Bill Text: TX HB899 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to certain rights of victims, guardians of victims, and close relatives of deceased victims in the criminal justice system.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 9-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective immediately [HB899 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB899-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 899 |
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relating to certain rights of victims, guardians of victims, and | ||
close relatives of deceased victims in the criminal justice system. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Articles 56.02(a) and (c), Code of Criminal | ||
Procedure, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) A victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a | ||
deceased victim is entitled to the following rights within the | ||
criminal justice system: | ||
(1) the right to receive from law enforcement agencies | ||
adequate protection from harm and threats of harm arising from | ||
cooperation with prosecution efforts; | ||
(2) the right to have the magistrate take the safety of | ||
the victim or his family into consideration as an element in fixing | ||
the amount of bail for the accused; | ||
(3) the right, if requested, to be informed: | ||
(A) by the attorney representing the state of | ||
relevant court proceedings, including appellate proceedings, and | ||
to be informed if those proceedings have been canceled or | ||
rescheduled prior to the event; and | ||
(B) by an appellate court of decisions of the | ||
court, after the decisions are entered but before the decisions are | ||
made public; | ||
(4) the right to be informed, when requested, by a | ||
peace officer concerning the defendant's right to bail and the | ||
procedures in criminal investigations and by the district | ||
attorney's office concerning the general procedures in the criminal | ||
justice system, including general procedures in guilty plea | ||
negotiations and arrangements, restitution, and the appeals and | ||
parole process; | ||
(5) the right to provide pertinent information to a | ||
probation department conducting a presentencing investigation | ||
concerning the impact of the offense on the victim and his family by | ||
testimony, written statement, or any other manner prior to any | ||
sentencing of the offender; | ||
(6) the right to receive information regarding | ||
compensation to victims of crime as provided by Subchapter B, | ||
including information related to the costs that may be compensated | ||
under that subchapter and the amount of compensation, eligibility | ||
for compensation, and procedures for application for compensation | ||
under that subchapter, the payment for a medical examination under | ||
Article 56.06 for a victim of a sexual assault, and when requested, | ||
to referral to available social service agencies that may offer | ||
additional assistance; | ||
(7) the right to be informed, upon request, of parole | ||
procedures, to participate in the parole process, to be notified, | ||
if requested, of parole proceedings concerning a defendant in the | ||
victim's case, to provide to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for | ||
inclusion in the defendant's file information to be considered by | ||
the board prior to the parole of any defendant convicted of any | ||
crime subject to this subchapter, and to be notified, if requested, | ||
of the defendant's release; | ||
(8) the right to be provided with a waiting area, | ||
separate or secure from other witnesses, including the offender and | ||
relatives of the offender, before testifying in any proceeding | ||
concerning the offender; if a separate waiting area is not | ||
available, other safeguards should be taken to minimize the | ||
victim's contact with the offender and the offender's relatives and | ||
witnesses, before and during court proceedings; | ||
(9) the right to prompt return of any property of the | ||
victim that is held by a law enforcement agency or the attorney for | ||
the state as evidence when the property is no longer required for | ||
that purpose; | ||
(10) the right to have the attorney for the state | ||
notify the employer of the victim, if requested, of the necessity of | ||
the victim's cooperation and testimony in a proceeding that may | ||
necessitate the absence of the victim from work for good cause; | ||
(11) the right to counseling, on request, regarding | ||
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human | ||
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and testing for acquired | ||
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), human immunodeficiency virus | ||
(HIV) infection, antibodies to HIV, or infection with any other | ||
probable causative agent of AIDS, if the offense is an offense under | ||
Section 21.02, 21.11(a)(1), 22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code; | ||
(12) the right to request victim-offender mediation | ||
coordinated by the victim services division of the Texas Department | ||
of Criminal Justice; | ||
(13) the right to be informed of the uses of a victim | ||
impact statement and the statement's purpose in the criminal | ||
justice system, to complete the victim impact statement, and to | ||
have the victim impact statement considered: | ||
(A) by the attorney representing the state and | ||
the judge before sentencing or before a plea bargain agreement is | ||
accepted; and | ||
(B) by the Board of Pardons and Paroles before an | ||
inmate is released on parole; | ||
(14) to the extent provided by Articles 56.06 and | ||
56.065, for a victim of a sexual assault, the right to a forensic | ||
medical examination if, within 96 hours of the sexual assault, the | ||
assault is reported to a law enforcement agency or a forensic | ||
medical examination is otherwise conducted at a health care | ||
facility; [ |
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(15) for a victim of an assault or sexual assault who | ||
is younger than 17 years of age or whose case involves family | ||
violence, as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code, the right to | ||
have the court consider the impact on the victim of a continuance | ||
requested by the defendant; if requested by the attorney | ||
representing the state or by counsel for the defendant, the court | ||
shall state on the record the reason for granting or denying the | ||
continuance; and | ||
(16) if the offense is a capital felony, the right to: | ||
(A) receive by mail from the court a written | ||
explanation of defense-initiated victim outreach if the court has | ||
authorized expenditures for a defense-initiated victim outreach | ||
specialist; | ||
(B) not be contacted by the victim outreach | ||
specialist unless the victim, guardian, or relative has consented | ||
to the contact by providing a written notice to the court; and | ||
(C) designate a victim service provider to | ||
receive all communications from a victim outreach specialist acting | ||
on behalf of any person. | ||
(c) The office of the attorney representing the state, and | ||
the sheriff, police, and other law enforcement agencies shall | ||
ensure to the extent practicable that a victim, guardian of a | ||
victim, or close relative of a deceased victim is afforded the | ||
rights granted by [ |
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an explanation of those rights. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2013. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 899 was passed by the House on May 7, | ||
2013, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 2 present, not | ||
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
No. 899 on May 23, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 3 | ||
present, not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 899 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
amendments, on May 21, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays | ||
0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |