88R25591 EAS-D
By: J. Johnson of Harris H.B. No. 2646
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the payment of certain fines and court costs by an
inmate during a term of imprisonment or following release from the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 42.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Section 17 to read as follows:
Sec. 17. In addition to the information described by
Section 1, the judgment must reflect the inmate's right under
Article 42.153 to defer payment of certain fines and court costs
owed to the state.
SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 42.153 to read as follows:
Art. 42.153. DEFERRED PAYMENT OF CERTAIN FINES AND COURT
COSTS. (a) Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by
Subsection (c), a person sentenced to imprisonment in the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice is not required to pay any fines or
court costs owed to the state:
(1) during the term of imprisonment, including while
the person is confined in a county jail awaiting transfer to the
department; or
(2) before the 181st day after the person's release:
(A) following completion of the person's
sentence; or
(B) on parole or to mandatory supervision.
(b) Not later than the 30th day following the person's
release as described by Subsection (a)(2), the person shall contact
the clerk of the court in each jurisdiction where the person owes
fines or court costs and enter into a payment plan with the clerk of
the court.
(c) This section does not apply to amounts owed for
restitution or to amounts owed for supervision fees assessed as a
condition of release.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to a
defendant who is sentenced for an offense on or after the effective
date of this Act, regardless of whether the offense is committed
before, on, or after that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.