82R7056 NAJ-D
By: Riddle H.B. No. 1173
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a person who 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 24th hour after the person's arrest, or the 36th hour after the
person's arrest in a county with a population of three million or
more, 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. If the person is unable to obtain
a surety for the bond or unable to deposit money in the amount of the
bond, the person must be released on personal bond.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.