Huffman’s bill tightening bail for certain felony defendants

The text as introduced · 1,626 words

89R5023 LHC-F

By: Huffman
S.B. No. 9

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the release of defendants on bail, the duties of a

magistrate in certain criminal proceedings, and the regulation of

charitable bail organizations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Article 15.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:

(h) Not later than 24 hours after the time a magistrate

determines that no probable cause exists to believe that a person

committed the offense for which the person was arrested, the

magistrate shall make oral or written findings of fact and

conclusions of law on the record to support that finding.

SECTION 2. The heading to Article 17.027, Code of Criminal

Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

Art. 17.027. RELEASE ON BAIL OF DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH

FELONY OFFENSE [ COMMITTED WHILE ON BAIL ].

SECTION 3. Article 17.027, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) A criminal law hearing officer appointed under

Chapter 54, Government Code, may not release on bail a defendant

who:

(1) is charged with committing an offense punishable

as a felony if the defendant:

(A) was on parole at the time of the offense;

(B) has previously been finally convicted of two

or more offenses punishable as a felony and for which the defendant

was imprisoned in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; or

(C) is subject to an immigration detainer issued

by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; or

(2) is charged with committing an offense under the

following provisions of the Penal Code:

(A) Section 19.02 (murder);

(B) Section 19.03 (capital murder);

(C) Section 20.04 (aggravated kidnapping);

(D) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault); or

(E) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault).

SECTION 4. Article 17.03(b-2), Code of Criminal Procedure,

is amended to read as follows:

(b-2) Except as provided by Articles 15.21, 17.032, 17.033,

and 17.151, a defendant may not be released on personal bond if the

defendant:

(1) is charged with :

(A) an offense involving violence; or

(B) an offense under:

(i) Section 19.02(b)(4), Penal Code (murder

as a result of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance in

Penalty Group 1-B);

(ii) Section 22.07, Penal Code (terroristic

threat);

(iii) Section 25.07, Penal Code (violation

of certain court orders or conditions of bond in a family violence,

child abuse or neglect, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault,

stalking, or trafficking case); or

(iv) Section 46.04(a), Penal Code (unlawful

possession of firearm); or

(2) while released on bail or community supervision

for an offense involving violence, is charged with committing:

(A) any offense punishable as a felony; or

(B) an offense under the following provisions of

the Penal Code:

(i) Section 22.01(a)(1) (assault);

(ii) Section 22.05 (deadly conduct); or

(iii) [ Section 22.07 (terroristic threat);

or

[ (iv) ] Section 42.01(a)(7) or (8)

(disorderly conduct involving firearm).

SECTION 5. Articles 17.071(a), (f), (h), and (k), Code of

Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:

(a) In this article :

(1) "Charitable [ , "charitable ] bail organization"

means a person who accepts and uses donations from the public to

deposit money with a court in the amount of a defendant's bail bond.

The term does not include:

(A) [ (1) ] a person accepting donations with

respect to a defendant who is a member of the person's family, as

determined under Section 71.003, Family Code; or

(B) [ (2) ] a nonprofit corporation organized for

a religious purpose.

(2) "Office" means the Office of Court Administration

of the Texas Judicial System.

(f) Not later than the 10th day of each month, a charitable

bail organization shall submit to the office [ , to the sheriff of

each county in which the organization files an affidavit under

Subsection (e), ] a report that includes the following information

for each defendant for whom the organization paid a bail bond in the

preceding calendar month:

(1) the name of the defendant;

(2) the cause number of the case;

(3) each charge for which the bond was paid;

(4) the amount of the bond paid;

(5) the county in which the applicable charge is

pending, if different from the county in which the bond was paid;

(6) [ and

[ (4) ] any dates on which the defendant has failed to

appear in court as required for the charge for which the bond was

paid ; and

(7) whether a bond forfeiture has occurred in

connection with the charge for which the bond was paid .

(h) If the office has reason to believe that a charitable

bail organization may have paid one or more bonds in violation of

this article, the office shall report that information to the

sheriff of the county in which the suspected violation occurred.

The sheriff of that [ a ] county may suspend a charitable bail

organization from paying bail bonds in the county for a period not

to exceed one year if the sheriff determines the organization has

paid one or more bonds in violation of this article and the

organization has received a warning from the sheriff in the

preceding 12-month period for another payment of bond made in

violation of this article. The sheriff shall report the suspension

to the office [ Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial

System ].

(k) Not later than December 1 of each year, the office

[ Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System ] shall

prepare and submit, to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker

of the house of representatives, and presiding officers of the

standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary

jurisdiction over the judiciary, a report regarding the information

submitted to the office under Subsections (f) [ (f-1) ] and (h) for

the preceding state fiscal year.

SECTION 6. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended by adding Article 17.092 to read as follows:

Art. 17.092. MODIFICATION OF BOND. A magistrate described

by Articles 2A.151(5)-(14) may not modify the amount or conditions

of bond set by the judge of a district court, including the judge of

a district court in another county.

SECTION 7. Article 17.21, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 17.21. BAIL IN FELONY. (a) In cases of felony, when

the accused is in custody of the sheriff or other officer, and the

court before which the prosecution is pending is in session in the

county where the accused is in custody, the court shall fix the

amount of bail, if it is a bailable case and determine if the

accused is eligible for a personal bond; and the sheriff or other

peace officer, unless it be the police of a city, or a jailer

licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is authorized to

take a bail bond of the accused in the amount as fixed by the court,

to be approved by such officer taking the same, and will thereupon

discharge the accused from custody. The defendant and the

defendant's sureties are not required to appear in court.

(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a magistrate may not

release on bail a defendant charged with an offense punishable as a

felony unless:

(1) the defendant has appeared before the magistrate;

and

(2) the magistrate has considered the public safety

report prepared under Article 17.022 for the defendant.

SECTION 8. Articles 44.01(a) and (g), Code of Criminal

Procedure, are amended to read as follows:

(a) The state is entitled to appeal an order of a court in a

criminal case if the order:

(1) dismisses an indictment, information, or

complaint or any portion of an indictment, information, or

complaint;

(2) arrests or modifies a judgment;

(3) grants a new trial;

(4) sustains a claim of former jeopardy;

(5) grants a motion to suppress evidence, a

confession, or an admission, if jeopardy has not attached in the

case and if the prosecuting attorney certifies to the trial court

that the appeal is not taken for the purpose of delay and that the

evidence, confession, or admission is of substantial importance in

the case; [ or ]

(6) is issued under Chapter 64 ; or

(7) grants bail, in an amount considered insufficient

by the prosecuting attorney, to a defendant who:

(A) is charged with an offense punishable as a

felony; and

(B) has previously been granted bail for a

pending offense punishable as a felony .

(g) If the state appeals pursuant to this article and the

defendant is on bail, the defendant [ he ] shall be permitted to

remain at large on the existing bail. If the defendant is in

custody, the defendant [ he ] is entitled to reasonable bail, as

provided by law, unless the appeal is from an order which would :

(1) terminate the prosecution, in which event the

defendant is entitled to release on personal bond ; or

(2) grant bail in an amount considered insufficient by

the prosecuting attorney, in which event the defendant shall be

held in custody during the pendency of the appeal .

SECTION 9. Article 17.071(f-1), Code of Criminal Procedure,

is repealed.

SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act applies only

to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.

An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is

governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,

and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For

purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the

effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

before that date.

SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.