HBA-AMW H.B. 800 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 800 By: Gallego Criminal Jurisprudence 3/5/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, crime victims are entitled to certain rights. Victims are entitled to the right to be informed of relevant court proceedings, the right to receive information regarding compensation, the right to be informed of parole procedures, and the right to be present at all public court proceedings related to the offense. Although victim impact statements and victim-offender mediation are currently used by some victims of crime and their families, current law does not entitle them to these services. House Bill 800 increases the rights of victims of crime and their families, including rights regarding victim impact statements and victim-offender mediation. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 800 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Civil Practice and Remedies, Family, Government, and Occupations codes to modify provisions relating to the rights of victims of a crime, the payment of restitution, and the training of certain persons who deal with victims. The bill authorizes the pardons and paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to waive a supervision fee or an administrative fee imposed on an inmate during any period in which the inmate is required to pay restitution (Art. 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure). The bill modifies the entitlements of a victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim to include certain rights relating to victim impact statements and the right to request victim-offender mediation. The bill sets forth provisions relating to a court-required statement made by the attorney representing the state (Art. 56.02, Code of Criminal Procedure). The bill requires the attorney representing the state to consider any victim impact statement that has been returned to the attorney regarding the offense before entering into a plea bargaining agreement with the defendant (Art. 26.13, Code of Criminal Procedure). The bill also modifies provisions relating to the court's procedures for victim impact statements and the defendant's access to the statements (Art. 56.03, Code of Criminal Procedure). The bill adds appellate proceedings to the types of relevant court proceedings of which a victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim is entitled to be informed. The bill entitles the guardian of a victim or close relative of a deceased victim to the right to be present at all public court proceedings related to the offense and subject to the approval of the judge in the case (Art. 56.02, Code of Criminal Procedure). The bill also adds provisions relating to the victim's right to representation by counsel at a hearing (Sec. 508.0481, Government Code). The bill modifies provisions relating to the procedures for notification of the victim, victim's guardian, or victim's close relative (Art. 56.12, Code of Criminal Procedure; Sec. 57.002, Family Code; and Sec. 76.016, Government Code). The bill modifies provisions relating to notification of rights by the attorney representing the state and sets forth provisions relating to the court-required statement of the prosecuting attorney (Art. 56.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Sec. 57.002, Family Code). The bill prohibits a victim of a sexual assault from being denied the opportunity to have the victim assistance coordinator, an advocate from a crime victim assistance program, or another representative of the victim's choice present with the victim at any medical examination conducted for the purpose of collecting evidence related to the investigation or prosecution of the offense (Art. 56.045, Code of Criminal Procedure). H.B. 800 adds provisions to require the training of volunteers to act as mediators and the provision of mediation services by the victim services division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (Art. 56.13, Code of Criminal Procedure). The bill establishes provisions to entitle a victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim to victim-offender mediation and specifies that approval of the parties in victim-offender mediation is not required (Art. 56.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Sec. 2009.053, Government Code). The bill provides that mediation includes victim-offender mediation (Sec. 154.023, Civil Practice and Remedies Code). The bill also authorizes the Texas Crime Victim Clearinghouse to conduct an annual conference to provide to participants in the criminal justice system training containing information on crime victims' rights and to charge fees to persons attending the conference (Art. 56.14, Code of Criminal Procedure). H.B. 800 requires the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education to require courses and programs to provide training in crime victims' rights and the duty of law enforcement agencies to ensure that a victim is afforded those rights and to establish these courses and programs not later than January 1, 2002 (Sec. 1701.253, Occupations Code, and SECTION 16). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.