Texas Statutes
Chapter 42 - Judgment and Sentence
Article 42.037. Restitution

(b)(1) If the offense results in damage to or loss or destruction of property of a victim of the offense, the court may order the defendant:
(A) to return the property to the owner of the property or someone designated by the owner; or
(B) if return of the property is impossible or impractical or is an inadequate remedy, to pay an amount equal to the greater of:
(i) the value of the property on the date of the damage, loss, or destruction; or
(ii) the value of the property on the date of sentencing, less the value of any part of the property that is returned on the date the property is returned.
(2) If the offense results in personal injury to a victim, the court may order the defendant to make restitution to:
(A) the victim for any expenses incurred by the victim as a result of the offense; or
(B) the compensation to victims of crime fund to the extent that fund has paid compensation to or on behalf of the victim.
(3) If the victim or the victim's estate consents, the court may, in addition to an order under Subdivision (2), order the defendant to make restitution by performing services instead of by paying money or make restitution to a person or organization, other than the compensation to victims of crime fund, designated by the victim or the estate.
(c) The court, in determining whether to order restitution and the amount of restitution, shall consider:
(1) the amount of the loss sustained by any victim and the amount paid to or on behalf of the victim by the compensation to victims of crime fund as a result of the offense; and
(2) other factors the court deems appropriate.
(d) If the court orders restitution under this article and the victim is deceased the court shall order the defendant to make restitution to the victim's estate.
(e) The court shall impose an order of restitution that is as fair as possible to the victim or to the compensation to victims of crime fund, as applicable. The imposition of the order may not unduly complicate or prolong the sentencing process.
(f)(1) The court may not order restitution for a loss for which the victim has received or will receive compensation only from a source other than the compensation to victims of crime fund. The court may, in the interest of justice, order restitution to any person who has compensated the victim for the loss to the extent the person paid compensation. An order of restitution shall require that all restitution to a victim or to the compensation to victims of crime fund be made before any restitution to any other person is made under the order.
(2) Any amount recovered by a victim from a person ordered to pay restitution in a federal or state civil proceeding is reduced by any amount previously paid to the victim by the person under an order of restitution.
(g) The court may require a defendant to make restitution under this article within a specified period or in specified installments. The end of the period or the last installment may not be later than:
(1) the end of the period of probation, if probation is ordered;
(2) five years after the end of the term of imprisonment imposed, if the court does not order probation; or
(3) five years after the date of sentencing in any other case.
(g-1) If the court does not provide otherwise, the defendant shall make restitution immediately.
(g-2) Except as provided by Subsection (n), the order of restitution must require the defendant to:
(1) make restitution directly to the person or agency that will accept and forward restitution payments to the victim or other person eligible for restitution under this article, including the compensation to victims of crime fund;
(2) make restitution directly to the victim or other person eligible for restitution under this article, including the compensation to victims of crime fund; or
(3) deliver the amount or property due as restitution to a community supervision and corrections department for transfer to the victim or person.
(h) If a defendant is placed on community supervision or is paroled or released on mandatory supervision, the court or the parole panel shall order the payment of restitution ordered under this article as a condition of community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. The court may revoke community supervision and the parole panel may revoke parole or mandatory supervision if the defendant fails to comply with the order. In determining whether to revoke community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision, the court or parole panel shall consider:
(1) the defendant's employment status;
(2) the defendant's current and future earning ability;
(3) the defendant's current and future financial resources;
(4) the willfulness of the defendant's failure to pay;
(5) any other special circumstances that may affect the defendant's ability to pay; and
(6) the victim's financial resources or ability to pay expenses incurred by the victim as a result of the offense.
(i) In addition to any other terms and conditions of community supervision imposed under Chapter 42A, the court may require a defendant to reimburse the compensation to victims of crime fund created under Subchapter J, Chapter 56B, for any amounts paid from that fund to or on behalf of a victim of the defendant's offense. In this subsection, "victim" has the meaning assigned by Article 56B.003.
(j) The court may order a community supervision and corrections department to obtain information pertaining to the factors listed in Subsection (c). The supervision officer shall include the information in the report required under Article 42A.252(a) or a separate report, as the court directs. The court shall permit the defendant and the prosecuting attorney to read the report.
(k) The court shall resolve any dispute relating to the proper amount or type of restitution. The standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence. The burden of demonstrating the amount of the loss sustained by a victim as a result of the offense is on the prosecuting attorney. The burden of demonstrating the financial resources of the defendant and the financial needs of the defendant and the defendant's dependents is on the defendant. The burden of demonstrating other matters as the court deems appropriate is on the party designated by the court as justice requires.
(l) Conviction of a defendant for an offense involving the act giving rise to restitution under this article estops the defendant from denying the essential allegations of that offense in any subsequent federal civil proceeding or state civil proceeding brought by the victim, to the extent consistent with state law.
(m) An order of restitution may be enforced by the state or a victim named in the order to receive the restitution in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action.
(n) If a defendant is convicted of or receives deferred adjudication for an offense under Section 25.05, Penal Code, if the child support order on which prosecution of the offense was based required the defendant to pay the support to a local registry or the Title IV-D agency, and if the court orders restitution under this article, the order of restitution must require the defendant to pay the child support in the following manner:
(1) during any period in which the defendant is under the supervision of a community supervision and corrections department, to the department for transfer to the local registry or Title IV-D agency designated as the place of payment in the child support order; and
(2) during any period in which the defendant is not under the supervision of a department, directly to the registry or agency described by Subdivision (1).
(o) The department may waive a supervision fee or an administrative fee imposed on an inmate under Section 508.182, Government Code, during any period in which the inmate is required to pay restitution under this article.
(p)(1) A court shall order a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 28.03(f), Penal Code, involving damage or destruction inflicted on a place of human burial or under Section 42.08, Penal Code, to make restitution in the amount described by Subsection (b)(1)(B) to a cemetery organization operating a cemetery affected by the commission of the offense.
(2) If a court orders an unemancipated minor to make restitution under Subsection (a) and the minor is financially unable to make the restitution, the court may order:
(A) the minor to perform a specific number of hours of community service to satisfy the restitution; or
(B) the parents or other person responsible for the minor's support to make the restitution in the amount described by Subsection (b)(1)(B).
(3) In this subsection, "cemetery" and "cemetery organization" have the meanings assigned by Section 711.001, Health and Safety Code.
(q) The court shall order a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 22.11, Penal Code, to make restitution to the victim of the offense or the victim's employer in an amount equal to the sum of any expenses incurred by the victim or employer to:
(1) test the victim for HIV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, or any other disease designated as a reportable disease under Section 81.048, Health and Safety Code; or
(2) treat the victim for HIV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, or any other disease designated as a reportable disease under Section 81.048, Health and Safety Code, the victim contracts as a result of the offense.
(r) The court may order a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 43.26, Penal Code, to make restitution to an individual who as a child younger than 18 years of age was depicted in the visual material, in an amount equal to the expenses incurred by the individual as a result of the offense, including:
(1) medical services relating to physical, psychiatric, or psychological care;
(2) physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation;
(3) necessary transportation, temporary housing, and child care expenses;
(4) lost income; and
(5) attorney's fees.
(s)(1) A court shall order a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 28.08, Penal Code, to make restitution by:
(A) reimbursing the owner of the property for the cost of restoring the property; or
(B) with the consent of the owner of the property, personally restoring the property by removing or painting over any markings the defendant made.
(2) A court shall order a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 28.08, Penal Code, to make restitution to a political subdivision that owns public property or erects a street sign or official traffic-control device on which the defendant makes markings in violation of Section 28.08, Penal Code, by:
(A) paying an amount equal to the lesser of the cost to the political subdivision of replacing or restoring the public property, street sign, or official traffic-control device; or
(B) with the consent of the political subdivision, restoring the public property, street sign, or official traffic-control device by removing or painting over any markings made by the defendant on the property, sign, or device.
(3) If the court orders a defendant to make restitution under this subsection and the defendant is financially unable to make the restitution, the court may order the defendant to perform a specific number of hours of community service to satisfy the restitution.
(4) Notwithstanding Subsection (g)(4), a court shall direct a defendant ordered to make restitution under this subsection as a condition of community supervision to deliver the amount or property due as restitution to the defendant's supervising officer for transfer to the owner. A parole panel shall direct a defendant ordered to make restitution under this subsection as a condition of parole or mandatory supervision to deliver the amount or property due as restitution to the defendant's supervising officer. The defendant's supervising officer shall notify the court when the defendant has delivered the full amount of restitution ordered.
(5) For purposes of this subsection, "official traffic-control device" has the meaning assigned by Section 541.304, Transportation Code.
(t) If a person is convicted of an offense under Section 641.054, Business and Commerce Code, the court shall order the person to make restitution to an owner or lawful producer of a master recording that has suffered financial loss as a result of the offense or to a trade association that represents that owner or lawful producer. The amount of restitution ordered shall be:
(1) the greater of:
(A) the aggregate wholesale value of the lawfully manufactured and authorized recordings corresponding to the number of nonconforming recordings involved in the offense; or
(B) the actual financial loss to the owner, lawful producer, or trade association; and
(2) the costs associated with investigating the offense.
(u) For purposes of Subsection (t)(1)(A):
(1) the calculation of the aggregate wholesale value is based on the average wholesale value of the lawfully manufactured and authorized recordings; and
(2) the specific wholesale value of each nonconforming recording is not relevant to the calculation.
(v) For purposes of Subsection (t)(1)(B), the possession of a nonconforming recording intended for sale constitutes an actual financial loss to an owner or lawful producer equal to the actual value of the legitimate wholesale purchases displaced by the nonconforming recordings.
(w) If a defendant is convicted of an offense under Section 42.0601, Penal Code, the court may order the defendant to make restitution to an entity for the reasonable costs of the emergency response by that entity resulting from the false report.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 806, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Subsec. (a) amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 318, Sec. 51, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Subsec. (i) amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 5.95(111), eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Subsec. (g)(4) amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 40, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Subsec. (n) added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 40, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Subsec. (h) amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 856, Sec. 10, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Subsec. (o) added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1034, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 543 (H.B. 1095), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 969 (H.B. 1751), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1025 (H.B. 1012), Sec. 2, eff. June 18, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 921 (H.B. 3167), Sec. 17.001(10), eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1053 (H.B. 2151), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 87 (S.B. 1969), Sec. 25.021, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 639 (H.B. 1633), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1040 (H.B. 4464), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 770 (H.B. 2299), Sec. 2.13, eff. January 1, 2017.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 933 (H.B. 2291), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 913 (S.B. 1343), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2017.
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 469 (H.B. 4173), Sec. 2.14, eff. January 1, 2021.
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1352 (S.B. 346), Sec. 4.02, eff. January 1, 2020.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 945 (S.B. 1056), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2021.

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