Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3514 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R12800 ADM-F
2	2	By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 3514
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to restorative justice initiatives.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Article 43.091, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	Art. 43.091. REDUCTION OR WAIVER OF PAYMENT OF FINES AND
12	12	COSTS FOR INDIGENT DEFENDANTS AND CHILDREN. (a) A court may waive
13	13	payment of a fine or cost imposed on a defendant who defaults in
14	14	payment if the court determines that:
15	15	(1) the defendant is indigent or was, at the time the
16	16	offense was committed, a child as defined by Article 45.058(h); and
17	17	(2) each alternative method of discharging the fine or
18	18	cost under Article 43.09 or 42.15 would impose an undue hardship on
19	19	the defendant.
20	20	(b) A court may reduce a fine imposed on an indigent
21	21	defendant convicted of a nonviolent Class B or Class C misdemeanor
22	22	by not more than 90 percent if the court determines that the
23	23	reduction is in the interest of justice, regardless of whether the
24	24	defendant has defaulted in payment.
25	25	SECTION 2. Chapter 55, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
26	26	amended by adding Article 55.07 to read as follows:
27	27	Art. 55.07. TEMPORARY CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS. (a)
28	28	This article applies to a case in which the most serious offense of
29	29	which the defendant was convicted or for which the defendant was
30	30	placed on deferred adjudication community supervision was a
31	31	nonviolent Class B or Class C misdemeanor.
32	32	(b) The trial court presiding over a case to which this
33	33	article applies shall order that all records and files relating to
34	34	the arrest and conviction be kept confidential and not be disclosed
35	35	to the public.
36	36	(c) Records and files made confidential under this article
37	37	remain confidential until expunction under Subsection (d) unless
38	38	the defendant is arrested for or charged with a violent offense
39	39	during the period before the defendant becomes eligible for
40	40	expunction.
41	41	(d) Confidential records under this article shall be
42	42	automatically expunged by the court not later than the 30th day
43	43	after:
44	44	(1) the six-month anniversary of the date the
45	45	defendant's sentence was discharged, if the most serious offense
46	46	that the defendant was convicted of was a Class C misdemeanor; or
47	47	(2) the second anniversary of the date the defendant's
48	48	sentence was discharged, if the most serious offense that the
49	49	defendant was convicted of was a Class B misdemeanor.
50	50	SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
51	51	amended by adding Section 411.952 to read as follows:
52	52	Sec. 411.952. GRANT FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH
53	53	PROGRAMS. (a) The department shall establish a grant program to
54	54	provide financial assistance to a local law enforcement agency
55	55	seeking to improve community outreach in high-crime areas through:
56	56	(1) amateur sports leagues;
57	57	(2) mentorship programs;
58	58	(3) school outreach activities; or
59	59	(4) similar programs.
60	60	(b) Any local law enforcement agency in this state may apply
61	61	for a grant under this section.
62	62	(c) The grant program established under this section may be
63	63	funded only by gifts, grants, and donations collected by the
64	64	department from any public or private source for the purposes of
65	65	this section.
66	66	SECTION 4. Chapter 171, Tax Code, is amended by adding
67	67	Subchapter O-1 to read as follows:
68	68	SUBCHAPTER O-1. TAX CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS WHO HIRE LOW-LEVEL
69	69	OFFENDERS
70	70	Sec. 171.781. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "low-level
71	71	offender" means a person who:
72	72	(1) has been convicted of or placed on deferred
73	73	adjudication community supervision for a nonviolent Class B or
74	74	Class C misdemeanor; and
75	75	(2) has never been convicted of or placed on deferred
76	76	adjudication community supervision for a violent offense.
77	77	Sec. 171.782. ENTITLEMENT TO CREDIT. A taxable entity is
78	78	entitled to a credit in the amount and under the conditions provided
79	79	by this subchapter against the tax imposed under this chapter.
80	80	Sec. 171.783. QUALIFICATION. A taxable entity qualifies
81	81	for a credit under this subchapter if the taxable entity employs at
82	82	least one low-level offender in a full-time employment position
83	83	located or based in this state during the entire period on which the
84	84	report is based, and the low-level offender is not arrested for or
85	85	charged with a violent offense during that period.
86	86	Sec. 171.784. AMOUNT; LIMITATIONS. (a) The amount of the
87	87	credit under this subchapter is $1,000.
88	88	(b) A taxable entity may not claim:
89	89	(1) more than three credits under this subchapter in
90	90	an accounting period; or
91	91	(2) more than one credit with respect to a single
92	92	low-level offender.
93	93	Sec. 171.785. APPLICATION FOR CREDIT. (a) A taxable entity
94	94	must apply for a credit under this subchapter on or with the tax
95	95	report for the period for which the credit is claimed.
96	96	(b) The comptroller shall promulgate a form for the
97	97	application for the credit. A taxable entity must use the form in
98	98	applying for the credit.
99	99	Sec. 171.786. PERIOD FOR WHICH CREDIT MAY BE CLAIMED. A
100	100	taxable entity may claim a credit under this subchapter on a report
101	101	only in connection with the employment of a low-level offender
102	102	during the accounting period on which the report is based.
103	103	SECTION 5. (a) Article 43.091, Code of Criminal Procedure,
104	104	as amended by this Act, applies to a sentencing proceeding that
105	105	commences on or after the effective date of this Act.
106	106	(b) Article 55.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by
107	107	this Act, applies to an offense committed on or after the effective
108	108	date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of
109	109	this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
110	110	committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
111	111	purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an offense was committed
112	112	before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
113	113	occurred before that date.
114	114	(c) Subchapter O-1, Chapter 171, Tax Code, as added by this
115	115	Act, applies only to a report originally due on or after January 1,
116	116	2018.
117	117	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.