83R7852 ADM-F
By: Whitmire S.B. No. 669
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the manner in which a bail bond or personal bond is
forfeited and circumstances under which a final judgment of
forfeiture may be reformed.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 22.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 22.02. MANNER OF TAKING A FORFEITURE. Bail bonds and
personal bonds are forfeited in the following manner: The name of
the defendant shall be called distinctly at the courthouse door,
and if the defendant does not appear within a reasonable time after
such call is made, judgment shall be entered that the State of Texas
recover of the defendant the amount of money in which the defendant
[he] is bound, and of the defendant's [his] sureties, if any, the
amount of money in which the sureties [they] are respectively
bound, and the [which] judgment shall state that the judgment
[same] will be made final, unless good cause be shown why the
defendant did not appear. A judgment may not be entered under this
article unless 72 hours have elapsed since the defendant's name was
called.
SECTION 2. Article 22.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 22.17. SPECIAL BILL OF REVIEW. (a) Not later than two
years after the date a final judgment is entered in a bond
forfeiture proceeding, the surety on the bond may file with the
court a special bill of review. A special bill of review may
include a request, on equitable grounds, that the final judgment be
reformed and that all or part of the bond amount be remitted to the
surety, after deducting the costs of court and[,] any reasonable
costs to the county for the return of the principal to that
jurisdiction[, and the interest accrued on the bond amount from the
date of forfeiture]. The court in its discretion may grant or deny
the bill in whole or in part.
(b) In determining whether to grant a request for a
reformation of the final judgment and a remittance under this
article, the court shall consider that the purpose of a bail bond is
to secure the presence of the principal for the disposition of
criminal charges and that a bail bond is not:
(1) a punishment;
(2) a substitute for a fine; or
(3) a method for generating revenue for a governmental
entity.
(c) In determining the amount of a remittance granted under
this article, the court may consider any of the following:
(1) the state's cost or inconvenience in regaining
custody of the principal;
(2) the impact of the delay caused by the principal's
failure to appear;
(3) the degree to which the principal intended to
breach the conditions of bond;
(4) the public interest in ensuring the principal's
appearance;
(5) any prejudice suffered by the state;
(6) any evidence introduced in a proceeding under this
article that was not introduced during the trial held under Article
22.14 and that would have exonerated the defendant and the
defendant's surety from liability under Article 22.13;
(7) the participation of the surety in the rearrest of
the principal; or
(8) any other relevant factor [For the purposes of
this article, interest accrues on the bond amount from the date of:
[(1) forfeiture to the date of final judgment in the
same manner and at the same rate as provided for the accrual of
prejudgment interest in civil cases; and
[(2) final judgment to the date of the order for
remittitur at the same rate as provided for the accrual of
postjudgment interest in civil cases].
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act to Article
22.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to a bail bond or
personal bond executed on or after the effective date of this Act.
A bail bond or personal bond executed before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect when the bond was
executed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.