HBA-NIK S.B. 1276 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1276 By: Wentworth Corrections 5/4/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, inmates are not liable for the cost of their incarceration in a county jail. S.B. 1276 makes certain inmates responsible for some costs of their incarceration. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Article 42.038, as follows: Art. 42.038. REIMBURSEMENT FOR CONFINEMENT EXPENSES. (a) Authorizes a court that sentences a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor to serve a term of confinement in county jail and orders execution of the sentence, in addition to any fine, cost, or fee authorized by law, to require the defendant to reimburse the county for the defendant's confinement at a rate of $30 a day. (b) Authorizes a court that requires a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor or placed on deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor to submit to a period of confinement in county jail as a condition of community supervision to also require as a condition of community supervision that the defendant reimburse the county for the defendant's confinement, with the amount of reimbursement determined as if the defendant were serving an executed sentence. (c) Authorizes a court that requires reimbursement under this article to require the defendant to reimburse the county only for those days the defendant is confined after the date of conviction or on which a plea of guilty or nolo contendere was entered. Prohibits the court from requiring a defendant to reimburse the county for those days the defendant was confined after arrest and before the date of conviction or on which the plea of guilty or nolo contendere was entered. (d) Requires the court, in determining whether to order reimbursement under this article, to consider the defendant's employment status, earning ability, and financial resources; and any other special circumstances that may affect the defendant's ability to pay, including child support obligations and including any financial responsibilities owed by the defendant to the dependents or restitution payments owed by the defendant to a victim. (e) Requires the sheriff, on the day on which a defendant who is required to reimburse the county discharges an executed sentence of confinement or completes the period of confinement required as a condition of community supervision, to present to the defendant a bill computed by multiplying the daily rate of $30 times the number of days the defendant was confined in the county jail, not counting the day on which the execution of the sentence or the period of confinement began. Provides that a defendant who is confined in county jail for only a portion of a day is nonetheless considered to have been confined for a whole day. (f) Authorizes the court to require a defendant to reimburse the county by paying to the sheriff the bill presented by the sheriff within a specified period or in specified installments. Provides that the end of the period or the last installment may not be later than the end of the period of community supervision, if community supervision is ordered, or the fifth anniversary of the last day of the term of confinement, if the court does not order community supervision. SECTION 2. Amends Subsection (b), Section 2, Article 42.22, Code of Criminal Procedure, to provide that the state has a restitution lien to secure the amount of reimbursement for costs of confinement ordered under Article 42.038, in addition to the amount of fines or costs entered against a defendant in a felony criminal case. SECTION 3. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 4. Provides that the governing body of a county must first authorize reimbursement for confinement expenses by defendants. SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999.