Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3451 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R7139 KEL-D
2	2	By: Creighton H.B. No. 3451
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to procedures regarding the forfeiture and collection of
8	8	certain bail bonds.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 22.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	Art. 22.04. REQUISITES OF CITATION. A citation shall be
13	13	sufficient if it be in the form provided for citations in other
14	14	civil cases in such court; provided, however, that a copy of the
15	15	judgment of forfeiture entered by the court, a copy of the forfeited
16	16	bond, and a copy of any power of attorney attached to the forfeited
17	17	bond shall be attached to the citation and the citation shall notify
18	18	the parties cited to appear and show cause why the judgment of
19	19	forfeiture should not be made final.
20	20	SECTION 2. Article 22.05, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
21	21	amended to read as follows:
22	22	Art. 22.05. CITATION AS IN OTHER CIVIL ACTIONS. If service
23	23	of citation is not waived under Article 22.03, a surety is entitled
24	24	to notice by service of citation, the length of time and in the
25	25	manner required in other civil actions; and the officer executing
26	26	the citation shall return the same as in other civil actions. It
27	27	shall not be necessary to give notice to the defendant unless he has
28	28	furnished his address on the bond, in which event notice to the
29	29	defendant shall be deposited in the United States mail directed to
30	30	the defendant at the address shown on the bond or the last known
31	31	address of the defendant.
32	32	SECTION 3. Article 22.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
33	33	amended to read as follows:
34	34	Art. 22.06. CITATION BY PUBLICATION. Where the surety is a
35	35	nonresident of the State, or where he is a transient person, or
36	36	where his residence is unknown, the district or county attorney
37	37	may, upon application in writing to the county clerk, stating the
38	38	facts, obtain a citation to be served by publication; and the same
39	39	shall be served by a publication and returned as in other civil
40	40	actions.
41	41	SECTION 4. Article 22.10, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
42	42	amended to read as follows:
43	43	Art. 22.10. SCIRE FACIAS DOCKET. When a forfeiture has been
44	44	declared upon a bond, the court or clerk shall docket the case upon
45	45	the scire facias or upon the civil docket, in the name of the State
46	46	of Texas, as plaintiff, and the principal and his sureties, if any,
47	47	as defendants; and, except as otherwise provided by this chapter,
48	48	the forfeiture proceedings are considered to be civil actions [had
49	49	therein shall be] governed by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
50	50	[same rules governing other civil suits].
51	51	SECTION 5. Article 22.13(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
52	52	amended to read as follows:
53	53	(b) A surety exonerated under Subdivision 5, Subsection
54	54	(a), remains obligated to pay all filing fees and costs of court,
55	55	any reasonable and necessary costs incurred by a county to secure
56	56	the return of the principal, and interest accrued on the bond amount
57	57	from the date of the judgement nisi to the date of the principal's
58	58	incarceration.
59	59	SECTION 6. Article 22.14, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
60	60	amended to read as follows:
61	61	Art. 22.14. JUDGMENT FINAL. When, upon a trial of the
62	62	issues presented, no sufficient cause is shown for the failure of
63	63	the principal to appear, the judgment shall be made final against
64	64	him and his sureties, if any, for the amount in which they are
65	65	respectively bound and for all filing fees and costs of court; and
66	66	the same shall be collected by execution as in other civil actions.
67	67	Separate executions shall issue against each party for the amount
68	68	adjudged against him. The filing fees and costs of court shall be
69	69	equally divided between the sureties, if there be more than one.
70	70	SECTION 7. Article 22.16, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
71	71	amended to read as follows:
72	72	Art. 22.16. REMITTITUR AFTER FORFEITURE. (a) After
73	73	forfeiture of a bond and before entry of a final judgment, the court
74	74	shall, on written motion, remit to the surety the amount of the
75	75	bond, after deducting the filing fees, costs of court, [and] any
76	76	reasonable and necessary costs to the county for the return of the
77	77	principal, and the interest accrued on the bond amount as provided
78	78	by Subsection (c) if the principal is released on new bail in the
79	79	case or the case for which bond was given is dismissed.
80	80	(b) For other good cause shown and before the entry of a final
81	81	judgment against the bond, the court in its discretion may remit to
82	82	the surety all or part of the amount of the bond after deducting the
83	83	filing fees, costs of court, [and] any reasonable and necessary
84	84	costs to the county for the return of the principal, and the
85	85	interest accrued on the bond amount as provided by Subsection (c).
86	86	(c) For the purposes of this article, interest accrues on the
87	87	bond amount from the date of forfeiture in the same manner and at
88	88	the same rate as provided for the accrual of prejudgment interest in
89	89	other civil cases.
90	90	SECTION 8. Article 22.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
91	91	amended to read as follows:
92	92	Art. 22.17. SPECIAL BILL OF REVIEW. (a) Not later than two
93	93	years after the date a final judgment is entered in a bond
94	94	forfeiture proceeding, the surety on the bond may file with the
95	95	court a special bill of review. A special bill of review may
96	96	include a request, on equitable grounds, that the final judgment be
97	97	reformed and that all or part of the bond amount be remitted to the
98	98	surety, after deducting the filing fees, costs of court, [any]
99	99	reasonable costs to the county for the return of the principal, and
100	100	the interest accrued on the bond amount from the date of forfeiture.
101	101	The court in its discretion may grant or deny the bill in whole or in
102	102	part.
103	103	(b) For the purposes of this article, interest accrues on the
104	104	bond amount from the date of:
105	105	(1) forfeiture to the date of final judgment in the same
106	106	manner and at the same rate as provided for the accrual of
107	107	prejudgment interest in other civil cases; and
108	108	(2) final judgment to the date of the order for
109	109	remittitur at the same rate as provided for the accrual of
110	110	postjudgment interest in other civil cases.
111	111	SECTION 9. Article 103.0031(h), Code of Criminal Procedure,
112	112	is repealed.
113	113	SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act in amending
114	114	Chapter 22, Code of Criminal Procedure, and in repealing Article
115	115	103.0031(h), Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to a bail
116	116	bond that is executed on or after the effective date of this Act. A
117	117	bail bond executed before the effective date of this Act is governed
118	118	by the law in effect when the bail bond was executed, and the former
119	119	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
120	120	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.