Art. 104.003. STATE PAYMENT OF CERTAIN PROSECUTION COSTS. (a) In a prosecution of a criminal offense or delinquent conduct committed on property owned or operated by or under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, or committed by or against a person in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department while the person is performing a duty away from Texas Department of Criminal Justice or Texas Juvenile Justice Department property, the state shall reimburse the county for expenses incurred by the county, in an amount that the court determines to be reasonable, for payment of:

(1) salaries and expenses of foreign language interpreters and interpreters for deaf persons whose services are necessary to the prosecution;

(2) consultation fees of experts whose assistance is directly related to the prosecution;

(3) travel expenses for witnesses;

(4) expenses for the food, lodging, and compensation of jurors;

(5) compensation of witnesses;

(6) the cost of preparation of a statement of facts and a transcript of the trial for purposes of appeal;

(7) if the death of a person is an element of the offense, expenses of an inquest relating to the death;

(8) food, lodging, and travel expenses incurred by the prosecutor's staff during travel essential to the prosecution of the offense;

(9) court reporter's fees; and

(10) the cost of special security officers.

(b) If there is a change of venue, the court may, in its discretion, determine that a special prosecutor should be hired for the prosecution of an offense described in Section (a), and the state shall reimburse the county for the salary and expenses of the special prosecutor if the court determines that the hiring of the special prosecutor was reasonable and necessary for effective prosecution. The amount of reimbursement may not exceed an amount that the court determines to be reasonable.

(c) The court shall certify the amount of reimbursement for expenses under Sections (a) and (b) on presentation by the county of an itemized and verified receipt for those expenses.

(d) The state shall reimburse the county for expenses incurred by the county for the investigation of an offense described in Section (a), whether or not the investigation results in the prosecution of an offense, and shall reimburse the county for reasonable operational expenses of the special prison prosecution unit, including educational activities for the staff and general expenses relating to its investigative and prosecutorial duties.

(e) The court shall certify the amount of reimbursement for expenses under Sections (a) and (b) to the comptroller. The comptroller shall issue a warrant in that amount to the commissioners court of the county or, if the comptroller determines that the amount certified by the court is unreasonable, in an amount that the comptroller determines to be reasonable.

(f) The commissioners court of the county shall certify the amount of reimbursement for expenses under Section (d) to the comptroller. The comptroller shall issue a warrant in that amount to the commissioners court or, if the comptroller determines that the amount certified by the commissioners court is unreasonable, in an amount that the comptroller determines to be reasonable.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the expenses submitted by the county for reimbursement may not exceed the amount the county would pay for the same activity or service, if that activity or service was not reimbursed by the state. The county judge shall certify compliance with this section on request by the comptroller.

Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, Sec. 5.06(a), eff. Aug. 28, 1989. Subsecs. (a), (d) amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 461, Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 1989; Subsec. (a) amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 284(60), eff. Sept. 1, 1991.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 263 (S.B. 103), Sec. 3, eff. June 8, 2007.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 734 (H.B. 1549), Sec. 18, eff. September 1, 2015.