Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB544 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R1107 SRS-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 544
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to reimbursement for the costs of legal services provided
8	8	to an indigent defendant in a criminal case.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 26.05(g), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(g) If the court determines that a defendant has financial
13	13	resources that enable the defendant [him] to offset in part or in
14	14	whole the costs of the legal services provided in accordance with
15	15	Article 1.051(c) or (d), including any expenses and costs, the
16	16	court shall order the defendant to pay during the pendency of the
17	17	charges or, if convicted, as court costs the amount that it finds
18	18	the defendant is able to pay. The defendant may not be ordered to
19	19	pay an amount that exceeds the actual costs paid by the county for
20	20	the legal services provided, including any expenses or costs. If
21	21	the defendant was represented by a public defender's office, the
22	22	actual costs of the legal services provided is the amount that would
23	23	have otherwise been paid to an appointed attorney, including any
24	24	expenses or costs.
25	25	SECTION 2. Sections 11(a) and (b), Article 42.12, Code of
26	26	Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
27	27	(a) The judge of the court having jurisdiction of the case
28	28	shall determine the conditions of community supervision and may, at
29	29	any time during the period of community supervision, alter or
30	30	modify the conditions. The judge may impose any reasonable
31	31	condition that is designed to protect or restore the community,
32	32	protect or restore the victim, or punish, rehabilitate, or reform
33	33	the defendant. Conditions of community supervision may include,
34	34	but shall not be limited to, the conditions that the defendant
35	35	shall:
36	36	(1) Commit no offense against the laws of this State or
37	37	of any other State or of the United States;
38	38	(2) Avoid injurious or vicious habits;
39	39	(3) Avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful
40	40	character, including any person, other than a family member of the
41	41	defendant, who is an active member of a criminal street gang;
42	42	(4) Report to the supervision officer as directed by
43	43	the judge or supervision officer and obey all rules and regulations
44	44	of the community supervision and corrections department;
45	45	(5) Permit the supervision officer to visit the
46	46	defendant at the defendant's home or elsewhere;
47	47	(6) Work faithfully at suitable employment as far as
48	48	possible;
49	49	(7) Remain within a specified place;
50	50	(8) Pay the defendant's fine, if one is assessed, and
51	51	all court costs whether a fine is assessed or not, in one or several
52	52	sums;
53	53	(9) Support the defendant's dependents;
54	54	(10) Participate, for a time specified by the judge,
55	55	in any community-based program, including a community-service work
56	56	program under Section 16 of this article;
57	57	(11) Reimburse the county in which the prosecution was
58	58	instituted for the costs of the legal services provided to the
59	59	defendant in accordance with Article 1.051(c) or (d), including
60	60	expenses and costs as described by Article 26.05, in the same manner
61	61	as the defendant may be ordered to pay the costs of the legal
62	62	services under Article 26.05(g), and subject to the court's
63	63	determination of the defendant's ability to pay under Subsection
64	64	(b) [compensation paid to appointed counsel for defending the
65	65	defendant in the case, if counsel was appointed, or if the defendant
66	66	was represented by a public defender's office, in an amount that
67	67	would have been paid to an appointed attorney had the county not had
68	68	a public defender's office];
69	69	(12) Remain under custodial supervision in a community
70	70	corrections facility, obey all rules and regulations of the
71	71	facility, and pay a percentage of the defendant's income to the
72	72	facility for room and board;
73	73	(13) Pay a percentage of the defendant's income to the
74	74	defendant's dependents for their support while under custodial
75	75	supervision in a community corrections facility;
76	76	(14) Submit to testing for alcohol or controlled
77	77	substances;
78	78	(15) Attend counseling sessions for substance abusers
79	79	or participate in substance abuse treatment services in a program
80	80	or facility approved or licensed by the Department of State Health
81	81	Services;
82	82	(16) With the consent of the victim of a misdemeanor
83	83	offense or of any offense under Title 7, Penal Code, participate in
84	84	victim-defendant mediation;
85	85	(17) Submit to electronic monitoring;
86	86	(18) Reimburse the compensation to victims of crime
87	87	fund for any amounts paid from that fund to or on behalf of a victim,
88	88	as defined by Article 56.32, of the defendant's offense or if no
89	89	reimbursement is required, make one payment to the compensation to
90	90	victims of crime fund in an amount not to exceed $50 if the offense
91	91	is a misdemeanor or not to exceed $100 if the offense is a felony;
92	92	(19) Reimburse a law enforcement agency for the
93	93	analysis, storage, or disposal of raw materials, controlled
94	94	substances, chemical precursors, drug paraphernalia, or other
95	95	materials seized in connection with the offense;
96	96	(20) Pay all or part of the reasonable and necessary
97	97	costs incurred by the victim for psychological counseling made
98	98	necessary by the offense or for counseling and education relating
99	99	to acquired immune deficiency syndrome or human immunodeficiency
100	100	virus made necessary by the offense;
101	101	(21) Make one payment in an amount not to exceed $50 to
102	102	a crime stoppers organization as defined by Section 414.001,
103	103	Government Code, and as certified by the Texas Crime Stoppers
104	104	Council;
105	105	(22) Submit a DNA sample to the Department of Public
106	106	Safety under Subchapter G, Chapter 411, Government Code, for the
107	107	purpose of creating a DNA record of the defendant;
108	108	(23) In any manner required by the judge, provide
109	109	public notice of the offense for which the defendant was placed on
110	110	community supervision in the county in which the offense was
111	111	committed; and
112	112	(24) Reimburse the county in which the prosecution was
113	113	instituted for compensation paid to any interpreter in the case.
114	114	(b)(1) A judge may not order a defendant to make any
115	115	payments as a term or condition of community supervision, except
116	116	for:
117	117	(A) fines, court costs, and restitution to the
118	118	victim;
119	119	(B) reimbursement of a county as described by
120	120	Subsection (a)(11); [,] and
121	121	(C) other conditions related personally to the
122	122	rehabilitation of the defendant or otherwise expressly authorized
123	123	by law.
124	124	(2) A judge may not impose a condition of community
125	125	supervision requiring a defendant to reimburse a county for the
126	126	costs of legal services provided to the defendant in accordance
127	127	with Article 1.051(c) or (d) if the defendant has already satisfied
128	128	that obligation under Article 26.05(g).
129	129	(3) The court shall consider the ability of the
130	130	defendant to make payments before [in] ordering the defendant to
131	131	make payments under this article.
132	132	SECTION 3. Section 21(c), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
133	133	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
134	134	(c) The court may not revoke the community supervision of a
135	135	defendant if, at the community supervision revocation hearing, the
136	136	court finds that the only evidence supporting the alleged violation
137	137	of a condition of community supervision is the uncorroborated
138	138	results of a polygraph examination. In a community supervision
139	139	revocation hearing at which it is alleged only that the defendant
140	140	violated the conditions of community supervision by failing to pay
141	141	[compensation paid to appointed counsel,] community supervision
142	142	fees, [or] court costs, and the costs of legal services provided in
143	143	accordance with Article 1.051(c) or (d), including expenses and
144	144	costs as described by Article 26.05, the state must prove by a
145	145	preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was able to pay and
146	146	did not pay as ordered by the judge. The court may order a
147	147	community supervision and corrections department to obtain
148	148	information pertaining to the factors listed under Article
149	149	42.037(h) and include that information in the report required under
150	150	Section 9(a) or a separate report, as the court directs.
151	151	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
152	152	to a criminal hearing or proceeding that commences on or after the
153	153	effective date of this Act, regardless of when the defendant
154	154	committed the underlying offense for which the defendant became
155	155	subject to the hearing or proceeding. A criminal hearing or
156	156	proceeding that commences before the effective date of this Act is
157	157	governed by the law in effect on the date the hearing or proceeding
158	158	commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
159	159	purpose.
160	160	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.