By: Whitmire S.B. No. 1505
(In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2009; March 17, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
April 14, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 14, 2009,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1505 By: Whitmire
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the arrest and release on bail or other form of bond of
certain criminal defendants with a mental illness or with mental
retardation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Article 14.03, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Any peace officer may arrest, without warrant:
(1) persons found in suspicious places and under
circumstances which reasonably show that such persons have been
guilty of some felony, violation of Title 9, Chapter 42, Penal Code,
breach of the peace, or offense under Section 49.02, Penal Code, or
threaten, or are about to commit some offense against the laws;
(2) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
to believe have committed an assault resulting in bodily injury to
another person and the peace officer has probable cause to believe
that there is danger of further bodily injury to that person;
(3) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
to believe have committed an offense defined by Section 25.07,
Penal Code (violation of Protective Order), or by Section 38.112,
Penal Code (violation of Protective Order issued on basis of sexual
assault), if the offense is not committed in the presence of the
peace officer;
(4) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
to believe have committed an offense involving family violence;
(5) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
to believe have prevented or interfered with an individual's
ability to place a telephone call in an emergency, as defined by
Section 42.062(d), Penal Code, if the offense is not committed in
the presence of the peace officer; [or]
(6) a person who makes a statement to the peace officer
that would be admissible against the person under Article 38.21 and
establishes probable cause to believe that the person has committed
a felony; or
(7) a person who the peace officer has probable cause
to believe has violated a condition of release on bail or other form
of bond under Article 17.032 or 17.455.
SECTION 2. Article 17.032, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsections (c) and
(d) to read as follows:
(b-1) Unless good cause is shown otherwise, if the
requirements specified by Subsections (b)(2), (3), and (4) are
satisfied, the court before whom the criminal case is pending may
release on personal bond a defendant who is charged with or has been
previously convicted of a violent offense.
(c) The applicable court [magistrate], unless good cause is
shown for not requiring treatment, shall require as a condition of
release on personal bond under Subsection (b) or (b-1) [this
article] that the defendant submit to outpatient or inpatient
mental health or mental retardation treatment as recommended by the
local mental health or mental retardation authority if the
defendant's:
(1) mental illness or mental retardation is chronic in
nature; or
(2) ability to function independently will continue to
deteriorate if the defendant is not treated.
(d) In addition to a condition of release imposed under
Subsection (c) [of this article], the applicable court [magistrate]
may require the defendant to comply with other conditions that are
reasonably necessary to protect the community.
SECTION 3. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 17.455 to read as follows:
Art. 17.455. CONDITIONS REQUIRING SUBMISSION TO MENTAL
HEALTH OR MENTAL RETARDATION TREATMENT. (a) A magistrate may
require as a condition of a defendant's release on bond, other than
a release on personal bond, that the defendant submit to outpatient
or inpatient mental health or mental retardation treatment, as
recommended by the applicable local mental health or mental
retardation authority, if:
(1) the requirements of Articles 17.032(b)(2),
(b)(3), and (b)(4) are satisfied with respect to the defendant in
the same manner as if the defendant were being released on personal
bond; and
(2) the defendant's mental illness or mental
retardation:
(A) is chronic; or
(B) will continue to interfere with the
defendant's ability to function independently if the defendant does
not receive treatment.
(b) An order for treatment under this article may require
the defendant to receive services and to reside at a local mental
health facility or residential care facility, as applicable, during
the period of the defendant's release.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act in amending
Article 17.032, Code of Criminal Procedure, and adding Article
17.455, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to a defendant's
release on bail or other form of bond on or after the effective date
of this Act. A defendant's release on bail or other form of bond
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect when the defendant was released, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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