Bill Text: TX SB9 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to the release of defendants on bail, the duties of a magistrate in certain criminal proceedings, the regulation of charitable bail organizations, pretrial intervention programs, and the notice provided by peace officers to victims of family violence, stalking, harassment, or terroristic threat.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 16-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2025-02-20 - Received from the Senate [SB9 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SB9-Engrossed.html

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By: Huffman, et al. 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, the regulation of
charitable bail organizations, pretrial intervention programs, and
the notice provided by peace officers to victims of family
violence, stalking, harassment, or terroristic threat.
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 enter in the record written findings to support
that finding.
SECTION 2. Chapter 16, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 16.24 to read as follows:
Art. 16.24. REPORTING OF CONDITIONS OF PRETRIAL
INTERVENTION PROGRAM. (a) As soon as practicable but not later
than the next business day after the date a defendant enters a
pretrial intervention program, the attorney representing the state
shall send a copy of the conditions of the program to the sheriff in
the county in which the defendant resides.
(b) A sheriff who receives a copy of the conditions of a
program under Subsection (a), or the 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 conditions
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 3. Article 17.021, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c-1),
(h), (h-1), and (i) to read as follows:
(b) The public safety report system must:
(1) state the requirements for setting bail under
Article 17.15 and list each factor provided by Article 17.15(a);
(2) provide the defendant's name and date of birth or,
if impracticable, other identifying information, the cause number
of the case, if available, and the offense for which the defendant
was arrested;
(3) provide information on the eligibility of the
defendant for a personal bond;
(4) provide information regarding the applicability
of any required or discretionary bond conditions;
(5) provide, in summary form, the criminal history of
the defendant, including information regarding [any]:
(A) previous misdemeanor convictions or felony
convictions;
(B) any pending charges, including whether the
defendant is currently released on bail or participating in a
pretrial intervention program and any conditions of that release or
participation;
(C) any previous sentences imposing a term of
confinement;
(D) any previous convictions or pending charges
for:
(i) offenses that are offenses involving
violence as defined by Article 17.03; or
(ii) offenses involving violence directed
against a peace officer; [and]
(E) any previous failures of the defendant to
appear in court following release on bail;
(F) whether the defendant is currently on
community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision for an
offense;
(G) outstanding warrants for the defendant's
arrest that have been entered into the National Crime Information
Center database or the Texas Crime Information System established
under Section 411.0541, Government Code, including a warrant issued
under Article 42A.751 of this code or Section 508.251, Government
Code; and
(H) any current protective orders, as defined by
Section 72.151, Government Code, for which the defendant is the
subject; and
(6) be designed to collect and maintain the
information provided on a bail form submitted under Section 72.038,
Government Code.
(c-1) On request by an attorney representing the state, the
office shall provide to the attorney access to the public safety
report system for the purpose of allowing the attorney to access a
bail form submitted to the office under Section 72.038, Government
Code.
(h) The public safety report system must be configured to
allow a county to integrate with the public safety report system the
jail records management system and case management system used by
the county.
(h-1) The office may provide grants to reimburse counties
for costs related to integrating the systems described by
Subsection (h). The office is not required to provide a grant under
this subsection unless the office is appropriated money for that
purpose. This subsection expires August 31, 2027.
(i) The office may modify the public safety report system to
incorporate technological advances to the system's features
regarding notices and to any other processes the office determines
will enhance the system's availability to protect the public.
SECTION 4. Article 17.022, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) In the manner described by this article, a magistrate
may order, prepare, or consider a public safety report in setting
bail for a defendant who is not in custody at the time the report is
ordered, prepared, or considered.
SECTION 5. 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 6. Article 17.027, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1),
(a-2), (c), and (d) to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law:
(1) if a defendant is charged with committing an
offense punishable as a felony while released on bail in a pending
case for another offense punishable as a felony and the subsequent
offense was committed in the same county as the previous offense,
the defendant may be released on bail only by:
(A) the court before whom the case for the
previous offense is pending; or
(B) another court designated in writing by the
court described by Paragraph (A); and
(2) if a defendant is charged with committing an
offense punishable as a felony while released on bail for another
pending offense punishable as a felony and the subsequent offense
was committed in a different county than the previous offense,
electronic notice of the charge must be [promptly] given to the
individual designated to receive electronic notices for the county
in which the previous offense was committed, not later than the next
business day after the date the defendant is charged, for purposes
of the court specified by Subdivision (1) [for purposes of
reevaluating the bail decision,] determining whether any bail
conditions were violated[,] or taking any other applicable action
such as an action described by Subsection (a-1).
(a-1) If a defendant is charged with committing an offense
punishable as a felony while released on bail in a pending case for
another offense punishable as a felony, the court before which the
case for the previous offense is pending shall consider whether to
revoke or modify the terms of the previous bond or to otherwise
reevaluate the previous bail decision.
(a-2) A magistrate 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 or community supervision 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).
(c) The local administrative district judge for each county
shall designate an individual to receive electronic notices under
Subsection (a)(2). The county shall ensure that the name and
contact information of the individual designated to receive notices
under this subsection are included in the public safety report
system developed under Article 17.021.
(d) An individual designated under Subsection (c) who
receives an electronic notice under Subsection (a) shall promptly
provide the notice to the court specified by Subsection (a)(1) and
to the attorney representing the state and the defendant's
attorney, if known, in the pending case for the offense for which
the defendant was initially released on bail. A notice provided
under this subsection does not constitute an ex parte
communication.
SECTION 7. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 17.029 to read as follows:
Art. 17.029. REVIEW OF BAIL DECISION. (a) This article
applies only to a bail decision:
(1) regarding a defendant charged with or arrested for
an offense punishable as a felony; and
(2) that was made under Article 17.028 by the
magistrate of a court that does not have jurisdiction to try the
offense with which the defendant is charged.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a district judge in any
county in which the offense for which the person was arrested will
be tried or in any county in which the charge for that offense will
be filed has jurisdiction to modify a bail decision to which this
article applies, regardless of whether the defendant has been
previously indicted or an information has been previously filed for
the offense for which the defendant was arrested.
(c) The local administrative judge for each county shall
establish a procedure for the district clerk to notify the district
judges in the county that the district clerk received a request to
review a bail decision under this article.
(d) A district judge must review a bail decision as soon as
practicable but not later than the next business day after the date
a request to review the bail decision is filed with the district
clerk by an attorney representing the state.
(e) A district judge reviewing a bail decision under this
article shall comply with Article 17.09 and shall consider the
facts presented and the rules established by Article 17.15(a) in
setting the defendant's bail.
(f) If a district judge modifies a bail decision under this
article to increase the amount of bail or to require additional
conditions of bail for a defendant who is not in custody, the judge
shall:
(1) issue a summons for the defendant to appear before
the judge; and
(2) give the defendant a reasonable opportunity to
appear before issuing a warrant for the defendant's arrest.
SECTION 8. 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 9. 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 10. Section 3, Article 17.09, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3. Provided that whenever, during the course of the
action, and regardless of whether the defendant has been previously
released under Article 17.151, the judge or magistrate in whose
court such action is pending finds that the bond is defective,
excessive or insufficient in amount, or that the sureties, if any,
are not acceptable, or for any other good and sufficient cause, such
judge or magistrate may, either in term-time or in vacation, order
the accused to be rearrested, and require the accused to give
another bond in such amount as the judge or magistrate may deem
proper. When such bond is so given and approved, the defendant
shall be released from custody.
SECTION 11. 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 12. 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 13. Article 42.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Section 17 to read as follows:
Sec. 17. In addition to the information described by
Section 1, the judgment must reflect affirmative findings entered
pursuant to Article 42.0195.
SECTION 14. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 42.0195 to read as follows:
Art. 42.0195. FINDING REGARDING FAILURE TO APPEAR. In the
trial of an offense, the judge shall make an affirmative finding of
fact and enter the affirmative finding in the judgment in the case
if the judge determines that the defendant engaged in conduct
constituting an offense under Section 38.10(a), Penal Code, after
the defendant was released from custody for the offense for which
the defendant was tried.
SECTION 15. 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 16. Section 72.038, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (b-1) and (c-1) and amending Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(b-1) A person who releases a defendant on bail under the
authority of a standing order related to bail shall complete the
form required under this section.
(c) The person setting bail, an employee of the court that
set the defendant's bail, or an employee of the county in which the
defendant's bail was set must, on completion of the form required
under this section, promptly but not later than 48 [72] hours after
the time the defendant's bail is set provide the form
electronically to the office through the public safety report
system.
(c-1) The office shall provide to the elected district
attorney in each county an electronic copy of the form submitted to
the office under Subsection (c) for each defendant whose bail is set
in the county for an offense involving violence, as defined by
Article 17.03, Code of Criminal Procedure. To receive a form as
provided by this subsection, an elected district attorney must
provide to the office an e-mail address.
SECTION 17. Section 51A.003(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The notice adopted under this section must include the
following in both English and Spanish:
(1) a statement that it is a criminal offense for any
person, including a member of the family or former member of the
family, to cause physical injury or harm to a victim or to engage in
conduct constituting stalking, harassment, or terroristic threat
toward a victim;
(2) a list of agencies and social organizations that
the victim may contact for assistance with safety planning,
shelter, or protection;
(3) contact information for:
(A) the National Domestic Violence Hotline;
(B) victim support services at the Department of
Public Safety; and
(C) the commission's family violence program;
and
(4) information regarding the legal rights of a
victim, including information regarding:
(A) the filing of criminal charges and obtaining
a protective order or a magistrate's order for emergency
protection; [and]
(B) the ability of a tenant who is a victim of
family violence to vacate a dwelling and terminate a residential
lease; and
(C) the ability of the victim to provide
information to the local prosecutor that will be helpful to a
magistrate setting bail if the person committing the offense is
arrested.
SECTION 18. Article 17.071(f-1), Code of Criminal
Procedure, is repealed.
SECTION 19. 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 20. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.