Bill Text: TX HB20 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to rules for fixing the amount of bail, to the release of certain defendants on a bail bond or personal bond, to related duties of certain officers taking bail bonds and of a magistrate in a criminal case, to charitable bail organizations, and to the reporting of information pertaining to bail bonds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 22-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-31 - Senate adopts conf. comm. report-reported [HB20 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB20-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to rules for fixing the amount of bail, to the release of certain defendants on a bail bond or personal bond, to related duties of certain officers taking bail bonds and of a magistrate in a criminal case, to charitable bail organizations, and to the reporting of information pertaining to bail bonds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 22-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-31 - Senate adopts conf. comm. report-reported [HB20 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB20-Introduced.html
By: Murr | H.B. No. 20 |
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relating to the release of defendants on bail. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Damon Allen Act. | ||
SECTION 2. Article 1.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Art. 1.07. RIGHT TO BAIL. (a) Except as provided by | ||
Subsections (b) and (c) or Chapter 17, any person [ |
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shall be eligible for bail, [ |
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of a [ |
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This provision shall not be so construed as to prevent bail after | ||
indictment found upon examination of the evidence, in such manner | ||
as may be prescribed by law. | ||
(b) A person accused of a violent or sexual offense may be | ||
denied bail pending trial if a judge or magistrate determines that | ||
requiring bail and conditions of release is insufficient to | ||
reasonably ensure: | ||
(1) the person's appearance in court as required; or | ||
(2) the safety of the community, peace officers, or | ||
the victim of the alleged offense. | ||
(c) A person charged with an offense under Section 19.03, | ||
Penal Code (capital murder), or a sexual offense involving a victim | ||
younger than 17 years of age, must be denied bail pending trial | ||
unless a judge or magistrate determines by clear and convincing | ||
evidence that extraordinary circumstances allow the judge or | ||
magistrate to set bail and conditions of release sufficient to | ||
reasonably ensure: | ||
(1) the person's appearance in court as required; and | ||
(2) the safety of the community, peace officers, and | ||
the victim of the alleged offense. | ||
(d) In this section, "sexual offense" and "violent offense" | ||
have the meanings assigned by Section 11a, Article I, Texas | ||
Constitution. | ||
SECTION 3. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended by adding Articles 17.021, 17.022, 17.023, 17.024, and | ||
17.028 to read as follows: | ||
Art. 17.021. PRETRIAL RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL. (a) The Office | ||
of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall develop | ||
and maintain a validated pretrial risk assessment tool that is | ||
standardized for statewide use, that is available for use for | ||
purposes of Article 17.15, and that: | ||
(1) is objective, validated for its intended use, and | ||
standardized; | ||
(2) is based on an analysis of empirical data and risk | ||
factors relevant to: | ||
(A) the risk of a defendant intentionally failing | ||
to appear in court as required; and | ||
(B) the safety of the victim of the alleged | ||
offense, peace officers, and the community if the defendant is | ||
released; | ||
(3) does not consider factors that disproportionately | ||
affect persons who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups | ||
or who are socioeconomically disadvantaged; | ||
(4) has been demonstrated to produce results that are | ||
unbiased with respect to the race or ethnicity of defendants; and | ||
(5) is designed to function in a transparent manner | ||
with respect to the public and each defendant to whom the tool is | ||
applied. | ||
(b) The office shall provide access to the pretrial risk | ||
assessment tool to the appropriate officials in all counties at no | ||
cost. This requirement may not be construed to require the office | ||
to furnish a county official or magistrate with any equipment or | ||
support to access or use the pretrial risk assessment tool. | ||
(c) The office shall collect data relating to the use and | ||
efficiency of the pretrial risk assessment tool. Not later than | ||
December 1 of each even-numbered year, the office shall submit a | ||
report containing the data collected and describing any changes or | ||
updates to the pretrial risk assessment tool to the governor, the | ||
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, | ||
and the presiding officers of the standing committees of each house | ||
of the legislature with jurisdiction over the judiciary. | ||
Art. 17.022. PRETRIAL RISK ASSESSMENT. (a) A magistrate | ||
considering the release on bail of a defendant charged with an | ||
offense punishable as a Class B misdemeanor or any higher category | ||
of offense shall order that: | ||
(1) the personal bond office established under Article | ||
17.42 for the county in which the defendant is being detained, or | ||
other suitably trained person, use the validated pretrial risk | ||
assessment tool developed under Article 17.021 to conduct a | ||
pretrial risk assessment with respect to the defendant; and | ||
(2) the results of the assessment conducted under | ||
Subdivision (1) be provided to the magistrate within 48 hours of the | ||
defendant's arrest. | ||
(b) A magistrate may not, without the consent of the | ||
sheriff, order a sheriff or sheriff's department personnel to | ||
conduct a pretrial risk assessment under Subsection (a). | ||
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a magistrate may | ||
personally conduct a pretrial risk assessment using the validated | ||
pretrial risk assessment tool developed under Article 17.021. | ||
(d) The magistrate shall consider the results of the | ||
pretrial risk assessment before making a bail decision. | ||
Art. 17.023. AUTHORITY TO RELEASE ON BAIL IN CERTAIN CASES. | ||
(a) This article applies only to a defendant charged with an | ||
offense: | ||
(1) that is punishable as a felony; or | ||
(2) under Chapter 21 or 22, Penal Code, that is | ||
punishable as a Class B misdemeanor or any higher category of | ||
offense. | ||
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a defendant to whom this | ||
article applies may be released on bail only by a magistrate who: | ||
(1) is a resident of this state and one of the counties | ||
in which the magistrate serves; | ||
(2) has two years of experience as a magistrate; | ||
(3) has completed a training course provided or | ||
approved by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas | ||
Judicial System on the magistrate's duties under Article 17.022 and | ||
duties with respect to setting bail in criminal cases that is at | ||
least: | ||
(A) four hours in length if the magistrate is | ||
licensed to practice law in this state; or | ||
(B) 16 hours in length if the magistrate is not | ||
licensed to practice law in this state; | ||
(4) has passed the examination administered by the | ||
Office of Court Administration under Article 17.024(a)(3); and | ||
(5) is not disqualified for the purpose as described | ||
by Subsection (c). | ||
(c) A magistrate is disqualified from releasing a defendant | ||
on bail under Subsection (b)(5) if the magistrate: | ||
(1) has been removed from office by impeachment, by | ||
the supreme court, by the governor on address to the legislature, by | ||
a tribunal reviewing a recommendation of the State Commission on | ||
Judicial Conduct, or by the legislature's abolition of the | ||
magistrate's court; or | ||
(2) has resigned from office after having received | ||
notice that formal proceedings by the State Commission on Judicial | ||
Conduct have been instituted as provided by Section 33.022, | ||
Government Code, and before final disposition of the proceedings. | ||
(d) Beginning September 1, 2023, a magistrate who is | ||
qualified to release a defendant on bail under Subsection (b) must | ||
complete every state fiscal biennium after becoming qualified a | ||
refresher course provided by the Office of Court Administration on | ||
the magistrate's duties under Article 17.022 and duties with | ||
respect to setting bail in criminal cases. | ||
Art. 17.024. TRAINING AND EXAMINATION ON MAGISTRATES' | ||
DUTIES REGARDING BAIL. (a) The Office of Court Administration of | ||
the Texas Judicial System shall: | ||
(1) develop or approve four-hour and 16-hour training | ||
courses regarding a magistrate's duties under Article 17.022 and | ||
duties with respect to setting bail in criminal cases that are | ||
required for magistrates in Article 17.023(b)(3); | ||
(2) develop and maintain a four-hour refresher course | ||
regarding a magistrate's duties under Article 17.022 and duties | ||
with respect to setting bail in criminal cases that is required for | ||
magistrates in Article 17.023(d); | ||
(3) develop and administer an examination that covers | ||
the contents of the training courses in Subdivision (1); and | ||
(4) provide for a method of certifying that a | ||
magistrate has completed the training course required in Article | ||
17.023(b)(3) and the refresher course required in Article | ||
17.023(d). | ||
(b) The office shall ensure that the training courses in | ||
Subsection (a)(1) and the refresher course in Subsection (a)(2) are | ||
available online to all magistrates at no cost. | ||
Art. 17.028. BAIL DECISION. (a) Without unnecessary delay | ||
but not later than 48 hours after a defendant is arrested, a | ||
magistrate shall order, after considering all circumstances and the | ||
results of the pretrial risk assessment conducted under Article | ||
17.022, that the defendant be: | ||
(1) denied bail in accordance with this chapter and | ||
other law; | ||
(2) granted personal bond or monetary bail bond with | ||
conditions; or | ||
(3) granted personal bond or monetary bail bond | ||
without conditions. | ||
(b) In accordance with other law, in making a bail decision | ||
under this article, the magistrate shall impose, as applicable, the | ||
least restrictive conditions and minimum amount of bail, whether | ||
personal bond or monetary bail bond, necessary to reasonably ensure | ||
the defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of | ||
the community, peace officers, and the victim of the alleged | ||
offense. | ||
(c) Except as specifically provided by other law, in each | ||
criminal case, there is a rebuttable presumption that monetary | ||
bail, conditions of release, or both monetary bail and conditions | ||
of release are sufficient to reasonably ensure the defendant's | ||
appearance in court as required and the safety of the community, | ||
peace officers, and the victim of the alleged offense. In giving | ||
individualized consideration to each case and for purposes of | ||
rebutting the presumption established by this subsection, the court | ||
is not required to hold a hearing and may rely on the results of the | ||
defendant's pretrial risk assessment and other information as | ||
applicable. | ||
(d) A judge may not adopt a bail schedule or enter a standing | ||
order related to bail that: | ||
(1) is inconsistent with this article; or | ||
(2) authorizes a magistrate to make a bail decision | ||
for a defendant without considering the results of the defendant's | ||
pretrial risk assessment. | ||
(e) This article does not prohibit a sheriff or other peace | ||
officer, or a jailer licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, | ||
from accepting bail under Article 17.20 or 17.22 before a pretrial | ||
risk assessment has been conducted with respect to the defendant or | ||
before a bail decision has been made by a magistrate under this | ||
article. | ||
SECTION 4. Article 17.03(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a defendant [ |
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on personal bond if the [ |
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(1) is charged with an offense under the following | ||
sections of the Penal Code: | ||
(A) Section 19.02 (Murder); | ||
(B) Section 19.03 (Capital Murder); | ||
(C) [ |
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(D) Section 20A.02 (Trafficking of Persons); | ||
(E) Section 20A.03 (Continuous Trafficking of | ||
Persons); | ||
(F) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of | ||
Young Child or Children); | ||
(G) Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child); | ||
(H) Section 22.01 (Assault), if committed | ||
against a peace officer or judge; | ||
(I) Section 22.011 (Sexual Assault); | ||
(J) Section 22.02 (Aggravated Assault); | ||
(K) [ |
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Assault); | ||
(L) [ |
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[ |
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Individual, or Disabled Individual); | ||
(M) [ |
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(N) [ |
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(O) Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of | ||
Prostitution); | ||
(P) Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online Promotion | ||
of Prostitution); | ||
(Q) Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution); | ||
(R) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a | ||
Child); or | ||
(S) [ |
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Criminal Activity)[ |
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[ |
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[ |
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(2) is charged with a felony under Chapter 481, Health | ||
and Safety Code, or Section 485.033, Health and Safety Code, | ||
punishable by imprisonment for a minimum term or by a maximum fine | ||
that is more than a minimum term or maximum fine for a first degree | ||
felony; [ |
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(3) is charged with a felony committed while | ||
participating in a riot as defined by Section 42.02, Penal Code; or | ||
(4) does not submit to testing for the presence of a | ||
controlled substance in the defendant's body as requested by the | ||
court or magistrate under Subsection (c) of this article or submits | ||
to testing and the test shows evidence of the presence of a | ||
controlled substance in the defendant's body. | ||
SECTION 5. Article 17.032(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, | ||
is amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Notwithstanding [ |
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adopted or a standing order entered by a judge, a magistrate shall | ||
release a defendant on personal bond unless good cause is shown | ||
otherwise if: | ||
(1) the defendant: | ||
(A) is not charged with and has not been | ||
previously convicted of a violent offense; and | ||
(B) is not charged with an offense listed in | ||
Article 17.03(b); | ||
(2) the defendant is examined by the service provider | ||
that contracts with the jail to provide mental health or | ||
intellectual and developmental disability services, the local | ||
mental health authority, the local intellectual and developmental | ||
disability authority, or another qualified mental health or | ||
intellectual and developmental disability expert under Article | ||
16.22; | ||
(3) the applicable expert, in a written report | ||
submitted to the magistrate under Article 16.22: | ||
(A) concludes that the defendant has a mental | ||
illness or is a person with an intellectual disability and is | ||
nonetheless competent to stand trial; and | ||
(B) recommends mental health treatment or | ||
intellectual and developmental disability services for the | ||
defendant, as applicable; | ||
(4) the magistrate determines, in consultation with | ||
the local mental health authority or local intellectual and | ||
developmental disability authority, that appropriate | ||
community-based mental health or intellectual and developmental | ||
disability services for the defendant are available in accordance | ||
with Section 534.053 or 534.103, Health and Safety Code, or through | ||
another mental health or intellectual and developmental disability | ||
services provider; and | ||
(5) the magistrate finds, after considering all the | ||
circumstances, a pretrial risk assessment, [ |
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other credible information provided by the attorney representing | ||
the state or the defendant, that release on personal bond would | ||
reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court as required | ||
and the safety of the community, peace officers, and the victim of | ||
the alleged offense. | ||
SECTION 6. Article 17.15, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Art. 17.15. RULES FOR SETTING [ |
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The amount of bail to be required in any case is to be regulated by | ||
the court, judge, magistrate, or officer taking the bail in | ||
accordance with Articles 17.20, 17.21, and 17.22 and is[ |
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Constitution and [ |
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(1) [ |
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reasonable assurance that the undertaking will be complied with. | ||
(2) [ |
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as to make it an instrument of oppression. | ||
(3) [ |
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circumstances under which the offense [ |
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defendant's criminal history, including acts of family violence, | ||
shall [ |
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(4) [ |
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considered [ |
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(5) [ |
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offense, peace officers, and the community shall be considered. | ||
(6) The results of any pretrial risk assessment | ||
conducted using the validated pretrial risk assessment tool | ||
developed under Article 17.021 shall be considered. | ||
(7) Any other relevant facts or circumstances may be | ||
considered. | ||
(b) In this article, "family violence" has the meaning | ||
assigned by Section 71.004, Family Code. | ||
SECTION 7. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended by adding Articles 17.50 and 17.51 to read as follows: | ||
Art. 17.50. NOTICE OF CONDITIONS. (a) As soon as | ||
practicable but not later than the next business day after the date | ||
a magistrate issues an order imposing a condition of release on bond | ||
for a defendant or modifying or removing a condition previously | ||
imposed, the clerk of the court shall send a copy of the order to: | ||
(1) the appropriate attorney representing the state; | ||
and | ||
(2) either: | ||
(A) the chief of police in the municipality where | ||
the defendant resides, if the defendant resides in a municipality; | ||
or | ||
(B) the sheriff of the county where the defendant | ||
resides, if the defendant does not reside in a municipality. | ||
(b) A clerk of the court may delay sending a copy of the | ||
order under Subsection (a) only if the clerk lacks information | ||
necessary to ensure service and enforcement. | ||
(c) If an order described by Subsection (a) prohibits a | ||
defendant from going to or near a child care facility or school, the | ||
clerk of the court shall send a copy of the order to the child care | ||
facility or school. | ||
(d) The copy of the order and any related information may be | ||
sent electronically or in another manner that can be accessed by the | ||
recipient. | ||
(e) The magistrate or the magistrate's designee shall | ||
provide written notice to the defendant of: | ||
(1) the conditions of release on bond; and | ||
(2) the penalties for violating a condition of | ||
release. | ||
(f) The magistrate shall make a separate record of the | ||
notice provided to the defendant under Subsection (e). | ||
Art. 17.51. REPORTING OF CONDITIONS. A chief of police or | ||
sheriff who receives a copy of an order under Article 17.50(a), or | ||
the chief's or sheriff's designee, shall, as soon as practicable but | ||
not later than the 10th day after the date the copy is received, | ||
enter information relating to the condition of release into the | ||
appropriate database of the statewide law enforcement information | ||
system maintained by the Department of Public Safety or modify or | ||
remove information, as appropriate. | ||
SECTION 8. As soon as practicable but not later than | ||
December 1, 2021, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas | ||
Judicial System shall make provide access to the appropriate | ||
officials in all counties the validated pretrial risk assessment | ||
tool developed under Article 17.021, Code of Criminal Procedure, as | ||
added by this Act, and any related forms and materials, at no cost. | ||
If those items are made available before December 1, 2021, the | ||
office shall notify each court clerk, judge or other magistrate, | ||
and office of an attorney representing the state. | ||
SECTION 9. As soon as practicable but not later than | ||
December 1, 2021, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas | ||
Judicial System shall develop or approve and make available the | ||
training courses, and develop and make available the refresher | ||
course, examination, and certification method required under | ||
Article 17.024, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act. | ||
If those items are made available before December 1, 2021, the | ||
office shall notify each court clerk, judge or other magistrate, | ||
and office of an attorney representing the state. | ||
SECTION 10. The changes in law made by this Act apply only | ||
to a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this | ||
Act. A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested, | ||
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 11. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and | ||
(c) of this section, this Act takes effect December 1, 2021. | ||
(b) Articles 17.021 and 17.024, Code of Criminal Procedure, | ||
as added by Section 3 of this Act, and Sections 8 and 9 of this Act | ||
take effect September 1, 2021. | ||
(c) Section 2 of this Act takes effect December 1, 2021, but | ||
only if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 87th | ||
Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is approved by the voters to | ||
authorize the denial of bail to an accused person if necessary to | ||
ensure the person's appearance in court and the safety of the | ||
community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense, | ||
and to require the denial of bail to a person accused of capital | ||
murder or a sexual offense involving children under most | ||
circumstances. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, | ||
Section 2 of this Act has no effect. |