88R3795 CJD-F     By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 49       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.  Articles 56B.003(2), (6), (7), and (10), Code of   Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:                (2)  "Claimant" means any of the following individuals,   other than a service provider, who is entitled to file or has filed   a claim for compensation under this chapter:                      (A)  an authorized individual acting on behalf of   a victim;                      (B)  an individual who legally assumes the   obligation or who voluntarily pays medical or burial expenses of a   victim incurred as a result of the criminally injurious conduct of   another;                      (C)  a dependent of a victim who died as a result   of the criminally injurious conduct;                      (D)  a [an immediate] family member or [a]   household member of a victim who, as a result of the criminally   injurious conduct:                            (i)  requires psychiatric care or   counseling;                            (ii)  incurs expenses for traveling to and   attending a deceased victim's funeral; or                            (iii)  suffers wage loss from bereavement   leave taken in connection with the death of the victim; or                      (E)  an authorized individual acting on behalf of   a child described by Paragraph (C) or (D).                (6)  "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by   Section 71.004 [71.004(1)], Family Code.                (7)  "Household member" means an individual who[:                      [(A)  is related by consanguinity or affinity to   the victim; and                      [(B)]  resided in the same permanent household as   the victim at the time that the criminally injurious conduct   occurred.                (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 a   [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 a [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.  Subdivision (8), Article 56B.003, Code of   Criminal Procedure, is redesignated as Subdivision (5-a), Article   56B.003, Code of Criminal Procedure, and amended to read as   follows:                (5-a) "Family [(8)  "Immediate family] member" means an   individual who is related to a victim [within the second degree] by   consanguinity or affinity.          SECTION 3.  Article 56B.057(d), Code of Criminal Procedure,   is amended to read as follows:          (d)  Except as provided by rules adopted by the attorney   general to prevent the unjust enrichment of an offender, the   attorney general may not deny an award otherwise payable to a   claimant or victim because the claimant or victim:                (1)  is a [an immediate] family member of the offender;   or                (2)  resides in the same household as the offender.          SECTION 4.  Article 56B.106, Code of Criminal Procedure, is   amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsections   (c-1), (c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows:          (c)  A victim of stalking, family violence, or trafficking of   persons, a victim of sexual assault who is assaulted in the victim's   place of residence, or a child who is a victim of a murder attempt in   the child's place of residence may receive a one-time assistance   payment for [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, 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)  Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), a victim other   than a victim described by Subsection (c), a dependent of any   victim, or a family member or household member of any victim may   receive a one-time assistance payment for:                (1)  relocation expenses, including expenses for   rental deposit, utility connections, expenses relating to moving   belongings, motor vehicle mileage expenses, temporary or emergency   lodging, and for an out-of-state move, expenses for transportation,   lodging, and meals; and                (2)  housing rental expenses.          (c-2)  The attorney general may not award more than two   assistance payments under Subsection (c-1) with respect to the same   criminally injurious conduct, regardless of whether the payments   are awarded to the victim or other claimants, unless the attorney   general determines that it is necessary to award more than two   assistance payments because of the extraordinary health or safety   needs of the victim or claimants.          (c-3)  The attorney general by rule may establish a   limitation on the amount of an award a victim or claimant may   receive under Subsection (c) or (c-1), except that the limitation   for:                (1)  relocation expenses as provided by Subsection   (c)(1) or (c-1)(1) may not be less than $2,000; and                (2)  housing rental expenses as provided by Subsection   (c)(2) or (c-1)(2) may not be less than $1,800.          (d)  The attorney general by rule may establish a limitation   on an award a [An immediate] family member or household member of a   deceased victim may [not] receive for [more than $1,000 in] lost   wages as a result of bereavement leave taken by the family or   household member, except that the limit may not be less than the   lesser of:                (1)  $1,000; or                 (2)  an amount equal to 10 days of lost wages.          SECTION 5.  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 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.