Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3185 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	87R21836 MAW-F
2		-	By: Krause, Rose H.B. No. 3185
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3185:
4		-	By: Morrison C.S.H.B. No. 3185
	1	+	87R9932 MAW-F
	2	+	By: Krause H.B. No. 3185
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9		-	relating to the denial or reduction of an award otherwise payable
10		-	under the Crime Victims' Compensation Act.
	7	+	relating to crime victims' compensation.
11	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12		-	SECTION 1. Article 56B.107, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	9	+	SECTION 1. Article 56B.003(10), Code of Criminal Procedure,
	10	+	is amended to read as follows:
	11	+	(10) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of the expense
	12	+	reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of personal injury
	13	+	or death for:
	14	+	(A) medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric
	15	+	care or counseling, or physical therapy;
	16	+	(B) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated
	17	+	loss of future earnings and necessary travel expenses because of:
	18	+	(i) a disability resulting from the
	19	+	personal injury;
	20	+	(ii) the receipt of medically indicated
	21	+	services related to the disability; or
	22	+	(iii) participation in or attendance at
	23	+	investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes or any
	24	+	postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to
	25	+	criminally injurious conduct;
	26	+	(C) care of a child or dependent, including
	27	+	specialized care for a child who is a victim;
	28	+	(D) funeral and burial expenses, including, for
	29	+	an immediate family member or a household member of the victim, the
	30	+	necessary expenses of traveling to and attending the funeral;
	31	+	(E) loss of support to a dependent, consistent
	32	+	with Article 56B.057(b)(5);
	33	+	(F) reasonable and necessary costs of cleaning
	34	+	the crime scene;
	35	+	(G) reasonable replacement costs for clothing,
	36	+	bedding, or property of the victim seized as evidence or rendered
	37	+	unusable as a result of the criminal investigation;
	38	+	(H) reasonable and necessary costs for
	39	+	relocation and housing rental assistance payments as provided by
	40	+	Articles [Article] 56B.106(c) and (c-1);
	41	+	(I) for an immediate family member or a household
	42	+	member of a deceased victim, bereavement leave of not more than 10
	43	+	work days; and
	44	+	(J) reasonable and necessary costs of traveling
	45	+	to and from a place of execution to witness the execution, including
	46	+	one night's lodging near the place where the execution is
	47	+	conducted.
	48	+	SECTION 2. Article 56B.106, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	49	+	amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and
	50	+	(c-2) to read as follows:
	51	+	(c) A victim who is a victim of stalking, family violence,
	52	+	or trafficking of persons, or a victim of sexual assault who is
	53	+	assaulted in the victim's place of residence, may receive a
	54	+	one-time assistance payment in an amount not to exceed:
	55	+	(1) $2,000 to be used for relocation expenses,
	56	+	including expenses for rental deposit, utility connections,
	57	+	expenses relating to moving belongings, motor vehicle mileage
	58	+	expenses, temporary or emergency lodging for not more than seven
	59	+	nights at a rate not to exceed $150 for each night, and for an
	60	+	out-of-state move, expenses for transportation, lodging, and
	61	+	meals; and
	62	+	(2) $1,800 to be used for housing rental expenses.
	63	+	(c-1) A victim other than a victim described by Subsection
	64	+	(c), a dependent of any victim, or an immediate family member or
	65	+	household member of any victim may receive a one-time assistance
	66	+	payment for relocation and housing rental expenses that are
	67	+	necessary to protect the health or safety of the victim, a dependent
	68	+	of the victim, or an immediate family member or household member of
	69	+	the victim. A payment under this subsection may not exceed:
	70	+	(1) $2,000 to be used for relocation expenses,
	71	+	including expenses for rental deposit, utility connections,
	72	+	expenses relating to moving belongings, motor vehicle mileage
	73	+	expenses, temporary or emergency lodging for not more than seven
	74	+	nights at a rate not to exceed $150 for each night, and for an
	75	+	out-of-state move, expenses for transportation, lodging, and
	76	+	meals; and
	77	+	(2) $1,800 to be used for housing rental expenses.
	78	+	(c-2) The attorney general may waive any documentation
	79	+	requirements for expenses described by Subsection (c) or (c-1) as
	80	+	necessary to expedite a payment under either subsection.
	81	+	SECTION 3. Article 56B.107, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
13	82		amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to
14	83		read as follows:
15	84		(a) Except as otherwise provided by this article, the [The]
16	85		attorney general may deny or reduce an award otherwise payable:
17	86		(1) if the claimant or victim has not substantially
18	87		cooperated with an appropriate law enforcement agency;
19	88		(2) if, as a result of the claimant's or victim's
20	89		behavior, the claimant or victim bears a share of the
21	90		responsibility for the act or omission giving rise to the claim;
22	91		(3) to the extent that pecuniary loss is recouped from
23	92		a collateral source; or
24	93		(4) if the claimant or victim was engaging in an
25	94		activity that at the time of the criminally injurious conduct was
26	95		prohibited by law, including a rule.
27	96		(c) The attorney general may not deny or reduce an award
28		-	under Subsection (a)(1) based on the interactions of the claimant
29		-	or victim with a law enforcement agency at the crime scene or
30		-	hospital unless the attorney general finds that the claimant or
31		-	victim, subsequent to the claimant's or victim's interactions at
32		-	the crime scene or hospital, failed or refused to substantially
33		-	cooperate with the law enforcement agency.
34		-	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
	97	+	under Subsection (a)(1) based substantially on the interactions of
	98	+	the claimant or victim with a law enforcement agency at the crime
	99	+	scene or hospital.
	100	+	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
35	101		to compensation for criminally injurious conduct occurring on or
36	102		after the effective date of this Act. Compensation for criminally
37	103		injurious conduct occurring before the effective date of this Act
38	104		is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred,
39	105		and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
40	106		purposes of this section, criminally injurious conduct occurred
41	107		before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
42	108		underlying the conduct occurred before that date.
43		-	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
	109	+	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.