A new law in Texas requires convicted drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a child’s parent or guardian, according to legislation that went into effect Friday.
Texas House Bill 393, also known as Bentley's Law, was first filed on Nov. 14 of last year. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill on June 2.
The law says those convicted of intoxication manslaughter must pay restitution. The offender will be expected to make those payments until the child is 18 or until the child graduates from high school, “whichever is later,” the legislation says.
"Any time a parent passes is tragic, but a death at the hands of a drunk driver is especially heinous," Abbott wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I was proud to sign HB 393 into law this year to require offenders to pay child support for the children of their victims."
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The court will determine the monthly payment depending on a number of factors, including the financial needs of the child and the surviving parent or guardian if there is one, as well as the financial resources of the defendant.
"The defendant must pay all arrearages regardless of whether the restitution payments were scheduled to terminate while the defendant was confined or imprisoned in the correctional facility." the law states.
Anyone who is unable to make payments due to incarceration may be eligible for a payment plan, no “later than the first anniversary of the date,” of their release, the law says.
Intoxication manslaughter is defined by state law as a person operating “a motor vehicle in a public place, operates an aircraft, a watercraft, or an amusement ride, or assembles a mobile amusement ride; and is intoxicated and by reason of that intoxication causes the death of another by accident or mistake."
