Bill Text: TX HB1663 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to a defendant's payment of costs associated with a court-appointed counsel.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 4)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-05-27 - Removed from local & uncontested calendar [HB1663 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB1663-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Cook, Villalba, Fallon H.B. No. 1663
(Senate Sponsor - Schwertner)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2015;
May 12, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE VOTE
YeaNayAbsentPNV
WhitmireX
HuffmanX
BurtonX
CreightonX
HinojosaX
MenéndezX
PerryX
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a defendant's payment of costs associated with a
court-appointed counsel.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 26.05(g), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(g)(1) If the court determines that a defendant has
financial resources that enable the defendant [him] to offset in
part or in whole the costs of the legal services provided, including
any expenses and costs, the court shall order the defendant to pay
during the pendency of the charges or, if convicted, as court costs
the amount that it finds the defendant is able to pay.
(2) This subdivision applies only to a defendant who
at the time of sentencing to confinement or placement on community
supervision, including deferred adjudication community
supervision, did not have the financial resources to pay the entire
cost of legal services provided to the defendant. At any time during
a defendant's sentence of confinement or period of community
supervision, the court, after providing written notice to the
defendant and an opportunity for the defendant to present
information relevant to the defendant's ability to pay, may order a
defendant to whom this subdivision applies to pay the unpaid
portion of the costs of legal services provided to the defendant, if
the court determines that the defendant has the financial resources
to pay the costs.
(3) In making a determination under Subdivision (2),
the court may only consider the information a court or courts'
designee is authorized to consider in making an indigency
determination under Article 26.04(m).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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