87R9932 MAW-F
By: Krause H.B. No. 3185
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to crime victims' compensation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 56B.003(10), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(10) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of the 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; or
(iii) participation in or attendance at
investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes or any
postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to
criminally injurious conduct;
(C) care of a child or dependent, including
specialized care for a child who is a victim;
(D) funeral and burial expenses, including, for
an immediate family member or a 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 56B.057(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
Articles [Article] 56B.106(c) and (c-1);
(I) for an immediate family member or a 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 to witness the execution, including
one night's lodging near the place where the execution is
conducted.
SECTION 2. Article 56B.106, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and
(c-2) to read as follows:
(c) A victim who is a victim of stalking, family violence,
or trafficking of persons, or a victim of sexual assault who is
assaulted in the victim's place of residence, may receive a
one-time 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 moving belongings, motor vehicle mileage
expenses, temporary or emergency lodging for not more than seven
nights at a rate not to exceed $150 for each night, and for an
out-of-state move, expenses for transportation, lodging, and
meals; and
(2) $1,800 to be used for housing rental expenses.
(c-1) A victim other than a victim described by Subsection
(c), a dependent of any victim, or an immediate family member or
household member of any victim may receive a one-time assistance
payment for relocation and housing rental expenses that are
necessary to protect the health or safety of the victim, a dependent
of the victim, or an immediate family member or household member of
the victim. A payment under this subsection may not exceed:
(1) $2,000 to be used for relocation expenses,
including expenses for rental deposit, utility connections,
expenses relating to moving belongings, motor vehicle mileage
expenses, temporary or emergency lodging for not more than seven
nights at a rate not to exceed $150 for each night, and for an
out-of-state move, expenses for transportation, lodging, and
meals; and
(2) $1,800 to be used for housing rental expenses.
(c-2) The attorney general may waive any documentation
requirements for expenses described by Subsection (c) or (c-1) as
necessary to expedite a payment under either subsection.
SECTION 3. Article 56B.107, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this article, the [The]
attorney general may deny or reduce an award otherwise payable:
(1) if the claimant or victim has not substantially
cooperated with an appropriate law enforcement agency;
(2) if, as a result of the claimant's or victim's
behavior, the claimant or victim bears a share of the
responsibility for the act or omission giving rise to the claim;
(3) to the extent that pecuniary loss is recouped from
a collateral source; or
(4) if the claimant or victim was engaging in an
activity that at the time of the criminally injurious conduct was
prohibited by law, including a rule.
(c) The attorney general may not deny or reduce an award
under Subsection (a)(1) based substantially on the interactions of
the claimant or victim with a law enforcement agency at the crime
scene or hospital.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to compensation for criminally injurious conduct occurring on or
after the effective date of this Act. Compensation for criminally
injurious conduct occurring before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, criminally injurious conduct occurred
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
underlying the conduct occurred before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.