Bill Text: TX HB1173 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the release on bond of certain persons arrested for a misdemeanor without a warrant in certain counties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-06-17 - Effective on 9/1/11 [HB1173 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HB1173-Enrolled.html
| H.B. No. 1173 | ||
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| relating to the release on bond of certain persons arrested for a | ||
| misdemeanor without a warrant in certain counties. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Article 17.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
| amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (e) and amending | ||
| Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows: | ||
| (a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) and except as provided | ||
| by Subsection (c), a person who, in a county with a population of | ||
| three million or more, is arrested without a warrant and who is | ||
| detained in jail must be released on bond, in an amount not to | ||
| exceed $5,000, not later than the 36th hour after the person's | ||
| arrest if the person was arrested for a misdemeanor and a magistrate | ||
| has not determined whether probable cause exists to believe that | ||
| the person committed the offense. | ||
| (c) On the filing of an application by the attorney | ||
| representing the state, a magistrate may postpone the release of a | ||
| person under Subsection (a), (a-1), or (b) for not more than 72 | ||
| hours after the person's arrest. An application filed under this | ||
| subsection must state the reason a magistrate has not determined | ||
| whether probable cause exists to believe that the person committed | ||
| the offense for which the person was arrested. | ||
| (d) The time limits imposed by Subsections (a), (a-1), and | ||
| (b) do not apply to a person arrested without a warrant who is taken | ||
| to a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility before being taken | ||
| before a magistrate under Article 15.17. For a person described by | ||
| this subsection, the time limits imposed by Subsections (a), (a-1), | ||
| and (b) begin to run at the time, as documented in the records of the | ||
| hospital, clinic, or other medical facility, that a physician or | ||
| other medical professional releases the person from the hospital, | ||
| clinic, or other medical facility. | ||
| (e) Subsection (a-1) and this subsection expire on | ||
| September 1, 2013. | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
| amended by adding Article 17.0331 to read as follows: | ||
| Art. 17.0331. IMPACT STUDY. (a) This article applies only | ||
| to a county with a population of three million or more. | ||
| (b) Each county to which this article applies shall conduct | ||
| an impact study to determine the effect of Article 17.033(a-1) on | ||
| the county's ability to control and process the county's | ||
| misdemeanor caseload, including a specific assessment of the effect | ||
| of that subsection on: | ||
| (1) the average number of hours a person who is | ||
| arrested for a misdemeanor is detained in jail before being | ||
| released on bond; | ||
| (2) bonding practices, including the number of persons | ||
| released on personal bond; | ||
| (3) the inmate population in a county jail and in each | ||
| municipal jail located in the county; | ||
| (4) the number of arrests for misdemeanor offenses; | ||
| (5) public safety; | ||
| (6) costs to the criminal justice system; and | ||
| (7) the number of applications filed by the attorney | ||
| representing the state under Article 17.033(c). | ||
| (c) The county shall also determine whether a more | ||
| cost-effective method of controlling and processing misdemeanor | ||
| caseloads exists than an extension of the period for which a person | ||
| may be detained after a misdemeanor arrest. | ||
| (d) Not later than October 15, 2012, the county must file | ||
| the impact study with: | ||
| (1) the commissioners court of the county; | ||
| (2) the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice; | ||
| (3) the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence; and | ||
| (4) the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. | ||
| (e) The county shall make the results of the impact study | ||
| available to the public. | ||
| (f) This article expires on September 1, 2013. | ||
| SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in amending | ||
| Article 17.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to a | ||
| person arrested for an offense committed on or after the effective | ||
| date of this Act. A person arrested for 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.B. No. 1173 was passed by the House on April | ||
| 7, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 1, 1 present, not | ||
| voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
| No. 1173 on May 27, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 1, | ||
| 2 present, not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.B. No. 1173 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
| amendments, on May 23, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 22, Nays | ||
| 9. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: __________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
