Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1441 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R3270 KJE-D
2	2	By: Wu H.B. No. 1441
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a defendant's discharge of fines and costs through
8	8	confinement in jail or community service.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 45.041, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-2a) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(b) Subject to Subsections (b-2), (b-2a), and (b-3), the
14	14	justice or judge may direct the defendant:
15	15	(1) to pay:
16	16	(A) the entire fine and costs when sentence is
17	17	pronounced;
18	18	(B) the entire fine and costs at some later date;
19	19	or
20	20	(C) a specified portion of the fine and costs at
21	21	designated intervals;
22	22	(2) if applicable, to make restitution to any victim
23	23	of the offense; and
24	24	(3) to satisfy any other sanction authorized by law.
25	25	(b-2a) If in imposing a fine and costs the justice or judge
26	26	determines that the defendant has insufficient resources or income
27	27	to pay the fine or costs, the justice or judge shall permit the
28	28	defendant to elect to discharge all or part of the fine or costs by
29	29	performing community service as provided by Article 45.049.
30	30	SECTION 2. Article 45.046, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
31	31	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
32	32	read as follows:
33	33	(a) When a judgment and sentence have been entered against a
34	34	defendant and the defendant defaults in the discharge of the
35	35	judgment, the judge may order the defendant confined in jail until
36	36	discharged by law only if:
37	37	(1) the total amount of the fine and costs that remains
38	38	unpaid is greater than $100; and
39	39	(2) the judge at a hearing makes a written
40	40	determination that:
41	41	(A) [(1)] the defendant is not indigent and has
42	42	failed to make a good faith effort to discharge the fine and costs;
43	43	or
44	44	(B) [(2)] the defendant is indigent and:
45	45	(i) [(A)] has failed to make a good faith
46	46	effort to discharge the fines and costs under Article 45.049; and
47	47	(ii) [(B)] could have discharged the fines
48	48	and costs under Article 45.049 without experiencing any undue
49	49	hardship.
50	50	(a-1) The judge may not permit a defendant to voluntarily
51	51	discharge a fine or costs through confinement in jail unless the
52	52	conditions under Subsection (a) are met.
53	53	SECTION 3. Article 45.049, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
54	54	amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding
55	55	Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:
56	56	(a) A justice or judge may require a defendant who fails to
57	57	pay a previously assessed fine or costs, or who is determined by the
58	58	court to have insufficient resources or income to pay a fine or
59	59	costs, to discharge all or part of the fine or costs by performing
60	60	community service.
61	61	(a-1) At sentencing, a defendant to whom Article
62	62	45.041(b-2a) applies may elect to perform community service under
63	63	this article to discharge all or part of the fine or costs assessed
64	64	in the case.
65	65	(a-2) A defendant may discharge an obligation to perform
66	66	community service under this article by paying at any time the fine
67	67	and costs assessed.
68	68	(b) In the justice's or judge's order requiring or
69	69	permitting a defendant to participate in community service work
70	70	under this article, the justice or judge must specify the number of
71	71	hours the defendant is required to work.
72	72	(c) The justice or judge may order the defendant, or the
73	73	defendant may elect under Subsection (a-1), to perform community
74	74	service work under this article only for a governmental entity or a
75	75	nonprofit organization that provides services to the general public
76	76	that enhance social welfare and the general well-being of the
77	77	community. A governmental entity or nonprofit organization that
78	78	accepts a defendant under this article to perform community service
79	79	must agree to supervise the defendant in the performance of the
80	80	defendant's work and report on the defendant's work to the justice
81	81	or judge who ordered the community service.
82	82	SECTION 4. (a) Articles 45.041 and 45.049, Code of Criminal
83	83	Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a sentencing
84	84	proceeding that commences on or after the effective date of this
85	85	Act.
86	86	(b) Article 45.046, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended
87	87	by this Act, applies only to a default in payment that occurs on or
88	88	after the effective date of this Act.
89	89	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.