Art. 56B.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1)"Child" means an individual younger than 18 years of age who:
(B)has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes under Chapter 31 , Family Code.
(2)"Claimant" means any of the following individuals, other than a service provider, who is entitled to file or has filed a claim for compensation under this chapter:
(A)an authorized individual acting on behalf of a victim;
(B)an individual who legally assumes the obligation or who voluntarily pays medical or burial expenses of a victim incurred as a result of the criminally injurious conduct of another;
(C)a dependent of a victim who died as a result of the criminally injurious conduct;
(D)a family member or household member of a victim who, as a r
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Art. 56B.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Child" means an individual younger than 18 years of age who:
(A) is not married; or
(B) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes under Chapter 31 , Family Code.
(2) "Claimant" means any of the following individuals, other than a service provider, who is entitled to file or has filed a claim for compensation under this chapter:
(A) an authorized individual acting on behalf of a victim;
(B) an individual who legally assumes the obligation or who voluntarily pays medical or burial expenses of a victim incurred as a result of the criminally injurious conduct of another;
(C) a dependent of a victim who died as a result of the criminally injurious conduct;
(D) a family member or household member of a victim who, as a result of the criminally injurious conduct:
(i) requires psychiatric care or counseling;
(ii) incurs expenses for traveling to and attending a deceased victim's funeral; or
(iii) suffers wage loss from bereavement leave taken in connection with the death of the victim; or
(E) an authorized individual acting on behalf of a child described by Paragraph (C) or (D).
(3) "Collateral source" means any of the following sources of benefits or advantages for pecuniary loss that a claimant or victim has received or that is readily available to the claimant or victim from:
(A) the offender under an order of restitution to the claimant or victim that is imposed by a court as a condition of community supervision;
(B) the United States, a federal agency, a state or any of its political subdivisions, or an instrumentality of two or more states, unless the law providing for the benefits or advantages makes those benefits or advantages in addition to or secondary to benefits under this chapter;
(C) social security, Medicare, or Medicaid;
(D) another state's or another country's crime victims' compensation program;
(E) workers' compensation;
(F) an employer's wage continuation program, not including vacation and sick leave benefits;
(G) proceeds of an insurance contract payable to or on behalf of the claimant or victim for loss that the claimant or victim sustained because of the criminally injurious conduct;
(H) a contract or self-funded program providing hospital and other health care services or benefits; or
(I) proceeds awarded to the claimant or victim as a result of third-party litigation.
(4) "Criminally injurious conduct" means conduct that:
(A) occurs or is attempted;
(B) poses a substantial threat of personal injury or death;
(C) is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or death, or would be punishable by fine, imprisonment, or death if the person engaging in the conduct possessed the capacity to commit the conduct; and
(D) does not arise out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle, aircraft, or water vehicle, unless the conduct is:
(i) intended to cause personal injury or death;
(ii) in violation of Section 545.157 or 545.401 , Transportation Code, if the conduct results in bodily injury or death;
(iii) in violation of Section 550.021 , Transportation Code; or
(iv) in violation of one or more of the following sections of the Penal Code:
(a) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(b) Section 19.05 (criminally negligent homicide);
(c) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(d) Section 22.05 (deadly conduct);
(e) Section 49.04 (driving while intoxicated);
(f) Section 49.05 (flying while intoxicated);
(g) Section 49.06 (boating while intoxicated);
(h) Section 49.07 (intoxication assault); or
(i) Section 49.08 (intoxication manslaughter).
(5) "Dependent" means:
(A) a surviving spouse;
(B) a person who is a dependent, within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, of a victim; and
(C) a posthumous child of a deceased victim.
(5-a) "Family member" means an individual who is related to a victim by consanguinity or affinity.
(6) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by Section 71.004 , Family Code.
(7) "Household member" means an individual who resided in the same permanent household as the victim at the time that the criminally injurious conduct occurred.
(9) "Intervenor" means an individual who goes to the aid of another and is killed or injured in a good faith effort to:
(A) prevent criminally injurious conduct;
(B) apprehend a person reasonably suspected of having engaged in criminally injurious conduct; or
(C) aid a peace officer.
(10) "Pecuniary loss" means the amount of the expense reasonably and necessarily incurred as a result of personal injury or death for:
(A) medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric care or counseling, or physical therapy;
(B) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated loss of future earnings and necessary travel expenses because of:
(i) a disability resulting from the personal injury;
(ii) the receipt of medically indicated services related to the disability; or
(iii) participation in or attendance at investigative, prosecutorial, or judicial processes or any postconviction or postadjudication proceeding relating to criminally injurious conduct;
(C) care of a child or dependent, including specialized care for a child who is a victim;
(D) funeral and burial expenses, including, for a family member or household member of the victim, the necessary expenses of traveling to and attending the funeral;
(E) loss of support to a dependent, consistent with Article 56B.057 (b)(5);
(F) reasonable and necessary costs of cleaning the crime scene;
(G) reasonable replacement costs for clothing, bedding, or property of the victim seized as evidence or rendered unusable as a result of the criminal investigation;
(H) reasonable and necessary costs for relocation and housing rental assistance payments as provided by Articles 56B.106 (c) and (c-1);
(I) for a family member or household member of a deceased victim, bereavement leave;
(J) reasonable and necessary costs of traveling to and from a place of execution to witness the execution, including lodging near the place where the execution is conducted; and
(K) tattoo removal as provided by Article 56B.106 (c-4).
(11) "Personal injury" means physical or mental harm.
(12) "Sexual assault" means an offense under Section 21.02 , 21.11 (a)(1), 22.011 , or 22.021 , Penal Code.
(13) "Trafficking of persons" means any offense that results in a person engaging in forced labor or services, including sexual conduct, and that may be prosecuted under Section 20A.02 , 20A.03 , 43.03 , 43.031 , 43.032 , 43.04 , 43.041 , 43.05 , 43.25 , 43.251 , or 43.26 , Penal Code.
(14) "Victim" means:
(A) an individual who:
(i) suffers personal injury or death as a result of criminally injurious conduct or as a result of actions taken by the individual as an intervenor, if the conduct or actions occurred in this state; and
(ii) is a resident of this state or another state of the United States;
(B) an individual who:
(i) suffers personal injury or death as a result of criminally injurious conduct or as a result of actions taken by the individual as an intervenor, if the conduct or actions occurred in a state or country that does not have a crime victims' compensation program that meets the requirements of Section 1403(b), Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. Section 20102(b));
(ii) is a resident of this state; and
(iii) would be entitled to compensation under this chapter if the criminally injurious conduct or actions had occurred in this state; or
(C) an individual who:
(i) suffers personal injury or death as a result of criminally injurious conduct caused by an act of international terrorism as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 2331 committed outside of the United States; and
(ii) is a resident of this state.
(15) "Victim-related services or assistance" means compensation, services, or assistance provided directly to a victim or claimant to support or assist in the recovery of the victim or claimant from the consequences of criminally injurious conduct.
Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 469 (H.B. 4173 ), Sec. 1.06, eff. January 1, 2021.
Amended by:
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 915 (H.B. 3607 ), Sec. 4.014(a), eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 49 (S.B. 49 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 49 (S.B. 49 ), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2023.
Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 250 (H.B. 1778 ), Sec. 2.06, eff. September 1, 2025.
Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 503 (S.B. 1804 ), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2025.