Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB978 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Metcalf (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 978
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2021;
3		-	May 10, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
4		-	Justice; May 20, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote:
5		-	Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 20, 2021, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	87R14993 NC-F
	2	+	By: Metcalf H.B. No. 978
7	3
8	4
9	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	6		AN ACT
11	7		relating to authorizing the comptroller to release a reported
12	8		owner's unclaimed property to the owner's crime victim in certain
13	9		circumstances and payment by the Texas Department of Criminal
14	10		Justice of certain amounts owed by an inmate.
15	11		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	12		SECTION 1. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by
17	13		adding Section 493.034 to read as follows:
18	14		Sec. 493.034. UNCLAIMED PROPERTY CLAIMS FILED ON BEHALF OF
19	15		CRIME VICTIMS. (a) The department shall file a claim for unclaimed
20	16		property under Section 74.501, Property Code, on behalf of a victim
21	17		of a criminal offense if the reported owner of the unclaimed
22	18		property:
23	19		(1) was finally convicted of the criminal offense in
24	20		this state; and
25	21		(2) based on the final conviction:
26	22		(A) was ordered to pay criminal restitution to
27	23		the victim; and
28	24		(B) on the date the claim is submitted, is
29	25		confined in a facility operated by or under contract with the
30	26		department.
31	27		(b) The department shall quarterly send to the comptroller a
32	28		data set regarding confined inmates to initiate the filing and
33	29		facilitate the approval of the claims submitted under Subsection
34	30		(a).
35	31		(c) The department must file a claim under this section only
36	32		if the department has:
37	33		(1) received notification from a court under Section
38	34		501.014(e); and
39	35		(2) confirmed with the county the amount of
40	36		outstanding restitution owed before filing the claim if the
41	37		department finds the confirmation to be necessary.
42	38		(d) The department may adopt rules necessary to administer
43	39		this section.
44	40		SECTION 2. Section 501.014, Government Code, is amended by
45	41		amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as
46	42		follows:
47	43		(e) On notification by a court, the department shall
48	44		withdraw from an inmate's account any amount the inmate is ordered
49	45		to pay by order of the court under this subsection. On receipt of a
50	46		valid court order requiring an inmate to pay child support, the
51	47		department shall withdraw the appropriate amount from the inmate's
52	48		account under this subsection, regardless of whether the court
53	49		order is provided by the court or another person. The department
54	50		shall make a payment under this subsection [as ordered by the court]
55	51		to either the court or the party specified in the court order. The
56	52		department is not liable for withdrawing or failing to withdraw
57	53		money or making payments or failing to make payments under this
58	54		subsection. The department shall make withdrawals and payments from
59	55		an inmate's account under this subsection according to the
60	56		following schedule of priorities:
61	57		(1) as payment in full for all orders for child
62	58		support;
63	59		(2) as payment in full for all orders for restitution;
64	60		(3) as payment in full for all orders for
65	61		reimbursement of the Health and Human Services Commission for
66	62		financial assistance provided for the child's health needs under
67	63		Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, to a child of the inmate;
68	64		(4) as payment in full for all orders for court fees
69	65		and costs;
70	66		(5) as payment in full for all orders for fines; and
71	67		(6) as payment in full for any other court order,
72	68		judgment, or writ.
73	69		(e-1) Notification from a court under Subsection (e) of an
74	70		order for restitution must specify the amount of restitution owed
75	71		on the date of notification.
76	72		SECTION 3. Section 74.501(e), Property Code, as amended by
77	73		Chapters 267 (S.B. 1420) and 897 (H.B. 3598), Acts of the 86th
78	74		Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and amended to
79	75		read as follows:
80	76		(e) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (f) and
81	77		(g) and [or] Section 551.051, Estates Code, the comptroller may not
82	78		pay to the following persons a claim to which this section applies:
83	79		(1) a creditor, a judgment creditor, a lienholder, or
84	80		an assignee of the reported owner or of the owner's heirs;
85	81		(2) a person holding a power of attorney from the
86	82		reported owner or the owner's heirs; or
87	83		(3) a person attempting to make a claim on behalf of a
88	84		corporation that was previously forfeited, dissolved, or
89	85		terminated, if the comptroller finds that:
90	86		(A) the corporation was revived for the purpose
91	87		of making a claim under this section; and
92	88		(B) the person submitting the claim was not an
93	89		authorized representative of the corporation at the time of the
94	90		corporation's forfeiture, dissolution, or termination.
95	91		SECTION 4. Section 74.501, Property Code, is amended by
96	92		adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
97	93		(g) The comptroller may approve a claim for unclaimed
98	94		property that complies with Section 493.034, Government Code.
99	95		SECTION 5. Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
100	96		amended by adding Subsection (w) to read as follows:
101	97		(w) A county shall accept a restitution payment received
102	98		from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under Section
103	99		493.034, Government Code, and forward the payment to the victim or
104	100		other person eligible for restitution under this article, including
105	101		the compensation to victims of crime fund. The county shall return
106	102		to the department any amount in excess of the balance owed to the
107	103		victim.
108	104		SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only
109	105		to a claim filed under Section 74.501, Property Code, on or after
110	106		the effective date of this Act. A claim filed under that section
111	107		before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
112	108		effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that
113	109		law is continued in effect for that purpose.
114	110		SECTION 7. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
115	111		over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
116	112		relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
117	113		codes.
118	114		SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
119		-	* * * * *