Bill Text: TX HB3514 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to restorative justice initiatives.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-03 - Left pending in committee [HB3514 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB3514-Introduced.html

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85R12800 ADM-F
By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 3514

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to restorative justice initiatives.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 43.091, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 43.091. REDUCTION OR WAIVER OF PAYMENT OF FINES AND
COSTS FOR INDIGENT DEFENDANTS AND CHILDREN. (a) A court may waive
payment of a fine or cost imposed on a defendant who defaults in
payment if the court determines that:
(1) the defendant is indigent or was, at the time the
offense was committed, a child as defined by Article 45.058(h); and
(2) each alternative method of discharging the fine or
cost under Article 43.09 or 42.15 would impose an undue hardship on
the defendant.
(b) A court may reduce a fine imposed on an indigent
defendant convicted of a nonviolent Class B or Class C misdemeanor
by not more than 90 percent if the court determines that the
reduction is in the interest of justice, regardless of whether the
defendant has defaulted in payment.
SECTION 2. Chapter 55, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 55.07 to read as follows:
Art. 55.07. TEMPORARY CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS. (a)
This article applies to a case in which the most serious offense of
which the defendant was convicted or for which the defendant was
placed on deferred adjudication community supervision was a
nonviolent Class B or Class C misdemeanor.
(b) The trial court presiding over a case to which this
article applies shall order that all records and files relating to
the arrest and conviction be kept confidential and not be disclosed
to the public.
(c) Records and files made confidential under this article
remain confidential until expunction under Subsection (d) unless
the defendant is arrested for or charged with a violent offense
during the period before the defendant becomes eligible for
expunction.
(d) Confidential records under this article shall be
automatically expunged by the court not later than the 30th day
after:
(1) the six-month anniversary of the date the
defendant's sentence was discharged, if the most serious offense
that the defendant was convicted of was a Class C misdemeanor; or
(2) the second anniversary of the date the defendant's
sentence was discharged, if the most serious offense that the
defendant was convicted of was a Class B misdemeanor.
SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.952 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.952. GRANT FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH
PROGRAMS. (a) The department shall establish a grant program to
provide financial assistance to a local law enforcement agency
seeking to improve community outreach in high-crime areas through:
(1) amateur sports leagues;
(2) mentorship programs;
(3) school outreach activities; or
(4) similar programs.
(b) Any local law enforcement agency in this state may apply
for a grant under this section.
(c) The grant program established under this section may be
funded only by gifts, grants, and donations collected by the
department from any public or private source for the purposes of
this section.
SECTION 4. Chapter 171, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter O-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER O-1. TAX CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS WHO HIRE LOW-LEVEL
OFFENDERS
Sec. 171.781. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "low-level
offender" means a person who:
(1) has been convicted of or placed on deferred
adjudication community supervision for a nonviolent Class B or
Class C misdemeanor; and
(2) has never been convicted of or placed on deferred
adjudication community supervision for a violent offense.
Sec. 171.782. ENTITLEMENT TO CREDIT. A taxable entity is
entitled to a credit in the amount and under the conditions provided
by this subchapter against the tax imposed under this chapter.
Sec. 171.783. QUALIFICATION. A taxable entity qualifies
for a credit under this subchapter if the taxable entity employs at
least one low-level offender in a full-time employment position
located or based in this state during the entire period on which the
report is based, and the low-level offender is not arrested for or
charged with a violent offense during that period.
Sec. 171.784. AMOUNT; LIMITATIONS. (a) The amount of the
credit under this subchapter is $1,000.
(b) A taxable entity may not claim:
(1) more than three credits under this subchapter in
an accounting period; or
(2) more than one credit with respect to a single
low-level offender.
Sec. 171.785. APPLICATION FOR CREDIT. (a) A taxable entity
must apply for a credit under this subchapter on or with the tax
report for the period for which the credit is claimed.
(b) The comptroller shall promulgate a form for the
application for the credit. A taxable entity must use the form in
applying for the credit.
Sec. 171.786. PERIOD FOR WHICH CREDIT MAY BE CLAIMED. A
taxable entity may claim a credit under this subchapter on a report
only in connection with the employment of a low-level offender
during the accounting period on which the report is based.
SECTION 5. (a) Article 43.091, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as amended by this Act, applies to a sentencing proceeding that
commences on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Article 55.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by
this Act, applies to an offense committed on or after the effective
date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an offense was committed
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
occurred before that date.
(c) Subchapter O-1, Chapter 171, Tax Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to a report originally due on or after January 1,
2018.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.