By: Kacal H.B. No. 2020
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the judges authorized to release on bail a defendant
charged with certain offenses, and the considerations for setting
the amount of bail.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Damon Allen Act."
SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 17.027 to read as follows:
Art. 17.027. AUTHORITY TO RELEASE ON BAIL IN CERTAIN CASES.
Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by Article
17.03(b), only a district court judge, or an associate judge
appointed by a district court judge under Chapter 54A, Government
Code, may release on bail a defendant charged with an offense:
(1) punishable as a felony; or
(2) under Chapter 21 or 22, Penal Code, that is
punishable as a Class B misdemeanor or any higher category of
offense.
SECTION 3. Article 17.15, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 17.15. RULES FOR SETTING [FIXING] AMOUNT OF BAIL. The
amount of bail to be required in any case is to be regulated by the
court, judge, magistrate, or officer taking the bail and is[; they
are to be] governed [in the exercise of this discretion] by the
Constitution and [by] the following rules:
(1) [1.] The bail shall be sufficiently high to give
reasonable assurance that the undertaking will be complied with.
(2) [2.] The power to require bail is not to be so used
as to make it an instrument of oppression.
(3) [3.] The nature of the offense, [and] the
circumstances under which the offense [it] was committed, and the
defendant's criminal history shall [are to] be considered.
(4) [4.] The ability to make bail shall [is to] be
considered [regarded], and proof may be taken upon this point.
(5) [5.] The future safety of a victim of the alleged
offense, peace officers, and the community shall be considered.
(6) A pretrial risk assessment of the defendant shall
be conducted using a standardized risk assessment tool developed by
the Bail Advisory Program established under Section 772.0064,
Government Code, and the results shall be considered.
(7) Any other relevant facts or circumstances may be
considered.
SECTION 4. Chapter 772, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 772.0064 to read as follows:
Sec. 772.0064. BAIL ADVISORY PROGRAM. (a) The governor
shall establish the Bail Advisory Program within the criminal
justice division established under Section 772.006.
(b) The governor shall appoint a director for the program to
serve at the pleasure of the governor.
(c) The program shall, in coordination with the Office of
Court Administration:
(1) develop a standardized pretrial risk assessment
tool pursuant to Article 17.15(6), Code of Criminal Procedure;
(2) make recommendations to the criminal justice
division regarding best practices for pretrial release and personal
bond offices as authorized by Article 17.42, Code of Criminal
Procedure, to be submitted to the legislature as part of the
criminal justice division's biennial report required under Section
772.006(a)(9);
(3) collect and analyze research and information in
all areas related to pretrial release practices, and distribute the
research, information, and analyses as a resource to courts,
personal bond offices, and other relevant organizations; and
(4) collect information relating to those released on
bail, including the rate of failure to appear, commission of new
offenses, and other relevant information.
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a person who is arrested on or after the effective date of this
Act. A person arrested before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the person was arrested,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.