81R23463 AJA-D
	By: Anchia, Davis of Dallas, Branch, Hodge,	H.B. No. 1736
	Isett, et al.

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to compensation of persons wrongfully imprisoned.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as the Tim Cole Act.
	SECTION 2.  Section 103.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c)  If a deceased person would be entitled to compensation
	under Subsection (a)(2) if living, including a person who received
	a posthumous pardon, the person's heirs, legal representatives, and
	estate are entitled to lump-sum compensation under Section 103.052.
	SECTION 3.  Section 103.003, Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 103.003.  LIMITATION ON TIME TO FILE. Not later than
	the third anniversary of the date the person on whose imprisonment
	the claim is based received the pardon or was granted relief [found
	not guilty] as required by Section 103.001, a person seeking
	compensation under this chapter must[:
	[(1)] file an application with the comptroller for
	compensation under Subchapter B[; or
	[(2)     file suit against the state for compensation
	under Subchapter C].
	SECTION 4.  Section 103.051(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, as amended by Chapters 1190 (H.B. 814) and 1388 (S.B. 1719),
	Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is reenacted
	and amended to read as follows:
	(a)  To apply for compensation under this subchapter, the
	claimant must file with the comptroller's judiciary section:
	(1)  an application for compensation provided for that
	purpose by the comptroller;
	(2)  a verified copy of the pardon or court order
	justifying the application for compensation; [and]
	(3)  a statement provided by the Texas Department of
	Criminal Justice and any county or municipality that incarcerated
	the person on whose imprisonment the claim is based in connection
	with the relevant sentence verifying the length of incarceration;
	(4)  if applicable, a statement from the Department of
	Public Safety verifying registration as a sex offender and length
	of registration;
	(5)  if applicable, a statement from the Texas
	Department of Criminal Justice verifying the length of time spent
	on parole; and
	(6)  if the claimant is applying for compensation under
	Section 103.052(a)(2), a certified copy of each child support order
	under which child support payments became due during the time the
	claimant served in prison and copies of the official child support
	payment records described by Section 234.009, Family Code, for that
	period.
	SECTION 5.  Section 103.052, Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 103.052.  LUMP-SUM AND CERTAIN OTHER [AMOUNT AND TIMING
	OF] COMPENSATION. (a)  A person who meets the requirements of
	Section 103.001 is entitled to compensation in an amount equal to:
	(1)  $80,000 [$50,000] multiplied by the number of
	years served in prison, expressed as a fraction to reflect partial
	years; and
	(2)  compensation for child support payments owed by
	the person on whose imprisonment the claim is based that became due
	and interest on child support arrearages that accrued during the
	time served in prison but were not paid.
	[(a-1)     Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(1), a person
	sentenced to death who meets the requirements of Section 103.001 is
	entitled to compensation in an amount equal to $100,000 multiplied
	by the number of years served in prison, expressed as a fraction to
	reflect partial years.]
	(b)  A person who, after serving a sentence in a Texas prison
	for which the person is entitled to compensation under Subsection
	(a)(1), was released on parole or required to register as a sex
	offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, is entitled
	to compensation in an amount equal to $25,000 multiplied by the
	number of years served either on parole or as a registered sex
	offender, expressed as a fraction to reflect partial years [A
	person who is owed an amount of compensation under Subsection
	(a)(1) or (a-1) equal to or greater than $50,000 shall be paid that
	compensation in two equal annual installments].
	(c)  On application by the claimant in a manner prescribed by
	the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas, a
	claimant who is entitled to compensation under Section 103.001(a)
	may participate in the group benefits program under Chapter 1551,
	Insurance Code, and is automatically covered by the basic coverage
	for annuitants provided under that chapter. A claimant who
	participates in the group benefits program is entitled to receive
	state contributions for the full cost of the premiums.  [If
	requested by the claimant, the Texas Department of   Mental Health
	and Mental Retardation shall provide appropriate counseling for one
	year to the claimant at a mutually agreed-on location at no charge
	to the claimant.]
	(d)  The amount of compensation under Subsection (a)(2) to
	which a person is entitled shall be paid on the person's behalf in a
	lump-sum payment to the state disbursement unit, as defined by
	Section 101.0302, Family Code, for distribution to the obligee
	under the child support order.
	(e)  If requested by the claimant, up to 120 hours of tuition
	at a career center, community college, or state university shall be
	paid on behalf of the claimant.
	SECTION 6.  Subchapter B, Chapter 103, Civil Practice and
	Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 103.053 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 103.053.  ANNUITY COMPENSATION. (a) A person entitled
	to compensation under Section 103.001(a) is entitled to annuity
	payments, based on a present value sum equal to the amount to which
	the person is entitled under Sections 103.052(a)(1) and (b).
	(b)  The annuity payments under this section are payable in
	equal monthly installments for the life of the claimant and must be
	based on a five percent per annum interest rate and other actuarial
	factors within the discretion of the comptroller.
	(c)  The annuity payments may not be accelerated, deferred,
	increased, or decreased. The applicant may not sell, mortgage or
	otherwise encumber, or anticipate the payments, wholly or partly,
	by assignment or otherwise.
	SECTION 7.  Section 103.151, Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 103.151.  ADMINISTRATIVE PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION. (a)
	The comptroller shall make the compensation [first installment
	payment] due a claimant under Section 103.052 [an applicant] and
	the lump-sum payment, if any, to be paid to the state disbursement
	unit, as defined by Section 101.0302, Family Code, under Subchapter
	B, to the extent that funds are available and appropriated for that
	purpose, not later than the 30th day after the date the comptroller
	grants the application. A claim for lump-sum compensation payable
	under Section 103.052(a) or (b) shall survive the death of the
	claimant in favor of the heirs, legal representatives, and estate
	of the claimant.
	(b)  The comptroller shall begin making annuity payments to a
	claimant under Section 103.053(a) on the first anniversary of the
	date of payment of the compensation due under Section 103.052 [pay
	the amount of the second installment payment on the first
	anniversary of the date of the first installment].
	(c)  If appropriated funds are insufficient to pay the amount
	due a claimant [an applicant] and the amount to be paid to the state
	disbursement unit, as defined by Section 101.0302, Family Code,
	money shall be paid under the procedure described by Section
	103.152.
	SECTION 8.  Section 103.152(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
	the comptroller shall provide a list of claimants entitled to
	payment under Subchapter B [or C] and the amounts due for each
	claimant to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the chair of
	the appropriate committee in each house of the legislature so that
	the legislature may appropriate the amount needed to pay the amount
	owed to each claimant and the amount to be paid to the state
	disbursement unit, as defined by Section 101.0302, Family Code, on
	the claimant's behalf.
	SECTION 9.  Section 103.154(b), Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(b)  Annuity [Except as provided by Subsection (c),
	compensation] payments to a person under Section 103.151(b) [this
	chapter] terminate on the date of the person's death. Any payments
	scheduled to be paid after that date are credited to the state and
	may not be paid to any other person, including the person's
	surviving spouse, heirs, devisees, or beneficiaries under the
	person's will, or to the person's estate.
	SECTION 10.  The following provisions of the Civil Practice
	and Remedies Code are repealed:
	(1)  Section 103.002;
	(2)  Subchapter C, Chapter 103; and
	(3)  Section 103.152(c).
	SECTION 11.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
	only to an application for compensation for wrongful imprisonment
	that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
	application filed or action commenced under Chapter 103, Civil
	Practice and Remedies Code, before the effective date of this Act is
	governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
	of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	(b)  Notwithstanding Section 103.003, Civil Practice and
	Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, a person who received
	compensation under Chapter 103, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
	before September 1, 2009, is entitled to annuity payments under
	Section 103.053, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this
	Act, based on a present value sum equal to the amount the person
	would receive under Sections 103.052(a)(1) and (b), Civil Practice
	and Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, if the person were to
	receive compensation under those sections on September 1, 2009.
	The comptroller of public accounts shall begin making payments to a
	claimant under this section not later than the 30th day after the
	date the comptroller determines the claimant is eligible to receive
	compensation under this section.
	SECTION 12.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.