84R1107 SRS-D
By: West S.B. No. 544
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reimbursement for the costs of legal services provided
to an indigent defendant in a criminal case.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 26.05(g), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) If the court determines that a defendant has financial
resources that enable the defendant [him] to offset in part or in
whole the costs of the legal services provided in accordance with
Article 1.051(c) or (d), including any expenses and costs, the
court shall order the defendant to pay during the pendency of the
charges or, if convicted, as court costs the amount that it finds
the defendant is able to pay. The defendant may not be ordered to
pay an amount that exceeds the actual costs paid by the county for
the legal services provided, including any expenses or costs. If
the defendant was represented by a public defender's office, the
actual costs of the legal services provided is the amount that would
have otherwise been paid to an appointed attorney, including any
expenses or costs.
SECTION 2. Sections 11(a) and (b), Article 42.12, Code of
Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The judge of the court having jurisdiction of the case
shall determine the conditions of community supervision and may, at
any time during the period of community supervision, alter or
modify the conditions. The judge may impose any reasonable
condition that is designed to protect or restore the community,
protect or restore the victim, or punish, rehabilitate, or reform
the defendant. Conditions of community supervision may include,
but shall not be limited to, the conditions that the defendant
shall:
(1) Commit no offense against the laws of this State or
of any other State or of the United States;
(2) Avoid injurious or vicious habits;
(3) Avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful
character, including any person, other than a family member of the
defendant, who is an active member of a criminal street gang;
(4) Report to the supervision officer as directed by
the judge or supervision officer and obey all rules and regulations
of the community supervision and corrections department;
(5) Permit the supervision officer to visit the
defendant at the defendant's home or elsewhere;
(6) Work faithfully at suitable employment as far as
possible;
(7) Remain within a specified place;
(8) Pay the defendant's fine, if one is assessed, and
all court costs whether a fine is assessed or not, in one or several
sums;
(9) Support the defendant's dependents;
(10) Participate, for a time specified by the judge,
in any community-based program, including a community-service work
program under Section 16 of this article;
(11) Reimburse the county in which the prosecution was
instituted for the costs of the legal services provided to the
defendant in accordance with Article 1.051(c) or (d), including
expenses and costs as described by Article 26.05, in the same manner
as the defendant may be ordered to pay the costs of the legal
services under Article 26.05(g), and subject to the court's
determination of the defendant's ability to pay under Subsection
(b) [compensation paid to appointed counsel for defending the
defendant in the case, if counsel was appointed, or if the defendant
was represented by a public defender's office, in an amount that
would have been paid to an appointed attorney had the county not had
a public defender's office];
(12) Remain under custodial supervision in a community
corrections facility, obey all rules and regulations of the
facility, and pay a percentage of the defendant's income to the
facility for room and board;
(13) Pay a percentage of the defendant's income to the
defendant's dependents for their support while under custodial
supervision in a community corrections facility;
(14) Submit to testing for alcohol or controlled
substances;
(15) Attend counseling sessions for substance abusers
or participate in substance abuse treatment services in a program
or facility approved or licensed by the Department of State Health
Services;
(16) With the consent of the victim of a misdemeanor
offense or of any offense under Title 7, Penal Code, participate in
victim-defendant mediation;
(17) Submit to electronic monitoring;
(18) Reimburse the compensation to victims of crime
fund for any amounts paid from that fund to or on behalf of a victim,
as defined by Article 56.32, of the defendant's offense or if no
reimbursement is required, make one payment to the compensation to
victims of crime fund in an amount not to exceed $50 if the offense
is a misdemeanor or not to exceed $100 if the offense is a felony;
(19) Reimburse a law enforcement agency for the
analysis, storage, or disposal of raw materials, controlled
substances, chemical precursors, drug paraphernalia, or other
materials seized in connection with the offense;
(20) Pay all or part of the reasonable and necessary
costs incurred by the victim for psychological counseling made
necessary by the offense or for counseling and education relating
to acquired immune deficiency syndrome or human immunodeficiency
virus made necessary by the offense;
(21) Make one payment in an amount not to exceed $50 to
a crime stoppers organization as defined by Section 414.001,
Government Code, and as certified by the Texas Crime Stoppers
Council;
(22) Submit a DNA sample to the Department of Public
Safety under Subchapter G, Chapter 411, Government Code, for the
purpose of creating a DNA record of the defendant;
(23) In any manner required by the judge, provide
public notice of the offense for which the defendant was placed on
community supervision in the county in which the offense was
committed; and
(24) Reimburse the county in which the prosecution was
instituted for compensation paid to any interpreter in the case.
(b)(1) A judge may not order a defendant to make any
payments as a term or condition of community supervision, except
for:
(A) fines, court costs, and restitution to the
victim;
(B) reimbursement of a county as described by
Subsection (a)(11); [,] and
(C) other conditions related personally to the
rehabilitation of the defendant or otherwise expressly authorized
by law.
(2) A judge may not impose a condition of community
supervision requiring a defendant to reimburse a county for the
costs of legal services provided to the defendant in accordance
with Article 1.051(c) or (d) if the defendant has already satisfied
that obligation under Article 26.05(g).
(3) The court shall consider the ability of the
defendant to make payments before [in] ordering the defendant to
make payments under this article.
SECTION 3. Section 21(c), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The court may not revoke the community supervision of a
defendant if, at the community supervision revocation hearing, the
court finds that the only evidence supporting the alleged violation
of a condition of community supervision is the uncorroborated
results of a polygraph examination. In a community supervision
revocation hearing at which it is alleged only that the defendant
violated the conditions of community supervision by failing to pay
[compensation paid to appointed counsel,] community supervision
fees, [or] court costs, and the costs of legal services provided in
accordance with Article 1.051(c) or (d), including expenses and
costs as described by Article 26.05, the state must prove by a
preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was able to pay and
did not pay as ordered by the judge. The court may order a
community supervision and corrections department to obtain
information pertaining to the factors listed under Article
42.037(h) and include that information in the report required under
Section 9(a) or a separate report, as the court directs.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a criminal hearing or proceeding that commences on or after the
effective date of this Act, regardless of when the defendant
committed the underlying offense for which the defendant became
subject to the hearing or proceeding. A criminal hearing or
proceeding that commences before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the hearing or proceeding
commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.