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Should drunk drivers who kill parents be responsible for the child support? [1]

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Date: 2023-08-06

Texas is set to enact a new law that will hold drunk drivers accountable for the deaths of parents killed in accidents they cause. Texas law HB 393 also known as “Bentley's law” goes into affect September 1st.

Under the new law, those convicted of intoxication manslaughter will be required to pay restitution to support the victim’s minor children. A judge will determine the amount that the offender must pay until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school. The judge will consider factors like the child’s financial and educational needs, their physical and emotional condition, the standard of living the child is accustomed to, the resources and needs of their surviving parent or guardian, and the financial resources of the offender. — Texas drunk driver child support law: HB 393 requires payments to intoxication manslaughter victim's children

The law is meant to be a measure that promotes prevention and accountability. If the offender isn’t able to pay while in jail, they would be required to begin paying a year after their release. The law received bi-partisan support so it wouldn’t be unheard of for similar bills to pop up in other states regardless of the side of the aisle that controls that state. While there was an alignment of opinion in Texas on HB 393, in our latest Nuance episode we pointed out potential opposition to such a proposal. Some could take the position that a law like this was overly punitive.

A law like this also brings questions of how far this could be taken. This law targets drunk drivers but what if the person isn’t drunk but they are driving negligently or are intoxicated on marijuana or some other drug and cause an accident that kills a parent/guardian(s) of a child, why shouldn’t they be responsible for the child in that scenario? Why is it only about driving? What if a person kills a parent in another context? Say, a gun accident, for example. How far do we take it?

Additional:

From Texas Drunk Driving Laws to Trump Indictment

Texas drunk driver child support law: HB 393 requires payments to intoxication manslaughter victim's children

New Texas law requires drunk drivers to pay child support if parents are killed in an accident

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[1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/6/2185554/-Should-drunk-drivers-who-kill-parents-be-responsible-for-the-child-support

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