony of a licensed
health care professional in a criminal proceeding regarding the
results of the forensic medical examination or manner in which it
was performed.
(f) The attorney general may make a payment to or on behalf
of an individual for the reasonable costs incurred for medical care
provided in accordance with Section 323.004, Health and Safety
Code.
SECTION 3. Article 56.065, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) The attorney general may make a payment to or on behalf
of an individual for the reasonable costs incurred for medical care
provided in accordance with Section 323.004, Health and Safety
Code.
SECTION 4
. Article 56.32(a)(9), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(9) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of 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 resulting from the personal
injury; or
(iii) participation in or attendance at
investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes related to the
criminally injurious conduct and participation in or attendance at
any postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to
criminally injurious conduct;
(C) care of a child or dependent;
(D) funeral and burial expenses, including, for
an immediate family member or 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 56.41(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 Article 56.42(d)[, incurred by a victim of family violence or a
victim of sexual assault who is assaulted in the victim's place of
residence for relocation and housing rental assistance payments];
(I) for an immediate family member or 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 for the purpose of witnessing the
execution, including one night's lodging near the place at which
the execution is conducted.
SECTION 5. Article 56.42(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A victim who is a victim of stalking, family violence,
or [a victim of] trafficking of persons, or a victim of sexual
assault who is assaulted in the victim's place of residence, may
receive a onetime-only assistance payment 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 the moving of belongings, motor vehicle
mileage expenses, and for out-of-state moves, transportation,
lodging, and meals; and
(2) $1,800 to be used for housing rental expenses.
SECTION 6. Article 56.54(k), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(k) The attorney general may use the compensation to victims
of crime fund to:
(1) reimburse a law enforcement agency for the
reasonable costs of a forensic medical examination that are
incurred by the agency under Article 56.06 or 56.065; and
(2) make a payment to or on behalf of an individual for
the reasonable costs incurred for medical care provided under
Article 56.06 or 56.065 in accordance with Section 323.004, Health
and Safety Code.
SECTION 7. Chapter 772, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 772.0063 to read as follows:
Sec. 772.0063. GOVERNOR'S PROGRAM FOR VICTIMS OF CHILD SEX
TRAFFICKING. (a) The governor shall establish and implement a
program to provide comprehensive, individualized services to
address the rehabilitation and treatment needs of child victims of
an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code.
(b) The governor shall appoint a director of the program to
serve at the pleasure of the governor.
(c) The director of the program shall coordinate with state
and local law enforcement agencies, state agencies, and service
providers to identify victims of child sex trafficking who are
eligible to receive services under the program.
(d) For each victim of child sex trafficking identified by
the director, the program shall immediately facilitate the
assignment of a caseworker to the victim to coordinate with local
service providers to create a customized package of services to fit
the victim's immediate and long-term rehabilitation and treatment
needs. Services provided under the program must address all
aspects of the medical, psychiatric, psychological, safety, and
housing needs of victims.
SECTION 8. The change in law made by this Act relating to
reimbursement of certain medical costs applies only to payments
made for medical care provided on or after the effective date of
this Act. Payments made for medical care provided before the
effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on the
date the care was provided, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act relating to
compensation for relocation and housing rental expenses applies
only to a victim of a criminal offense committed or a violation that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. The victim of a
criminal offense committed or a violation that occurs before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the offense was committed or the violation occurred, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, a criminal offense was committed or a violation
occurred before the effective date of this Act if any element of the
offense or violation occurred before that date.
SECTION 10. The governor shall establish the governor's
program for victims of child sex trafficking and appoint a director
of the program, as required by Section 772.0063, Government Code,
as added by this Act, as soon as practicable and not later than
December 1, 2016.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1446 was passed by the House on May
12, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 1446 on May 29, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1446 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor