Texas HB 393 Orders Restitution After Intoxication Manslaughter

Texas House Bill 393 is not a first-offense DWI break. The 88th Legislature added Article 42.0375 to the Code of Criminal Procedure. If a defendant is convicted of intoxication manslaughter under Penal Code §49.08, the court shall order monthly restitution for a child whose parent or guardian was the victim. The Act took effect September 1, 2023, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

HB 393 is mandatory restitution after an intoxication-manslaughter conviction. It is not deferred adjudication for DWI.

The court sets a monthly amount that is reasonable and necessary to support the child, considering the child’s needs and resources. Payments continue until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later. The defendant may not be required to pay this restitution to a person who is 19 or older. Payments go to the child’s parent or guardian or to the Department of Family and Protective Services, as applicable. If the defendant is confined, the clock on catching up starts after release; the statute requires payments to begin no later than the first anniversary of release and allows a payment plan for arrearage. The order may be enforced by the attorney general or by the person named to receive the money, as a civil judgment. Amounts paid are deducted from a related civil judgment as provided in Article 42.037.

For training staff, the reporting error to kill is “HB 393 changed first-offense DWI.” It did not. SFST, blood-draw, and DWI-case blocks should still teach the intoxication-manslaughter charging decision and, after a conviction, the restitution order the court now has to enter. Coordinators should put the article number in the lesson plan, not a slogan about “game-changing drunk driving charges.”

Sources: 88(R) HB 393 enrolled; Texas Penal Code §49.08; Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42.0375.